SHADOW GALLERY INTERVIEW |
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US band SHADOW GALLERY has got to be one of the most important Progressive Metal bands throughout the last ten years. They for sure rank up there with Dream Theater, Queensryche, Psychotic Waltz and Fates Warning as the top-of-the-cream in prog metal. Their new disc, "Room V", is another breathtaking slab of progressive metal that should belong in the collection of all fans of the genre. We of course had to conduct a little interview with guitarist Brendt Allmann.
Interview by Lars F. Larsen |
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1. First up...congrats on yet another incredible album. It's going to receive 4½ / 5 points in my ratings.
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"Awesome - thank you very, very much."
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2. So, "Room V" is a continuation of the story from "Tyranny". What happens now in the story in short...and why make an album in between 2 concept albums that belongs together??
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"Well, Tyranny was very exhausting for us, emotionally, physically...spiritually - it took a lot out of me personally. I don't think any of us wanted to even think about doing another concept record after that was finished. The time was right for us to continue it at this point, which we'd always considered doing. The story takes up about 8 hours after Tyranny ends, where the two main characters from that story finally meet. What they don't know is that they were not forgotten - the female character has a pretty interesting background, which helps tie the two records together pretty well and fuels the story of this record. It's a very scary concept to me personally, what she's done...what she's trying to prevent. I don't want to give much more than that away."
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3. Did you record in a real studio with a producer or did you record everything at "home" and had somebody mix the final stuff, as a lot of musicians today are doing?
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"We have our own studios, where a majority of the recordings were made. Some of the music was recorded at a large commercial studio in Bethlehem, PA as well."
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4. How long time did you spend in the studio (if you were in a studio)?
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"I'd say we spent close to 8 months or so recording and another 8 months or so doing the demos and pre-production stuff."
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5. Who are the main composers in the band, and what way do you work together (rehearsal room jams or making CD-r's for each other with finished ideas)?
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"We have no set way of writing together. Typically, there'll be no more than two of us writing together , in the same room, at the same time. Any more than that, then the songs become too difficult to visualize. Next to none of our music is a result of a "jam session". Someone will start something and in most cases, leave room for others to add their ideas in as well, so long as the spirit of the song and what it's meant to be, are kept in tact. The main music composers are myself, Gary and Chris..but not always in that order ;)
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6. How come that on "Legacy", Gary Wehrkamp wrote most of the music, when all your other albums have been mainly written by you and Chris Ingles?
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"Gary had the strongest material at the time. Now, I can only speak for myself here, but I was quite burned out after writing/recording Tyranny. I didn't even pick up a guitar for at least a year after that was over... I just locked them away in my closet.. didn't even want to hear a song that was remotely "progressive" in nature. So, I was just getting back into music when the writing phase of Legacy began, as such, my contributions to that record were minimal from a writing standpoint. That said, some of my favorite Shadow Gallery songs are on that record...and I'm very proud to have been a part of it."
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7. I'd like you to comment on Mike's voice and to this quote from my review of the album, as a lot of critics have been bashing him for not being interesting as a lead singer (I strongly disagree): "One of the things that make the vocals so extremely worthwhile listening to is the fact that Mike Baker never does anything that he doesn't seem to be able to handle. It makes his voice sound like this smooth creamy surface on top of a roaring beast underneath, being the unique patterns of music, and he stands out as one of the top 3 front-men in the progressive world of today".
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"I'd say Mike does what he does... I mean, the way he sounds or sings seems to come fairly natural to him. Now, we push him, just like we push anyone else in the band to do their very best. Vocals are personal to everyone...because everyone has a voice...it's an easy instrument to understand, unlike the guitar for example - not everyone can play the guitar or understands how difficult a certain passage might be to play, but everyone understands that a high or low note might be hard to hit vocally (because they secretly try it in the car on the way to work or shower ). What I'm trying to say here, is that everyone has their opinion on what constitutes a great singer. To make my point, I know people who hate the way Freddy Mercury sounds (??!!??) which I'll never understand...everyone has their own opinion."
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8. Did Chris Ingles leave the band? He's still on your website, but doesn't appear on the line-up of the info sheet I have?
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"Chris and I wrote a lot of music together on this record, but he decided to take a break from the music business during the recording phase of this record. I certainly understand and respect that. I plan on writing as much music as I can with him in the future and there's no reason I can think of to not want him to participate in the recordings of said music in the future. He's like my brother and I love him."
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9. What is the main difference between being on Magna Carta that has a pretty bad reputation, and going to InsideOut that is well known for its very serious and band-care-taking attitude?
