Pastore was formed in 2007 out of Brazil, by Mario Pastore (vocals) and Raphael Gazal (guitars), the other members being Aléxis Gallucci (bass) and Fabio Buitvidas (drums). Mario Pastore Astorg, born January 18th 1968, is notably a vocal instructor, and that said, his vocals are representative of that superbly throughout. This is their sophomore release, their debut release entitled, “The Price for the Human Sins” in 2010 was released to high praise.
From the start one is thrown into the excitement and energy of the album. The flame fueled guitar riff’s, the driving bass, and the nitrous packed drumming carried by Rob Halford type vocals sung by Mario Pastore are all elements for a great heavy metal album. Each song has an excellent composition and echoes of great classic metal influence brought to strength by skillful musicianship with a modern edge. Musically bands such as Iron Maiden and Judus Priest spring immediately to mind, and it’s that classical metal sound that gives this album that timeless feel. They are not re-inventing anything new here, but their musical prowess and skill capitalize well on this brand of sound.
Title track, “The End Of Our Flames” sets the foundation of the album nicely. The vocals are the highlight through out and are supported fantastically by excellent guitar playing and loads of great drumming. “Night and day”, has a great intro and the song carries well, utilizing the great classical reference points of metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Halloween.
You can hear Mario Pastore is a trained vocal virtuoso, and the imprint of that is echoed throughout the album as he sings with articulate ease utilizing his broad vocal range and carries most of the weight in the overall strength of the album . “Fool”, another riff laden adventure, follows into the landscape of those classic metal bands like Dio and Queensryche , rejuvenating an era of some of the most iconic metal bands ever. “Brutal Storm” is one of my favorites, his Halford / Dickinson type vocals driven by the rip it up guitar shredding, a great lead guitar solo and phenomenal drumming all culminate into a brilliant head banging symphony.
All the songs have a strong force fuelled punch to them, and songs that illustrate that this best are “Empty world”, “Brings to me Peace” and the closing song “The world is falling”.
Conclusion: The solid backbone of the album is their ability to play well together. There is a captivating appeal to their music as they engage the listener with ability to infuse traditional metal trademarks in to the modern metal spectrum in creating a sound that effectively is ageless. Each track oozes confidence and competency. It’s an album that should find itself well amongst the traditionalist metal fans.
Written by Donovan de Necker
Rating 9/10
Band Members:
Mario Pastore – Vocals
Raphael Gazal – Guitar
Aléxis Gallucci – Bass
Fabio Buitvidas – Drums
Track listing:
01. The End Of Our Flames
02. Night And Day
03. Brutal Storm
04. Fools
05. Empty World
06. Liar
07. When The Sun Rises
08. Envy
09. Unreal Messages
10. Bring To Me Peace
11. The World Is Falling
Discography:
Promo Single [Single,2008]
The Price For The Human Sins [Full lenght, 2010]
The End Of Our Flames [Full Lenght, 2012]
Record Label: Inner Wound Recordings, Oct. 2012