LEO recently gave me the opportunity to write another music review, and it was published this week. I also decided to try making an audio version of the review, which you can listen to by clicking the play button below.
Blood
OSI
(InsideOut)
<heavy repose>
For the third time, Jim Matheos and Kevin Moore have combined progressive metal and almost ambient electronica, producing an intriguing genre-bending album. This release welcomes Gavin Harrison on drums, with guest vocals on one track by Mikael Åkerfeldt.
The paradox of capacious atmospheres against thick riffing, over Moore's almost terminally laid-back vocals, seems designed to demand repeated listens for full appreciation. Heaviness is present but restrained, with the meticulous groove of the drums and the exacting guitar chops employed in direct service of the overall compositions, or not at all. Albums with this much programming often sound completely artificial, a problem Blood deftly avoids – the production is perfect, but also alive and breathing, almost leaping from the stereo to reward the careful listener.
OSI's newest is one of those uncommon, diverse and nuanced records that you both love getting lost in, and playing – loud, on real speakers – for anybody who is willing to listen.
OSI
(InsideOut)
<heavy repose>
For the third time, Jim Matheos and Kevin Moore have combined progressive metal and almost ambient electronica, producing an intriguing genre-bending album. This release welcomes Gavin Harrison on drums, with guest vocals on one track by Mikael Åkerfeldt.
The paradox of capacious atmospheres against thick riffing, over Moore's almost terminally laid-back vocals, seems designed to demand repeated listens for full appreciation. Heaviness is present but restrained, with the meticulous groove of the drums and the exacting guitar chops employed in direct service of the overall compositions, or not at all. Albums with this much programming often sound completely artificial, a problem Blood deftly avoids – the production is perfect, but also alive and breathing, almost leaping from the stereo to reward the careful listener.
OSI's newest is one of those uncommon, diverse and nuanced records that you both love getting lost in, and playing – loud, on real speakers – for anybody who is willing to listen.
To see the online copy of the review and check out LEO's website, please click here.
Also worth mentioning is that if you spend the extra two or three dollars to get the two-disc version of the album, you get the deliciously heavy "No Celebrations" with Tim Bowness guesting on vocals, plus a cover of the Elliott Smith song "Christian Brothers," and an extended version of the second track from the album. To view the official website for OSI, click here.
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