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''Room V'' is the fifth
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by the
progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...
group
Shadow Gallery :''The Shadow Gallery is also the name of the home of the protagonist in the graphic novel V for Vendetta.'' Shadow Gallery is an American progressive metal band formed in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania during the early 1980s. It was originall ...
, released in 2005 (see
2005 in music 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on each ...
). It continues the story started in ''
Tyranny A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...
'', picking up after Tyranny's Act II. It is the band's first album not featuring longtime keyboardist Chris Ingles, although he did have input in the album's writing process before his departure. It is also their last album to feature longtime lead vocalist Mike Baker, who died of a heart attack in 2008. The cover art was done by Rainer Kalwitz, who also did the art for ''Tyranny''.Kalwitz, Rainer
link
''
DeviantArt DeviantArt (historically stylized as deviantART) is an American online art community that features artwork, videography and photography, launched on August 7, 2000 by Angelo Sotira, Scott Jarkoff, and Matthew Stephens among others. DeviantArt ...
'', 2005. Retrieved December 3, 2013.


Track listing

All titles and song lengths taken from the ''Room V'' liner notes. * The bonus disc also includes amultimedia segment titled ''The Story of Room V'' that can be accessed on a computer's CD ROM. * The track "Joe's Spotlight" is a drum solo performed by Joe Nevolo. * The track "She Wants to Go Home" is an instrumental track. * The track "Floydian Memories" is a big medley composed by
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...
songs extracts, though some parts are not: ** The song segment named "Tienneman's Square" and the sung part "And I grief for my sister" fragment is from
Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...
's solo album
Amused to Death ''Amused to Death'' is the third studio album by English musician Roger Waters, released 7 September 1992 on Columbia. Produced by Waters and Patrick Leonard, it is mixed in QSound to enhance its spatial feel. The album features Jeff Beck on ...
, track "Watching TV". ** The section "Baby Lemonade" is a song composed by an ex-Pink Floyd member,
Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
.


Plot


Manhunt

This is an
instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instr ...
track. The story begins where it was left off. Eight hours later, the Man is still running and hiding from the government and searching for his "lover". This song is as fast as the song "Chased" from ''Tyranny''. The fourth quarter of the song resurrects the piano melody from "Christmas Day", as the time is still Christmas. "Manhunt" ends with a calmed section like "Chased".


Comfort Me

At last, the Man joins his lover (portrayed, again, by Laura Jaeger). Both are tired of running and hiding, but they realize how comfortable and safe they feel when they're together, and believe their. So, they promise one another to be always together.


The Andromeda Strain

Her journal reveals her past. She was previously working on a cure for a weaponized version of
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...
. She used her own DNA to create a
serum Serum may refer to: *Serum (blood), plasma from which the clotting proteins have been removed **Antiserum, blood serum with specific antibodies for passive immunity * Serous fluid, any clear bodily fluid * Truth serum, a drug that is likely to mak ...
that can cure it. However, she stumbled on evidence that her employer wanted to cause a small outbreak of the disease to drive up demand for the serum before they release it. She stole the formula, sabotaged her work and ran away from them, putting her in the situation she was in at the start of ''Tyranny''. The title of this track is a clear reference to the book
The Andromeda Strain ''The Andromeda Strain'' is a 1969 techno-thriller novel by Michael Crichton, his first novel under his own name and his sixth novel overall. It is written as a report documenting the efforts of a team of scientists investigating the outbreak of ...
, although it is not based on the book itself.


Vow

Soon the Man proposes to her, and the two get married, hoping to forget their past lives.


Birth of a Daughter

This is the second instrumental track and, as its title implies, the Woman has given birth to a daughter named Alaska. The song builds towards a brief moment of calm, happy ambience as Alaska is born.


Death of a Mother

This is the third instrumental, and the sequel to the previous track. It opens with a sudden mood change from happy to dark, and the sound of a heart monitor which soon flatlines, leading into a chaotic instrumental that ends with wrenching guitar solos. As its title points, the Woman has died in childbirth, leaving the Man alone with his daughter.


Lamentia

The Man is broken, as his wife promised she would never leave during "Comfort Me", but she left so soon. The vocal arrangement is identical to "Comfort Me" as the Man remembers this broken promise. He claims that she is in the hands of
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
, while he must live in this world.


Seven Years

This is the fourth instrumental, and as its title indicates, seven years have passed since the Woman's death. The Man's daughter has grown healthy. The mood is lush and innocent.


Dark

This is the fifth and final instrumental. The peaceful life of the Man changes as a shattering window and a very high pitched scream is heard. Beside the scream, it can be heard that the word "daddy" is shouted twice. The remainder of the piece is dark ambience.