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"It's great...while I appreciate and am thankful for everything we had with Magna Carta, the time was right for a change. We also heard very good things about the people who run Inside Out and the company as a whole."
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10. Touring finally???? WE are a LOT of people who'd pay a LOT of money to see 11/2 hours of SG live ... festivals maybe (the Progpower festival in Atlanta is the perfect setting)? With the support of InsideOut, it must be possible?
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"If it's financially possible for us, it's certainly physically possible for us. It's a matter of being able to pay our bills and feed our families."
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11. DID you ever play live?
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"Not as an "entire" band, but Chris and Gary and I have played together a few times, but not under the Shadow Gallery name. Before we became Shadow Gallery, that's all that the band did ( play live ). As individuals, we've all had that in our past..."
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12. "Tyranny" was my first encounter with SG at a time where absolutely no people in Denmark knew about the band, except for the hardcore Progmetal journalists. Nowadays, everyone seems to know the band, at least by name. Have you thought about the fact that you could have been a very big act today, if you had toured ... at the same level of Symphony X or even bigger, since you also appeal to the rock audience?
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"That's crossed my mind. At this point in my life, I can't look back and think "what if". We never had the proper financial backing to quit our jobs and devote ourselves to Shadow Gallery full time in the past. It's taken a long time, but I've finally come to peace with that fact. What the future holds is yet to be seen. I'd certainly LOVE to devote myself to Shadow Gallery full time and that may be a reality in the future. At this point in my life, I feel lucky just to have a connection with any audience in any form. GOD gave us the ability to do what we do and I feel honored that anyone would listen in any capacity."
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13. Are you educated musicians or is it all self taught? I mean - you play progmetal like you have never done anything else...
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"Theoretically speaking, yes, well educated. There's many a time when we'd try and stump each other, with silly theory questions or "problems". That said, it's an art to know when to forget all that stuff once it's ingrained in your head."
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14. What do you do beside music (job)?
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"I'm an engineer and a graphic artist. I also do the occasional studio gig for extra cash :) As a hobby, I'm fairly into my guns and building PC's."
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15. What are your musical preferences. What did you listen to yourself when you were in the age where you were musically influenced the most?
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"When I was younger, it was a lot of Metal - Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica..stuff like that. When I got serious about playing the guitar, around the same time I first heard Yngwie Malmsteen, I totally got into Al DiMeola, Frank Gambale and all the jazz fusion guys as well. They were huge influences on my playing. Actually, Jason Becker's "Perpetual Burn" record is one of my huge influences...I still get excited every time I hear it. When I hit my late teens, I began listening to a lot of Yes and Kansas...I just love Kansas....amazing song writers. Oddly, unlike the rest of the band, I never really got into Rush...and I don't know why! At this point in my life, I'm mostly just into female singer/songwriters and pretty heavily into Jazz...but I still enjoy the occasional head banging moment. The new NIN record is pretty great. I just saw them in Philly last week."
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16. What do you like to do in your spare-time, apart from rehearsing on your instruments?
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"I do a lot of art, lots of graphic art, photography...anything where I'm able to express myself visually. I'm an OK artist, I'm not great or anything...and it takes me a while to do what I do, so I'm not real proficient at it, but I enjoy the hell out of it. I was lucky enough to do the CD booklet art for Room V and had a blast doing it. Outside of that, I play a lot of First Person Shooter games on the PC...I'm pretty addicted to that :) And I love to shoot my handguns and rifles and such as well."
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17. Is there a special point to the total change of image on all the albums?
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"Not really...the image changes have more to do with the sound of the records I guess. That and that fact that it's fun to see changes, at least for us."
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18. Do you feel that you have closed a circle, by returning to progressive rock that the debut album sounded like?
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"Actually, I see it as a winding road, one that I hope never ends, but when it does, will have shown me one hell of a good time. The debut represents my youth to me...Room V represents experience and age. Sonically, they're totally different from each other, but they still sound like the same band. I'm fairly proud of that."
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19. I'd like to ask you about your favourite beer?
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"Guinness, of course! Ah Good old Guinness....now I'm thirsty."
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20. If there's anything you'd like to add, here's the chance:
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"I'd like to offer a huge handshake to those that have purchased our records over the years. We've had a blast making them and are thrilled at all the responses we've gotten over the years. It's been 15 years for me in this band and it really feels like we just started doing this yesterday. What a fun trip it's been so far ... but we're just getting started, seriously."
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21. Hope to see you soon on stage.
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"That makes two of us Mate ... Peace - Brendt Allman"
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