Lost in Time: Shadow Gallery – Digital Ghosts

Style: prog metal, prog rock, power/prog (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Symphony X, Threshold, Fates Warning, Queensrÿche
Review by: Andy
Country: US-PA
Release date: October 23, 2009

Mike Baker, the face of Shadow Gallery, died of a heart attack in 2008. One of the most talented singers to ever grace the mic, Baker–by all accounts a stupendously kind person–will always be missed by friends, family, and the entire progressive music world. Baker provided so much of the heart to his pentaptych of Shadow Gallery’s career, his singing providing such emotional richness to the music. From day one with “The Queen of the City of Ice,” one of the few songs ever to make me cry, Shadow Gallery are who they are in large part due to Baker’s untouchable performances. So what can a band do when they lose their long-time frontman? Shadow Gallery responded by writing a damn great album in tribute to their lost friend and singer. 

Borrowing the vocal talents of Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear) and Clay Barton (Syspyre), Shadow Gallery play the most diversely they have in a decade with a wide-ranging vocal cast (which also includes lead performances from the band’s own ranks. New member Brian Ashland attempts to fill Baker’s clown-sized shoes first on the modernized yet classic-sounding Shadow Gallery track “With Honor.” Starting with a chunky riff that would be at home on Legacy, the track morphs across a range of techniques from an elegant and impactful a cappella section to a plaintive solo piano line. The climax also creates lots of suspense–you could say the opener leaves us with a bit of a cliffhanger. 

That cliffhanger leads into the heaviest riff Shadow Gallery ever wrote. Like Symphony X, Shadow Gallery seemingly break the typical law that bands will diminish in heaviness with age. Sweep picks and grooves a là Dream Theater’s Train of Thought infiltrate the track, the frantic fretboard frenetics an extravaganza of refined talent. Moreover, Clay Barton pulls off an insane vocal feat at just before 3:00 that even Mike Baker wouldn’t attempt, keeping Shadow Gallery’s sound relatively fresh even nearly two decades into a well-defined career. 

Not all is quite as strong as the first couple tracks, though. “Pain” sounds a tad like “Silent Lucidity” by Queensrÿche until the angsty timbre of the gang vocals overwhelms the tranquility alongside a boring, stompy riff. The ending, moreover, promises an awesome climax yet reverts back to the bland, bluesy stomp. Furthermore, despite the strange cadence and admirable solo in “Strong,” the track is less memorable than the ones surrounding it. And, of course, everything sounds a touch less soulful and fulfilling without Mike on the mic although I’m sure the band feel the same way.

Back to the numerous positives, “Digital Ghost” is arguably the best song on the final two albums with a main melody that would be right at home on Carved in Stone, and Shadow Gallery also finally figured out a reasonable album length, Digital Ghosts clocking in at under an hour. Altogether, this may be Shadow Gallery’s most accessible album to a traditional prog metal fan, and overall it’s a great achievement. Especially the final song, “Haunted,” which allows the band to work through some of the emotions surrounding losing their good friend. Beginning as a ballad, the track takes on some seemingly misplaced heft until ending the album (and Shadow Gallery’s career) on an incredibly high note. “Haunted” is an expressive and powerful swan song to a legendary prog metal band’s storied career on par with similar all-time finales like “High Hopes” by Pink Floyd (I won’t bother counting the gross cash grab that is “The Endless River.”) The band, even without Baker, rely on their trustworthy harmonized a cappella and piano combos to create a timeless sound, and the heartache bleeds through every note. Even without the advanced length of “The Queen of the City of Ice,” “Ghostship,” or “First Light,” “Haunted” is a truly epic work.

Shadow Gallery were never going to top their best output with Mike Baker so soon after his death, nor do I think they would want to. Instead they squeezed out every remaining drop of their creative potential to honor him on Digital Ghosts. It worked. 

Recommended tracks: With Honor, Venom, Digital Ghost, Haunted
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page

Label: InsideOut Music – Website | Facebook

Shadow Gallery is:
– Mike Baker (lead vocals, R.I.P. 2008)
– Carl Cadden-James (bass, fretless bass, flute, backing vocals)
– Gary Wehrkamp (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals)
– Chris Ingles (keyboards)
– Brendt Allman (guitars, backing vocals)
– Joe Nevolo (drums)