Before dropping
Born of Osiris
'
The Simulation
on the player, listeners will encounter a surprise in the track list: Nearly four years after the release of the killer
Soul Sphere
, the assembled eight cuts here total a mere 26 minutes. Is it an album or an EP? According to guitarist
Lee Patrick Mckinney
,
is the first of two shorter albums primed for release in 2019.
BoO
is on
Sumerian
, the same label as
Between the Buried and Me
. The latter act prefigured this kind of release in 2018 with
Automata I
and
Automata II
, making one wonder if this a mere coincidence or the label's marketing strategy.
While 2015's
and 2013's
Tomorrow We Die Alive
seemed like direct responses to the musical invention of 2011's breakthrough
The Discovery
looks back even further, while simultaneously hinting at a ferocious new pathway. Lyrically, the album follows a loose concept that concerns itself with technology's consumption of humanity, delivered with the paranoid musical fury and rage that signifies the band's trademark. In 2017,
celebrated the tenth anniversary of their debut EP
The New Reign
by re-recording and re-titling it
The Eternal Reign
. The music and production here directly reflect that undertaking, with a raging energy that offers few flourishes -- save for the insane intensity of
Joe Buras
' keyboards. This is not to say that it is merely "Reign 2.0." Far from it. First single and album-opener "The Accursed," with its manic futurist synth work (that borrows a short moment from
Pink Floyd
's "One of These Days" in its intro), plays a central role, as does the interplay of
Buras
' and
Ronnie Canizaro
's alternating lead vocals, low-tuned bass throb, angular guitar riffs, and hooky refrain. It twists and pummels, fractures and cracks, exhausting itself in less than four minutes. "Disconnectome" follows by canceling out the entire notion of accessibility in three minutes and 17 seconds. Massive churling riffs from
Mckinney
, synth interludes that traverse the margins, and the employ of a symphonic black metal influence fits seamlessly inside the band's aesthetic, as electronic and cinematic sounds commingle amidst roiling tom-toms and snares. They walk the plank on "Cycles of Tragedy," driven by frantic, menacing polyrhythms that create a foundation under the layering of stringed instruments in
's soundworld, with dual leads and a chugging bassline accented by squalling synths and tempered piano effects. Thankfully, the rest of the date lives up to its first three tracks, not least because of the thoroughly enjoyable interplay of
' (clean) and
Canizaro
's (dirty) vocals. "Under the Gun" possesses an infectious hook atop declarative chants and sprawling keyboard interludes supplanted by depth and dimension via guitar fills and vamps. The set's epitome, however, is the massive, cinematic intersection of technical death metal and prog that drives the nearly profound "Silence the Echo," arguably the album's finest cut.
offers compelling, imaginative songwriting and production, proving that even as
look back, they press on, mining their strengths and execution while pursuing new directions. ~ Thom Jurek