Pathosray Sunless Skies
by Justain Gaines
Staff Writer
Newly signed to the Frontiers label and fresh from a breakout performance at 2008’s ProgPower USA festival, Italian progressive metal band Pathosray is back with Sunless Skies, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to their 2007 self-titled debut.
Of course, the bigger names in the Italian progressive metal scene are Vision Divine and Labyrinth, and Pathosray’s debut was all the more noteworthy for not sounding like a carbon copy of either band. Instead, they developed a sound that was as melody-oriented as it was technically progressive. This approach helped generate interest from melodic rock circles as well as the traditional progressive metal fan base.
Unfortunately, Sunless Skies does not quite live up to the quality level of the band’s debut. Instead of carving their own path, Pathosray seems content to follow the Dream Theater model, emphasizing technicality and a more modern overall sound. There also are more aggressive elements on Sunless Skies. In particular, at times, it sounds as though vocalist Marco Sandron is trying a bit too hard to emulate Evergrey’s Tom Englund that just doesn’t suit his voice. None of this is a slight against the band’s considerable talents. If anything, the musicianship is better on Sunless Skies (it’s certainly more proggy) than it was on the debut, and the vocals remain (mostly) impressive.
So what exactly is missing from Sunless Skies? In a word – melody. Maybe the band felt it had to up the aggression factor or focus more on technical instrumentation, but the end result was to decrease the amount of melody – the very element that made the first Pathosray album stand out from the very crowded progressive metal pack. It’s not surprising that Sunless Skies’ best tracks are the more melodic songs at the heart of the album like “In Your Arms,” “Sons of the Sunless Sky,” and “The Coldest Lullaby.” The female vocals definitely help the latter in terms of melody.
On its own merits, Sunless Skies is a perfectly solid progressive metal album with all the requisite boxes checked. However, compared to the debut album, Sunless Skies feels like a step in the wrong direction. Pathosray is still a very talented band that bears watching, but this isn’t likely to be considered their crowning achievement.
Online: www.pathosray.com
Lineup:
Fabio D’Amore – Bass
Marco Sandron – Vocals
Alessio Velliscig – Guitar
Gianpaolo Rinaldi – Keyboards
Ivan Moni Bidin – Druma
Track Listing:
1. Crown of Thorns
2. Behind the Shadows
3. Aurora
4. Quantic Enigma
5. In Your Arms
6. Sons of the Sunless Sky
7. The Coldest Lullaby
8. Perpetual Eclipse (Interludium)
9. Poltergeist
10. For the Last Time
HRH Rating: 6/10