Disappointing follow-up
R. Gardner | Maricopa, AZ | 06/23/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"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."
Not as Good
Michael J. Mathes | 10/16/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"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"."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1