PATHOSRAY – Pathosray

Pathosray is an Italian Progressive Metal band that was formed in 2000. It has taken them seven years to get signed and put out their self-titled debut album, but what a debut this is!

The album starts with a very nice piano/keyboard intro, which sets a kind of sad mood for the first actual song on the record: “Faded Crystals.” This song continues in the same pattern as the intro, but with the entire band playing on it. The song is the heaviest song on the record, and sets the standard for the rest of the album. This is the first of many songs that really shows the stunning vocal abilities of Marco Sandron. He could be reminiscent of a mix between James LaBrie (Dream Theater) at his best and Russell Allen (Symphony X) at any time. Let it be said, and remember that you read it here first: Marco Sandron is one of the best vocalists on this planet at the current time!

“Scent Of Snow” is definitely the best song on this record. It starts slow with violins and cellos and can fool you into thinking it’s a song in a totally different genre, but suddenly Alessio Velliscig is left alone to play a heavy guitar riff and then goes extremely Metal again. Often they put in an odd-metered time structure here and there. During Sandron’s singing, the song is calm and slow like a power ballad, but as soon as it’s time for the instrumental parts, the song really reaches its climax. There are odd-metered time structures, great Progressive chord progressions, and, of course, a keyboard solo consisting of arpeggios! This song alone is a great proof of Pathosray consisting of really talented musicians.

“Sorrow Never Dies” is a slower song than the previous, and allows Sandron to experiment with his voice in a way that the rest of the songs couldn’t. Guitarist Velliscig doesn’t show off any “Petrucci-speed-skills,” but what he doesn’t show off in speed he compensates for in beautiful melodic solos. You can tell that he’s really passionate about his music because the melodic guitar solo truly reflects some strong emotions.

The only bad part on this record is the sound on the bass drum. It seems that producer Tommy Hansen (Jorn, TNT, Beyond Twilight, Helloween, Pretty Maids) basically used an EQ to find the frequency that gives the most punch in the drum, and cut all the low frequencies. It sounds kind of like the typical Black/Death Metal triggered bass drums. This can become a bit annoying if you start focusing on it, because suddenly you can’t hear anything else. However, if you can see past this, it’s really going to be worth it, because drummer Ivan Moni Bidin is one hell of a drummer! Let’s hope they’ll put more bass into the bass drum on their next record!

Pathosray is a band that really deserves a lot of credit for this amazing record. They are definitely the freshest breath of air to hit the Progressive Metal scene in years! If you like Melodic Metal and/or Progressive Metal, you should pick up this record from your nearest record store, and there is no reason whatsoever for why you shouldn’t! This is a killer album!

Pathosray:
Ivan Moni Bidin – Drums
Fabio D’Amore – Bass
Marco Sandron – Vocals
Gianpaolo Rinaldi – Keyboards
Alessio Velliscig – Guitar

Tracklist:

1. Free Of Doubt
2. Faded Crystals
3. Lines To Follow
4. Scent Of Snow
5. Sorrow Never Dies
6. The Sad Game
7. In Salicis Umbra
8. Strange Kind Of Energy
9. Emerald City