Friday, January 29, 2010
Shadow Gallery - Digital Ghosts
Artist: Shadow Gallery
Album: Digital Ghosts
Release: 2009
“Echoes of this ghost song fade away…”
So here’s a band that I had never listened to before this record. I had heard previous vocalist Mike Baker when he was featured on Ayreon’s The Human Equation album back in 2004, (also my first exposure to Ayreon). I liked the guys voice – it had a nice Alice Cooper-esk vibe about it. And that was it. A few years pass and I hear about this band again. In 2008 Mike Baker passed away much to the dismay of prog heads everywhere. Then I heard news that the band was recording a new album. And so here’s Digital Ghosts, Shadow Gallery’s first record without Mike on vocals. Maybe it’s because I hadn’t listened to their previous recordings, but I think this is a great tribute to their fallen comrade. This is fairly stream-lined progressive metal. Constantly changing rhythms, guitarist vs. keyboardist battles (I guess it isn’t only limited to power metal), and varying vocal harmonies are the bulk of Digital Ghosts. There’s nothing wrong with this but it’s a bit predictable. The progressive metal scene prides itself on complexity and this record tends to hang around in the average area of the genre. This also makes it hard to find any comparable bands to help flush out my thoughts. The closest I can come up with is a heaver The Tangent and early Dream Theater, (I had to make myself spell theatre incorrectly), but even then that’s only during a few songs. Speaking of songs, they all have an uplifting quality about them that is a nice change of pace for me musically. Thinking back I can’t recall any songs that really stood out above the rest but on this album in works out for the best. Each consecutive listen is like rediscovering the songs anew. That is something that is rare in music these days. But something I focused on while listening to the record was its title. Digital Ghosts – what a perfect name for these recordings. Mike’s presence is defiantly felt here. Mainly in the over-the-top drum passages and guitar solos. In conclusion, I didn’t really know what to expect from Shadow Gallery. But at the end of the day, they’ve gained a fan – or at least a new listener.
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