Hmmmmmm. This is my only response to multiple listens of the new OSI CD Blood. I guess what I mean by that is that I really don’t know what I think of it. This is a tough spot for me to be in since I have an opinion about every CD I listen to and being a reviewer it is my job to express it and by golly I can’t. I have followed OSI since their debut and I think I have been on the fence with these guys ever since.
Before I get to involved with this review (I’m buying some time here) I should mention that OSI is indeed a two man project consisting on Fates Warning’s Jim Matheos and ex-Dream Theater and Fates Warning keyboardist Kevin Moore. Replacing Mike Portnoy on drums for Blood is Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison and a guest appearance by Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt OSI’s third CD release finds the band wandering in some new territory. According to the band Blood is a cross between rock and progressive metal and I would agree for the most part that the CD does fit this category. I think the style is similar to (not sounds like) Fates Warning but very heavy on the keyboards with occasional outbreaks of heavy guitars (“The Escape Artist”, “False Start” & “Be The Hero”) which does and does not work. It works in the sense that it gives the album some balls but doesn’t work because I think their softer and ethereal sound distinguishes them from all the other prog acts. One of the things about OSI that I think has always bugged me are the vocals of Kevin Moore. He almost sounds lazy when he sings, kind of like he is lounging in a Laz- Boy chair with crumbs of chips littered on his shirt and exerting little to no effort in the vocal aspect of the group. I’m sure minions would disagree but let us remember this is MY opinion.
Overall, there are some great aspects to this CD and then there are some not so great which leaves me in the predicament I was in when I began the review. I guess the only suggestion I would have is try this CD out for yourself. If you have been a fan of the band I think you will find there is enough material to attract you to the old sound but the heaviness may be a detractor if you enjoyed their original sound. If you fancy yourself a fan of the dreamlike, ethereal end of the progressive spectrum then this CD may be right up your alley.
Reviewed by Jeff Holton
