The Illinois quintet have delivered technical and talented records since their debut A Higher Place, and during that era, they made a name for themselves with a hyper focus on incorporating and spotlighting synths and electronics in their metalcore sound. That, mixed with a knack for condensing the sounds and textures of progressive metal into condensed three to four minute hooky and structured tracks raised their profile at the end of the last decade. Since then, they’ve remained a steady presence, releasing consistently good records but yet never really reaching the heights of contemporaries in the scene.
With their sixth record, Angel Or Alien, the band delivers another consistent album with some bouncing bangers and elements that pop, but in today’s era of seeming ever evolving creativity and melodic play with metalcore, the band’s latest release blends in more than it stands out and feels a bit more of the same. In other words, for metalcore fans, it’s all of those adjectives at the top of this paragraph, but it’s nothing that really stands apart amongst today’s crop.
There are definitely high points on the record, with the booming and massive production adding an element of live power to the runtime. The opening of the record is strong, with ‘Poster Child’ and ‘White Nile’ showcasing the band’s trademark electronics in pulsing and pounding fashion, adding a huge sense of hype to these tracks. The staccato guitars and sprinkled vocal melody all sounds great, but ultimately feels standard and par for the course with Born Of Osiris. What can be said is that there really is great care taken with the level of melodic attention with the synths and electronics that back these songs up. The saw wave tones used on the title track are a perfect example of the hyper melodic sensibility they bring to each track. The guitar stands out as well, with a spacey, glitchy, and uplifting solo on ‘White Nile’. The standout tracks continue into the middle of the record.
‘Oathbreaker’ is a bouncer of a track, with warbling synths and big staccato guitar bounce. This is a track built for jumping, plain and simply. There’s a great melodic backing in the textures here and even a well placed “Blegh” from vocalist Ronnie Canizaro. His harsh vocals sound as consistent as ever, but his cleans tend to be on the quieter, more whispery side, and equal power to match would have added extra punch to the record. But Threat of Your Presence is perhaps the track of the album, with a huge, Lamb Of God esque opening riff which persists through the track, lending the whole song a titanous metal feeling with more electronics. There’s a great contrast between verses, with a furious, melee inducing breakdown.
From here the record still stays solid, but only a few songs pop above the rest. ‘Love Story’ has an Architects feel to it with its sweeping electronics and a classic metalcore sounding harmonic solo, with a guitar tone that feels pulled straight from the mid 2000s. And ‘Echobreather’ has excellent melody and backing piano. It’s another total package of a song, as is ‘Lost Souls’. But this is where the most glaring issue of the record arises: it’s length. This fourteen track album is simply too long. It could easily be trimmed to 9 or 10 solidly good tracks, because the majority of the remaining tracks all seem to fade into one another. It’s a lot of the same djenty guitar rhythms, with vocals that all tend to blend as well. By the time the record rolls to a close, it’s evident that the first half of the record feels much stronger in terms of writing and construction than the back half.
For what it’s worth, this is a perfectly solid record. Though the majority don’t separate themselves, there are a handful of tracks that capture everything Born Of Osiris truly excels at and brings to the table in the metalcore scene. The drama and theatricality of the electronics mixed with the excellent solo work, technical rhythm section, and powerfully solid vocals elevate the majority of the first half of the record. However, the back half overstays its welcome and melds together more than not, leading to a number of tracks being forgettable. But for a salt of the earth, solidly good metalcore record, Angel Or Alien will absolutely do the trick and then some. There’s a reason why Born Of Osiris have made a mark in a scene flush with talent. They do have it, in spades, but taking a step back, trimming the fat, and working to adapt to a changing scene full of fresh sounds and ideas, their next record could be something very special.