Shadown Gallery - Room V (Inside Out) 2005
ACT III
1. "Manhunt" (2:09)
2. "Comfort Me" (6:51)
3. "The Andromeda Strain" (6:46)
4. "Vow" (8:27)
5. "Birth Of A Daughter" (2:40)
6. "Death Of A Mother" (2:15)
7. "Lamentia" (1:04)
ACT IV
8. "Seven Years" (3:37)
9. "Dark" (1:03)
10. "Torn" (8:23)
11. "The Archer Of Ben Salem" (7:28)
12. "Encrypted" (8:01)
13. "Room V" (7:44)
14. "Rain" (8:59)
It's pretty unusual to find a prog metal band this original these days. While "V" does sport plenty of influences from other progressive bands, Shadow Gallery are not trying to be a Dream Theater clone as many others seem to be doing these days. Rather, the band reaches back even further bringing in influence from some of the 1970's greats like Jethro Tull, Yes, and Kansas. Musically the band has plenty going on to keep the prog purists smiling, yet they aren't afraid to write accessible songs either. Also, unlike many other modern prog bands, the keyboards are used to enhance the mostly guitar driven music. Of course what would prog-metal be without plenty of shredding guitar solos and keyboard interludes. There are plenty of these scattered throughout. The lyrics on this album speak of spiritual matters that seem to be influenced by Christian concepts. However, the storyline on this disc is actually parts 3 & 4 continued from the "Tyranny" album and most certainly cannot be considered anything but poetic fiction. Despite "V" being a continuation from the band's previous CD, this album stands on it's own quite well. In other words, if you have never heard Parts 1 & 2, that doesn't detract from this album at all. "V" is actually a very stunning album and certainly one of the finer progressive metal releases of the year.