Customer Reviews

Sunless Skies

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album gets alot of slack because of the debut...this album is more heavy and less progressive than the last, but can you complain about a progressive band being progressive and testing new territories on each release? would everyone have loved it if they had done the exact same thing a 2nd time, or would the critics be out in force? enough on that, if you love progressive metal, you'll love Pathosray, Heavy guitars, pounding drums intricate song structures, keyboards, and one of the best vocalists in the genre...every track is a standout with above average song writing and hooks that stick with you after the first listen...a great band if you don't mind the heavier side or progressive rock/metal...and the 18 minute long songs are just too much...

I purchased this CD with a bit of hesitation after reading the reviews - and was completely blown away after listening to it for the first time. And it got better every time thereafter!! Yes, there aren't as many prog elements as some listeners may wish but then again there is no overindulgence in long-winded instrumental sessions. That said, you'll be hard-pressed to find another band, just based on this CD, that offers so much variety and melody. The arrangements are to the point but never overdone, the keyboards play a significant role but don't overwhelm or dominate the music in any way. They primarily underline the melodic setup. In general, the musicianship is way beyond reproach, a very talented singer, excellent drums, very nice guitarwork, and a powerful delivery overall. Maybe a good description would be a slightly progressive and varied melodic metal album! Go buy it, you won't be sorry!

I thought I knew what to expect when listening to Sunless Skies based off their amazing debut CD, but you'll quickly realize the band had a certain vision which introduces a few new elements to the mix.

The overall sound is much thicker and feels darker mainly to match the vision and concept based off the cover art (One of my favorite covers). Marco's vocal range is still insane and the musicianship of each instrument felt strong if not stronger than the first cd. There weren't nearly as many memorable moments on this CD as their debut album though. Some of my favorites were:

- Crown of Thorns (This song matches the cover art probably the best)
- Intro to Quantic Enigma (The first 25 seconds out does the whole song)
- Sons of the Sunless Sky (easily my favorite on the cd)
- Perpetual Eclipse (was out of place on the cd but it's a nice instrumental)

My biggest problem with the CD was like the previous reviewer mentioned the absence of melody really left me with only a handful of memorable moments. It's not to say the CD is bad, but they set the bar so high for themselves previously that it does feel like the overall experience came up short.

Fresh from a breakout performance at 2008's ProgPower USA festival, Italian progressive metal band Pathosray returned in 2009 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 fanbase.

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 are also more aggressive elements on Sunless Skies. I think vocalist Marco Sandron may be trying a bit too hard to emulate Evergrey's Tom Englund at times, which 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. Compared to the debut album, however, Sunless Skies feels like a step in the wrong direction. Pathosray is still a very talented band that I plan to keep watching, but this isn't likely to be considered their crowning achievement.

Up until a few weeks ago I had never heard of this group. On a whim, I purchased their self titled debut album and was blown away. The first album was a tour de force. It brilliantly mixed bone crunching riffs, soaring vocals and melodies into a prog metal masterpiece. When I saw that they had a new album nearing release I was excited with anticipation, but upon receiving it, was thoroughly disappointed.

I like it when bands experiment and evolve their sound, but change for the sake of change is never a good thing. In fact, this release is so different from their debut I had a hard time believing it was the same band. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in this case they lost everything that made their first release so special. Sunless Skies ditches the old school 80's metal feel and adopts a more contemporary rock/metal sound. This could have worked if it wasn't for the fact that the songs are boring. There's no build up and the hooks aren't as interesting. This is an overall softer album and we see the introduction of a female vocalist on some songs. The second half of the album starts to get more interesting and Poltergeist is a clear stand out since it actually takes some chances, but by then it's too late. Sunless Skies is just too conservative and as a result isn't very memorable. By the time it was over, I had to take Pathosray (the album) for a spin to help me remember that they are capable of writing great music.

I took my time writing a review of the new Pathosray because I agree that isn't as good as the first. But after giving another listen a couple months later I can say it is a very good disc. That first was a masterpiece and was by far the best disc I heard that year. Give this one a chance again because it is very good. My favorite songs are "The Coldest Lullaby" and "Polterpeist".