Artist: Born of Osiris
Album: Tomorrow We Die Alive
Release Date: Out now
Born of Osiris have taken something a step sideways with ‘Tomorrow We Die Alive’. Their earlier work saw them win over the hearts of the deathcore scene kids and their previous effort ‘The Discovery’ saw them win over the sceptical progressive metal scene with a serious dose of instrumental shred and unusual arrangements. ‘Tomorrow We Die Alive’ retains the shred, but it drops some of that wilfully experimental nature in the favour of more straight forward dynamics.
That may sound like a criticism but it isn’t. ‘Tomorrow We Die Alive’ is a powerful slab of modern metal. It literally heaves with syncopated rhythms, aggressive vocals, flashy passages and anthemic moments. You could argue that they deploy the same tricks over and over throughout, but they deliver them with such aplomb that it’s hard not to be convinced. I miss some of the experimentation of ‘The Discovery’ but where parts of that album- impressive though they werei meander and outstay their welcome on ‘Tomorrow We Die Alive’ the band don’t waste a single second. Every bellowing vocal, every bleeping synth and every expertly mechanical sweep pick moment is deliver with force, conviction and some seriously high production values. Born of Osiris might well be the quintessential example of a contemporary extreme metal band who can balance on the edge of the mainstream.
The only thing that ‘Tomorrow We Die Alive’ lacks in comparison to its’ predecessor is a sense of flow. Where ‘The Discovery’ was an album of a band exploring and redefining their sound, ‘Tomorrow We Die Alive’ is a collection of songs, one after the other, that lack the sense of purpose and the sense of event that made previous work so appealing. So the worst thing you can say about ‘Tomorrow We Die Alive’, other than the occasionally repetitive ideas, is that it’s a collection of really good songs, they just don’t flow well.
For a touring band whose reputation is built on their live show and banger ridden set, I’ll need to try much harder than that to be nasty if I really want to make them cry won’t I?
8/10
Review by: Calum McMillian
