Customer Reviews

Tyranny

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After hearing parts of Shadow Gallery's "Carved In Stone" cd, I had decided that this was a band that I would ignore. But I borrowed "Tyranny" from a friend. And it has lived in my cd player ever since. It has all the elements of a prog. classic. It starts with the Dream Theater inspired "Stiletto in the Sand" and "War for sale". From there, the band mixes styles of hard and soft rock, while keeping a prog style intact. There are really no over the top, complex odd-time signatures. The song writing is very good and mysterious with "Hope for us" and "Christmas day". All in all, a very good and impressing album from Shadow Gallery.

Masterpiece comes to mind. Also Solid Masterpiece is appropriate...

Having started with DT eons ago, and like most who were encouraged by the rebirth of quality music in the modern age (if tragically underground), I hungered for more "prog", a genre of music that really can only be pigeonholed as musicians who wield epic emotion but aren't satisfied without pushing envelopes at the same time...which really is simply characterized as the greatest music possible.

This virtousic concept album about apprehension towards corporate greed takes me back to that first Dream Theater or Queensryche album I heard, but at times Shadow Gallery surprises even myself into begging for placement into the forefront of popular music. It's that good.

One of the greatest songs I have ever heard is a keystone to this album: "I Believe." It is a good represenation of what Shadow Gallery produces in their finest moments. Layers of intellectually strewn choruses, virtuosic passages of dueling guitars/keys, and just heart-wrenching emotion. Top quality production and diversity even within itself. The here-then-gone cameo of James laBrie doesn't hurt. One of the most rare finds in humanity is technical proficiency coupled with fantastic expression and personality. I find this review staying very short, because put simply, it's all here.

It's been a while since there's been an album I've been addicted to so much. Every time I put it back on the shelf, I change my mind and listen to it one more time. Whenever I'm not listening to it and I think of it, I must go play it. That reminds me...

First and foremost I must confess that I am a middle aged father and a RUSH fan extaordinaire, that being said I find lyrical content as equally important as the music which it is contained within. Please avoid the travesty of NOT buying this disc.

First listen got my attention but failed to really grab me as let's say, Symphony X's V CD did, which is also a great CD. It was not until I put on my Grado headphones and really listened, I mean intently listened to the whole album all the way through, did I get it.

Musically profficient, lyrically honest and collectively moving - this effort earned a spot in my elite "best of" library. Thirty+ people can't be wrong when rating this album 4 stars or better. I signed their guestbook and one of the band members emailed me back thanking me for my support, this is not your average band.

It's a masterpiece. It was my first Shadow Gallery album, I wanted to check them out, and it was the right decision. From the first listen, I knew these guys are on the top of the Prog Rock/Metal bands of the era, second only to the Dream Theater gods. Tyranny is very melodic, intelligent, vocals are excellent (the guests add even more beauty). Shadow Gallery style is less heavy than Dream Theater, but DT's influence can be felt (It's prog after all!!). I felt also a slight influence by Yes, yet I am not sure. Get this album, in fact buy all of their albums, I got them after Tyranny and they are as good if not better!

I have been a big fan of Shadow Gallery from the moment that I played their first cd "Shadow Gallery". As a fan of both progressive rock and heavy metal one would think that I would be a huge fan of the progressive metal genre. This is not the case, far from it. Most of the progressive metal bands that I have heard over the years really do not appeal to me. The bands that I have come across that I do like are Angra, Antithesis, Divine Regale, Magellan, Fountain of Tears, Extol and of course Shadow Gallery. To my ears I hear the influence of many different bands including Queen, Kansas, Dream Theater, Queensryche, Savatage, Metallica and Yngwie Malmsteen. Shadow Gallery mixes all of these influences and creates a unique mix that is new and original. In my opinion "Tyranny" is their best release to date. Actually each cd has been a vast improvement over the previous one. I really enjoy every aspect about this band. All of the musicians are extremely talented, high lighted by strong, passionate lead vocals, wonderfully enchanting backing vocals and two excellent guitar players who play great rhythms as well as some riping solos. The real strength of this band is thier songwriting. Anyone can be technically proficient on thier instrument, however it takes great talent to write good songs and this band excels in both areas. The music of Shadow Gallery takes me on a wonder musical journey. The songs range from fast, guitar driven tracks to slow piano ballads. On "Tyranny" I would say that the two biggest influences that I hear are Queensryche and early Queen, two great bands. In no way am I saying that this cd sounds just like Queen or Queensryche. As I said earlier Shadow Gallery mixes their varied influences into something new. I do beleive that fans of these two bands, as well as fans of good progressive rock, may like this cd. Give it a shot.

