If you are looking for a word to describe SHADES OF GRAY, good luck. There are probably a thousand things you can say about the band. There influences are too many to mention. From the classical compositions of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven to the classic rock of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC; their music has it all, and a little more. This eclectic range of musical influences, combined with the creativeness of each member has resulted in the creation of a unique sound which could best be described as a blend of metal and hard rock with psychedelic passages in a progressive rock format.

But to understand the music, you need to know the guys in the band and their diverse influences. The band is the brain child of Nedy "El Negro" Caraballo (bass guitar, violin, viola, arrangements) and José "Joey" Guzmán (lead guitar, rhythm and acoustic guitars, arrangements), who got together on February 2002 and created the core of what eventually became SOG. With Juan Carlos Saadé on drums they composed the original version of the instrumental SPACE AND TIME and part of what eventually became REIGN OF ELEMENTS. However, this lineup didn't last. They tried their luck with a female singer, who was quickly replaced by Ritamar "Rita" Siurano, and a rhythm guitarist, who also left very quickly to be replaced by Gabriel "Gaby" Santiago. In the midst of all this lineup changes, drummer Aníbal "TIME" Rosario joined, to complete the important rhythm section with his second cousin, Nedy. The latest musician to join the band was Juan Pastrana who is the keyboard player they've been searching for since the beginning. The band started out with the name Leana's Dragon, referring to the dragons that control dreams. They changed the name to Untold, but that name did not stuck. Instead Aníbal came up with the name Shades of Gray, which contrary to popular belief did not come from the name of the Staind album 14 Shades of Gray, but from the 12 part progressive composition by Fates Warning called A Pleasant Shade of Gray.

The Animal says that the name Shades of Gray reflects the musical and lyrical direction of the band, never white and pure, but never too dark either; instead it's always some kind of shade of gray. The band has been working on new arrangements to songs like VAMPIRE INSIDE ME, IT HASN'T SUNKED IN, and the previous two songs mentioned, since Gaby left the band in early 2005. They've also been working on new material like the songs SHADOWS AND MIST, WOLF AND PREY (FALLS THE NIGHT), SACRED EYES, and FAIRY DUST. They're also known for covering songs like Dream Theater's HOME, Pink Floyd's ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL PART 2, Iron Maiden's FEAR IN THE DARK, amongst others.

But their musical influences go way beyond what we have mentioned. Their primary influences are Dream Theater, Symphony X, Rhapsody, and Nightwish, but bands like Rush, Metallica, Megadeth, Joe Satriani, Mattias "IA" Eklund, Steve Vai, and Pantera are also important influences to the band. Combining this rock, metal, and progressive influences with their special interest for jazz musician's like Jaco Pastorius, Miles Davis, Dave Weckl, Buddy Rich, jazz fusion greats like The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Al DiMeola, and modern fusion projects like Liquid Tension Experiment and Phish, and of course the classic compositions by J.S. Bach, J. Sibelius, W.A. Mozart, L.V. Beethoven, Tharkovski and Villalobo, they've created the musical oddity that is SOG.

From rapid fired riffs, to complicated and sophisticated sections and solos; from complex lyrics to beautiful melodies, they have it all.