Band:	Shadow Gallery
Album:	Tyranny
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	1998
A review by:	Dream Taster

01. Stiletto In The Sand (Jihad)
02. War For Sale (January)
03. Out Of Nowhere (February)
04. Mystery
05. Hope For Us? (July)
06. Victims
07. Broken
08. I Believe (September) [feat. James LaBrie]
09. Roads Of Thunder
10. Spoken Words
11. New World Order [feat. DC Cooper]
12. Chased
13. Ghost Of A Chance (November)
14. Christmas Day

Some albums define genres. 1998's Tyranny is one of them. Without ever having a chance at contending with bands like Dream Theater in terms of popularity over the years, Shadow Gallery have marked the ages with several cult albums in the field of progressive metal. Tyranny is a deeply political concept album, with themes including the nature of war and the military-industrial complex. It is awesome in so many levels.

The album kicks things off in style with the intro "Stiletto in the Sand" leading right into "War for Sale", a duo of tracks very much written to put a stamp on their sound as prog power. Yet there is an inherent radio rock vibe to most of the songs that may divide listeners. If you are old enough to remember this time when progressive metal was starting to be a thing, well, Tyranny already has a special place in your heart.

The album features the classic lineup of Mike Baker (R.I.P.) on vocals, Gary Wehrkamp and Brendt Allman on guitars, Carl Cadden-James on bass guitar, Joe Nevolo on drums and Chris Ingles on keyboards. The result is indeed one of those genre-defining albums. Tyranny is an endless source of inspiration for generations of bands still to come. The musicianship is impressive, execution is flawless and all songs are intriguing. Did I mention Mike Baker was also one of the finest vocalists to grace music?

Overall, the magic of this album is encapsulated by songs with the power to move you like "Victims", "Broken", "I Believe" and "Spoken Words". A couple of featured appearances add another dimension to the album; James LaBrie (Dream Theater) pitches in on "I Believe" while DC Cooper (Royal Hunt) rocks the more traditional heavy metal track called "New World Order".

Shadow Gallery with their classic lineup deliver quite a performance. For most critics, Tyranny remains to this day their best effort to date. So many songs are exemplary by their structure and intrinsic beauty.