Torn

The Man enters the room, only to find out that Alaska was kidnapped, and all of his emotions are let loose. He says he never heard the scream, and starts to curse the kidnappers. He wonders himself if he can ever escape from his past. Although he knows it is likely that the culprit is the New World Order, who would have staged the kidnapping to draw the Man out, his daughter is the only thing that matters in his life now.


The Archer of Ben Salem

In the early morning the Man heads out into the forest determined to bring Alaska back alive, but he sees a soldier with a crossbow aimed at him. The Archer (portrayed by
Carl Cadden-James Carl may refer to: * Carl, Georgia, city in USA * Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name * Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of ...
), from a special
U.S. Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...
segment fighting the New World Order (who chased the Man previously on ''Tyranny''), has come with news. He reveals that the smallpox virus is in the wrong hands, and that they have tried to recreate the serum, but they haven't achieved it. So the Archer reveals that he also carries the same rare blood his wife had, implying Alaska has this blood too, and that her blood is essential to create a
vaccine A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified. ...
. The Archer also reveals that the Man's wife didn't die naturally, but she was killed by
Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...
, the Intelligence from Israel, to steal blood from her (from the baby; they stole some blood from the Woman's womb). The Archer discloses that the New World Order organization is behind all this, and that U.S. Special Forces have a key mission for the Man to perform.


Encrypted

The Archer takes the Man to a well hidden town, to the back room of a library. Here the Man works on the serum, shaping encrypted lines, as the Archer stands guard. It is here that he discovers that the NWO is planning to unleash the plague, and sell the serums to those fortunate enough to pay the high fees for it. When the Man has finished, a scientist takes the disc and nods his head. It is also revealed that the codeword and keyword for the serum are "Room V" and "Tyranny" respectively; the Man uses this information to organize a resistance.


Room V

The Man forms a band of six members, which are actually Shadow Gallery themselves (in an act of breaking the
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cent ...
), and it is implied that Mike Baker is equivalent to the Man. They write the serum key into ''Tyranny'' and ''Room V'', knowing that because of Shadow Gallery's underground status, they can deliver the serum to the world without the New World Order knowing about it. A brief binary code is listed in the album booklet to the left of the song lyrics. The listeners are urged to join the resistance themselves by supporting Shadow Gallery. A five-minute jam session ends the song and fades into the sound of rain.


Rain

As the Man has finished his work with the U.S. Special Forces, he continues to search for his lost daughter within the woods of Alaska. His entire mission may have saved the world, but it also has destroyed everything he has ever lived for – hence the metaphor "''Their antidote is poison''". He is tired of this world and this life, and begs to his dead wife for her shelter. It is implied that the Man may have died at the end, but his ultimate fate and that of Alaska's is left open-ended.


Personnel

All credits taken from the ''Room V'' liner notes. Shadow Gallery *
Carl Cadden-James Carl may refer to: * Carl, Georgia, city in USA * Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name * Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of ...
-
Bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...
, backing vocals, Archer on "The Archer of Ben Salem", flute *
Brendt Allman :''The Shadow Gallery is also the name of the home of the protagonist in the graphic novel V for Vendetta.'' Shadow Gallery is an American progressive metal band formed in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania during the early 1980s. It was originally ...
-
Acoustic Acoustic may refer to: Music Albums * ''Acoustic'' (Above & Beyond album), 2014 * ''Acoustic'' (Deine Lakaien album), 2007 * ''Acoustic'' (Everything but the Girl album), 1992 * ''Acoustic'' (John Lennon album), 2004 * ''Acoustic'' (Love Amo ...
and
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...
s, Vocals *
Gary Wehrkamp Gary Wehrkamp (born May 11, 1970 in Butler, New Jersey) is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He is most notably a member of the American progressive rock band Shadow Gallery. Biography Career Early Years Wehrkamp made his foray ...
- Guitars,
keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
, backing vocals * Joe Nevolo - Drums and
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
* Mike Baker -
lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...
Additional musicians * Laura Jaeger - vocals on "Comfort Me" * Libby Molnar - part of Alaska on "Dark" *
Mark Zonder Warlord was an American heavy metal band, formed in 1980 and based in Los Angeles, California. Since its formation the band was led by guitarist William J Tsamis and drummer Mark Zonder. History Early years Warlord is the brainchild of gui ...
- drums on "One in the Crowd" and a portion of "Floydian Memories" *
Arjen Lucassen Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960) is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer best known for his long-running progressive metal/rock opera project Ayreon. Lucassen started his career in 1980 as the ...
- vocals throughout "Floydian Memories"; guitar solo in "Seven Years" and in the extract "Shining On" * Jim Roberti - vocals throughout "Floydian Memories" * Joe Stone - first guitar solo on "The Archer of Ben Salem"


References

{{Authority control Shadow Gallery albums 2005 albums Rock operas Concept albums Inside Out Music albums