Style: prog metal, shred guitar, power metal (instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Cacophony, Jason Becker, Yngwie Malmsteen, Galneryus, Kiko Loureiro
Country: United States-NJ
Release date: April 1994
Although prog metal was born with Fates Warning and Watchtower in the mid-80s, the genre reached its classic golden age in the 90s, especially for ye olde power/prog à la Dream Theater, Shadow Gallery, and perhaps most exemplary of all, Symphony X (SX). Marrying European power metal’s orchestration with the hefty riffs of USPM and a heavy sprinkle of proggy magic, the New Jersey band excelled as one of the premier progressive metal acts. Despite the new generation of prog metal fans not knowing their ancestors well—unfortunately yet understandably, it’s been nearly a decade since SX has last released—the 90s were a special time for a burgeoning scene, and SX will always be among the GOATs.
However, in the decade since an SX release, founding member and guitarist Michael Romeo remained busy, releasing a pair of H.G. Wells-inspired concept albums, The War of the WorldsPts. 1+2. Stylistically similar to SX but with a sci-fi edge, they were awesome releases, yet like me, if you found out Pt. 1 wasn’t Romeo’s solo debut, you’d likely be surprised. Pre-SX, the legend himself released The Dark Chapter in 1994 with other founding SX member Michael Pinella on keys, sneaking by many of even the most devoted prog metal fans.
Returning to the 80s when Michael Romeo was but a teen, the shredders were all the rage with the Yngwie’s and Becker’s of the world ruling the roost. These guys clearly influenced Romeo’s playing as anybody who has heard SX can attest to: sweeping arpeggios, light-speed scales, and baroque swagger. The Dark Chapter is everything you’d expect from a shredder’s debut, particularly with now knowing what the guy would go on to do. But if we transport ourselves back to 1994, the mix of Romeo’s inhuman guitar skills with his flourishes of baroque prog and chunky power metal riffs must have been simultaneously slightly outdated—shred ruled the bygone 80s—and an awesome premonition of what was to come only months later with the release of Symphony X.
If one thing is for sure, Michael Romeo can play. I’m surprised his guitar didn’t burst into flame at several points during The Dark Chapter. He leans into excess far more than on any SX release, several of the riffs sounding as chaotically masturbatory as early Dragonforce. “Cask of Amontillado” is both catchy but absurdly fast with more notes than a Galneryus song, and there’s even noticeable bass which is unusual for an album such as this, plodding away with nice tonal counterpoint to the fiery guitar. The break to melodicism at just past 2:00 is classic SX, delicate yet triumphant. Throughout The Dark Chapter, Romeo uses techniques that will become familiar staples of SX songs, and it’s fun to look back and see what The Dark Chapter will lead to. On tracks like “Psychotic Episode” and “The Premature Burial,” there are looped arpeggios and screaming harmonics while tracks like “Cask of Amontillado” and “Paganini – Concerto in B Minor” utilize all the classical orchestrations and heart-stopping pace switches of Romeo’s future band.
The Dark Chapter certainly isn’t perfect—it is a souped up demo after all—but it’s a pleasure to listen to with more amazing solos than I can count (I only have so many fingers and toes). It’s a tad repetitive with the sheer quantity of quality shred without vocals to spice it up, but the twists and turns of progressive songwriting are present to keep me locked in. Overall, I’d put The Dark Chapter right in between Jason Becker and Symphony X stylistically, but it’s certainly the earliest step toward power/prog perfection: we’re only one Russell Allen shy of an all-time classic.
Recommended tracks: Cask of Amontillado, Masque of the Red Death, Noit al Ever
You may also like: Shadow Gallery, First Fragment, Mind’s Mirrors
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Michael Romeo is:
– Michael Romeo (everything)
– Michael Pinnella (keyboards track 8)
0 Comments