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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is Shadow Gallery's 4th album. The album is produced by former Queensryche producer Neil Kernon. Now let's look at the songs...:
1. CliffHanger2 (Hang On / The Crusher) : First part of this song is the sequel to Cliffhanger song on "Carved In Stone" in album, it borrows some melodies and riffs from Cliffhanger song. A good opener. 2nd part "the crusher" is a fast and heavy instrumental.
2. Destination Unknown: This is one of the softer songs on the album. It begins with piano and Mike Baker's vocals. And it gets faster in the middle and then ends with a charming female back vocal.
3. Color: This one is similiar to 2nd song. This song is also piano and melody oriented.
4. Society Of Mind: This song gives a social message like the songs found in "Tyranny" album. It is a radio friendly song, I guess this should be a single. It mentions school shoot-outs, youth going bad.
5. Legacy: Title song is also heavier like "Society Of Mind"..Lyrically it sets the atmosphere for "First Light"
6. First Light: The great epic song of this album. It is over 34 minutes!!!...I want to call this song as "21st Century Space Odyysey" of progressive/rock metal. "First Light" has everything that you can ask from an epic song. Slow parts, orchestra, faster parts, poetic lyrics. The reason why I am calling this song as "21st Century Space Odyysey" is that the lyrics are about a man looking for a new planet to live for mankind who left a dying world behind. After 24 minutes you may think that songs has ended..But wait, after 3-4 minutes of silence song resumes a piano/orchestral part...
Conclusion; I think this album is one of the best progressive rock/metal albums of 2001 and Shadow Gallery's best release up to now...Recommended
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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36 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
I think I've put my finger on it--or in it
28 April 2001
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've given this album a chance, but it just doesn't set my boxers on fire. I think the problem here for many people is that this CD isn't really progressive--it's more of a lengthy classical-rock album where most of the songs could have been cut down to four minutes without any decrease in quality. There aren't many wild style changes-this is straightforward, classical-tinged rock. When I saw that there was a thirty minute opus here, I was thrilled. I expected something very exciting and inventive. I was disappointed to find out "First Light" was mid-tempo throughout, with very little stiumlating music involved. Just when I thought it would rev up and get crazy, it slowed down. The choruses are bland and the solo work (guitar and keyboard) are lackluster. And the six-plus minutes of studio noise followed by an unnecessary orchestral section are a fatal shot in the foot (think gangrene). I wish Shadow Gallery could respond to this, because I'd like to know what they were thinking. It's almost painful to write this, because I loved "Tyranny" and "Carved in Stone". "Tyranny" is one of the best CD's of the decade. Why then did Shadow Gallery fall back a step? It seems like an average effort disguised as something big and special. Who knows, maybe the problem lies with the listener--there are so many brilliant prog bands out there that maybe I've come to expect too much. Obviously these guys are incredibly talented with unmapped potential. But "Legacy" harkens back to the days when they released their debut and were still finding their own sound. One last thought: what makes "Tyranny" so inspired is that the lyrics complement the music for more emotional impact. Here the lyrics don't say a thing to me. Especially "Society of the Mind"--to me, these are not deep lyrics. One or two sentences about Prozac or Ritalin doesn't constitute a profound message. Maybe an entire song exploring the impact of "Quake" and antidepressants?? Otherwise, this "pushing the buttons" doesn't elicit much of a response. It's undeveloped.
Oh, oh, the end of "First Light" is playing, reminding me of Vangelis. Please, guys, keep making the fantastic music of previous albums. There are flashes of brilliance on "Legacy", but they're smothered under layers of flab.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Good, but not Tyranny
15 April 2001
Format:Audio CD
I first heard Shadow Gallery about two years ago when I picked up Tyranny. It completely blew me away!! I was brought up listening to Rush, ELP and Yes. Over time, I've developed a love and admiration for bands like Dream Theater, Queensryche, Marillion and Fates Warning. Shadow Gallery ranks right up there. Legacy continues to show the skill of these incredible musicians, but it's not Tyranny. The instrumental sections are very long, and there's not much happening when you consider some of their older material. My personal favorites on the record are Colors, and the first ten minutes of "First Light." Also, the tremendous vocal melodies from the last record are just not here. They attempt it, but it does not have the same effect. A good record, but SG is going down, not up.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Good album--yet something is missing.
4 May 2001
Format:Audio CD
I'm not sure what I was expecting with Legacy, Shadow Gallery's fourth release. Legacy smells like Shadow Gallery, looks like Shadow Gallery and sounds like Shadow Gallery--but is it Shadow Gallery?
Well, yeah, it is. But the things I love most about this band have been perverted or put aside. Shadow Gallery's beautiful vocal melodies--which have always bordered on sappy--are too sappy here. The instrumentals--which were tasteful on the last two albums--seemed to have regressed to what they were on SG's debut disc; the instrumentals on Legacy are excessive and too over-the-top for my tastes. And the lyrics seem rather mundane as they are almost a parody of the lyrics found on Tyranny and Carved in Stone.
I'm not knocking the band for this release--it is a good album. It just seems that the boundaries pushed on previous SG albums weren't pushed here. There isn't a progression from Tyranny. In fact, this album seems regressive as it apes SG's debut and sophomore releases quite effectively. Legacy is basically a cross between the debut and Carved in Stone. Not a bad thing, really. But what happened to the progression, the evolution that was Tyranny? No, I wasn't expecting Tyranny II. Too many fans fall into that trap. But I was expecting Tyranny's son, grandson of Carved in Stone. Instead, I get the inbred child of the debut and Carved in Stone: A cute enough guy, but he's a bit dull--if you take my meaning.
Still, if you're a Shadow Gallery fan, this is a good album. "Cliffhanger 2" is a great song, even though the second half of the song is excessive. "Destination Unknown" and "Colors" are good, but a bit too sappy in the vocal melody department. "Legacy" and "Society of the Mind" are pretty good, but they suffer from being too bland and generic.
Still, I like Legacy well enough.
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