The T 666
A good if derivative album.
What we have here is progressive-metal played in the most traditional style. Longer-than-usual songs, somewhat-irregular structures, extended instrumental sections and solos, prominent use of keyboards, and a heavy influence from the genre's classics. The music is well-played, with great technical proficiency and with an excellent recording.
The music is also very melodic. The band know how to incorporate subtle touches of melody in every song they play. The harmonic work is nothing out of the ordinary but it's competent. The choruses are fairly catchy, if not particularly memorable (most of them at least). Talking about the performances, without a question, the stars here are the drummer and mastermind Moni Bidin, the guitarist Luison and the keyboard player, Rinaldi. While I can't say that any of them are among the best the genre has to offer, they are skilled players and they even manage to dazzle at times throughout the album.
What's not to like about "Pathosray", the album? Probably what bothers me with this record is that the band's influences show too much through the music. I would even say that at times the group sounds like an exact replica of another. I'm talking about SYMPHONY X. If there's one band you'll be constantly reminded of while listening to this full-length is the legendary power-progressive outfit from the US. The riffing, the rhythms, the singing (Sandron sounds like a mix of FATES WARNING's Ray Alder and Sir Russell Allen from the aforementioned New Jersey band), everything is a little bit too similar to the group that gave us "The Divine Wings of Tragedy."
And the thing is, this band can do much more. That's evident in tracks like "The Sad Game", where PATHOSRAY still shows their influences but manage to mix that with original riffing that actually sounds more like CYNIC played in a traditional-progressive metal style (the entire song has some moments that remind us of Floridian metal music). That song is one of the highlights of the album, as is the great piano intro "Free of Doubt", the memorable "Faded Crystals" and the fast and heavy "Lines to Follow."
A very good band that has released a good debut album. Were it not for the too-obvious SYMPHONY X sound, I'd give "Pathosray" a solid 4-star rating. But we'll save that for next time, when I'm sure this Italian band will finally release the record we know they're capable of.