This may be the first bad review ever received by this CD. I really cannot understand what causes people to put this CD on a pedestal...like it was some prog classic. Lyrically, it is very good. Musicianship is topnotch. I just don't like (most of) the songs. I've never been able to sit through the entire CD without getting bored (even when I'm driving). I cannot say that about Dream Theater and a ton of other groups. I think my biggest problem is Mike Baker (and I'm probably the only prog metal fan on the planet that doesn't like his voice). How anyone can compare SG's vocals with Queensryche's is beyond my comprehension. Mike Baker is a singer with emotion at best. He has the range (if I may quote a Dennis Millerism) of a Daisy air rifle. If it were not for the harmonizing and production, his voice would be exposed for what it is. The best song is "New World Order". Why? Because the greatest metal singer alive today, DC Cooper, sings most of it. His superiority in range, emotion, and utter ability to change notes on a dime dwarfs Mike Baker. I can only imagine what goes through Mike Baker's mind whenever he hears (and it seems to be the case the majority of times) that New World Order is chosen as the best song on the CD. There are very few if any singers who could sing the verse that ends with "...you pathetic little man" with as much sinister emotion as DC Cooper. Go buy Royal Hunt's "Paradox" or his new group Silent Force before this one. In fact, except for "New World Order", you aren't missing a whole lot.

It took me a while to digest Tyranny, but once it clicked I was instantly convinced this to be one of the best power prog CDs I've heard from anybody.

Tyranny (1998) is a much improved release when compared to its predecessor Carved in Stone (1995). A fabulous concept album that in my opinion, has NOTHING TO DO with Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime, as many other other reviewers have mentioned. The music is highly melodic throughout the CD, ranging from soft piano and accoustic guitar parts to all guns blazing "progressive power metal". The vocals are just perfect for this kind of music and the lyrics are well thought out and inspired. The instrumentation is simply outstanding. The guitars, keyboards and drums are fiery and highly technical, but never without delivering musical feeling and emotion.

In my opinion Shadow Gallery's Tyranny is the outstanding musical opus I have always expected from Dream Theater, but for some reason it has never been able to deliver. Thanks SG for the music!

After reading a certain review submitted in by a certain TOP 100 reviewer who shall remain nameless I felt the need to write a short review in defense to Mike Bakers voice. OK you don`t like Mikes voice thats OK I can live with that (but I do), In fact so does Magna Carta (huge progressive rock label) and so does Trent Gardner (Magellan ,Age of Impact 1 and 2, and Leonardo the absolute man ) . Shadow Gallery pull it all out on this CD and actually found the perfect balance of where emotion meets execution and deliver a product of classic prog metal (in the un exaggerated true vain) that I believe is the bench mark of what I judge all over artists in this genre by (I`m not the only muso saying this) This CD is polished very intelligent and timeless put it in your CD player expect to leave it there along time and it has a really great concept. Mike Baker sings at his best on this disk, Mike Baker at his worst is still better than (James L) ever heard Dream Theaters vocals live ? MR TOP 100.

On "Tyranny", Shadow Gallery has developed a successfully progressive recipe that both stimulates and satisfies. Here, they combine the best sounds of Queensryche and Dream Theater, with a twist of early Yes and Genesis, and a guitarist who can rival Yngwie Malmsteen in his playing and passion. This CD lacks a little edge, but still growls at times. Also, the message relayed is appropriate and necessary for current times. I enjoyed this one better than "Carved in Stone". If you like progressive metal, this is a must buy! I rate it an enthusiatic 4 1/2 (not a 4 star).

I'm going to get some stick for this review, but what the hell. I got this album after reading the reviews, and while I am not sorry I bought it, I am a little dissapointed. The music is generally well played and the vocal harmonies are great, however there is hardly any bass present, and just too much singing! I was really looking forward to complex jams and lots of odd time sigs (big Dream Theater/LTE fan as you can tell). My stand out tracks would be # 4,5,9,11. Overall this is an enjoyable album, which is relatively easy listening, with a good concept.