Room V is a concept album which continues the story from the album Tyranny, released in 1997. Tyranny is high on my list of favorite concept albums ever. It is one of those albums that succeeds in making me feel something every time I listen to it. A timeless album. When I first heard that
Shadow Gallery were going to continue the story I got quite excited and then started wondering how they would be able to pull it off. One of the strengths of Tyranny was that it left the listener to imagine what would happen next. There was a possibility, albeit a slight one, that
Shadow Gallery would mess it all up with this one. I am very happy to say that they haven't. I have been listening to this promo for a month now and I feel like I have in no way heard all the album has to offer.
Room V is a complex album. It builds on the familiar
Shadow Gallery sound and adds new things as well. Progressive Metal is a term that can be many different things. It is also the easiest one to use when trying to categorize the album, although I sometimes like to call it emoprog. As is usually the case with
Shadow Gallery you will be sucked into a deep well of emotion once you are captured by the album. The emotional element shines through in all the songs.
The production is very transparant, meaning that it gives room for every instrument. Very well balanced, bright and overall an outstanding production on this one. Mike Baker sings better than ever and the vocal melodies and harmonies are absolutely wonderful all around. Bassist Carl Cadden-James is responsible for most of those by the way. The guitar work by Gary Wehrkamp and Brendt Allmann is outstanding, I especially love the solos on the album. The keyboard has just the right balance as well and never becomes the controlling element, mostly keeping itself on the outer fabric of the sound like it should.
Kicking right into the action the two minute instrumental
Manhunt continues the story directly from Tyranny with only an 8 hour lapse. It feels like a natural extension of
Chased from that other album. In the end the chaos resides in favor of a soft atmospheric interlude as
Comfort Me eases its way into the sound. A very satisfying moment is hearing Laura Jaeger reprising her role in a duet with Mike Baker, which gives the song a vulnerable edge. At first I thought the song was a bit too squishy, but it wins on repeated listens and is a natural extension from Tyranny that brings a good sort of closure.
Andromeda Strain kicks off with a heavy riff and as Mike Baker starts singing it is impossible not to get captured by the drive and the way Mike's voice changes from the rough verses to the wonderful melodious harmonies in the chorus. Loads of cool details in this song depending on which instrument you concentrate on. The keyboard plays an important role in the song and is used to add atmosphere. It is worked in just perfect. Really cool guitar solo in the last part of the song as well.
Vow starts out soft with a performance by Mike Baker which gets under your skin and creates hair-rising chills. The vocal melodies are simply amazing in this one. The chorus has a melody that will stay in your head for a long time. This is just a really beautiful song overflowing with emotion and I absolutely love it. If not for the thin drum sound this one would have been completely perfect.
After this emotional highlight the album moves into an instrumental phase with the two tracks
Birth of a Daughter and
Death of a Mother. A hectic attack on the sense which leaves you out of breath and disoriented as
Lamentia ends Act III on a sad note.
The first few times I heard the album I couldn't help thinking that Act III had gone by too fast. I missed something. The last two instrumentals didn't give proper closure to the events. That was before I discovered some links to songs on the earlier
Shadow Gallery albums...
The instrumental
Seven Years brings an uplifting feeling with some great melodies. I love the melodic guitar solo in the last part of the song which is backed by rising keys. That is Arjen Lucassen on the guitar by the way.
Dark rips through the bright atmosphere and sets off the storyline for Act IV which moves into darker territory. The music in the second part of the album also gets heavier and more complex with 5 songs going beyond the 7 minute mark. Personal highlights of this Act include the flute in
Torn, the fascinating way which
The Archer of Ben Salem moves the story along with tons of detail in the music and Mike singing in a harder voice, the hymn-like title track and the conclusion to the album,
Rain, which opens with an impressive 2 minute instrumental section.
Encrypted is the stand-still of the album and the only song that hasn't grabbed me completely. Great guitar solo though.
I am ordering the limitied edition of this album one of the next few days. It has 40 minutes of bonus material, including demos, extra songs, a Pink Floys medley and a multimedia section.
So do you need Tyranny to enjoys this? I would definitely recommend it. The music is always enjoyable but you will probably be lost in the story if you are not familiar with Tyranny already.
All in all this is a worthy follow-up to one of my favorite concept albums ever. And that says alot. Room V has something very special to offer and it is an entertaining ride which explores a wide spectrum of music. Don't expect to grasp everything on the first few listens. This album is a grower and so far this is the album of the year for me.
Written by
Steen Thursday, June 2, 2005
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