PATHOSRAY - review added 27th May 2009
Album Review: Sunless Skies (2009)
For fans of: Prog Metal... and much unexpected weirdness
My my, this is an interesting one! There's a real mix of tracks on Sunless Skies, but I suppose we shouldn't moan seeing as we normally complain there isn't enough variety on most records...
Debauchery's Rockers and War album was pretty mental with it's half and half approach (one half death metal, the other half rock 'n' roll). Pathosray have taken a similar approach with heavy metal, prog rock and... Ibiza chill out music. But instead of doing the album half and half style, they've thrown the constituents in a big melting pot and ended with a big intertwined potpourri.
First time you hear the album you start off thinking "Wow!", then by the end your opinion has changed to "Huh?" Sunless Skies doesn't end at all how you'd expect it to (after hearing the first few tracks), and the bits in the middle can be confusing too. But... with time, the nuances of the recording start to come through and (most of it) makes perfect sense.
The album commences with 'Crown Of Thorns', a ridiculously heavy prog-influenced riff-tastic song with a huge wall of sound. It's a great track with abundant melodious snippets and numerous layers of grinding heaviness and proggy trickery. The vocals sound not a million miles away from John Bush in his Anthrax days. The 2nd track 'Behind The Shadows' is a glorious keyboard/guitar duel, again with plenty of heaviness. It isn't up there with the first in terms of raw ferocity, but its mellower take on metal is just as pleasant. The crystal clear vocal delivery is particular worthy of note. Marco Sandron, when he isn't impersonating John Bush, is definitely from the Joe Lynn Turner school of singers - he doesn't have tonnes of character but more than makes up for it with bags of power and a near-flawless tone.
'Aurora' is an aggressive yet harmonious track with a charismatic Gianpaolo Rinaldi keyboard tune laid over the top. Alessio Velliscig's guitar solo 2/3 of the way through is highly impressive, but his real gift is the consistently heavy yet tuneful riffage he brings to the table. The title track is so 'progressive' you could use it to fend off wolves. The whirlwind of vocals, keyboards, strings, drums and heaven knows what else weaves and winds its way through all manner of peaks and troughs. It never loses control of itself and becomes obnoxiously self indulgent which is good because that's an easy boundary to cross.
'Sons Of The Sunless Sky' starts off like a vague communication to a distant spaceship, but soon builds into a lolloping behemoth of a track with hints of Mastodon, Killswitch Engage and Dream Theater. The references in the music are utterly and brilliantly diverse although, as stated earlier, it can all be confusing if you aren't expecting it. 'The Coldest Lullaby' is a compelling track with appealing female vocals performed by Italian vocalist Klaaire. Wouldn't mind hearing an album by her... she's rather splendid!
'Perpetual Eclipse' is a near-instrumental warm-up for the 8 min+ epic 'Poltergeist'. Silvia Marchesan takes over the female vocal role for the two songs and does her best Clare Torry (Pink Floyd - 'The Great Gig In The Sky') impression. The controlled screaming during the instrumental and at the end of the 'big one' are massively atmospheric but the influences are a little too cheesily obvious.
Sunless Skies is a vast release and a fine addition to this year's growing great-prog ranks. It may be a tad heavy for some prog fans, and a tad proggy for some metal fans. It may be a little bit bonkers for most other music fans... Go into it with an open mind and you'll find something fairly amazing. There are few stand out moments, but the production and performances are all off the scale. As far as technically brilliant releases go, this is the daddy.
Check out... The musicianship. All very impressive.
Track List:
