When OSI first appeared on the scene in 2003 with their debut album (‘Office of strategic influence’) they stood alone with their deeply melodic and slow-burning progressive rock whilst simultaneously gaining universal attention from the high profile of their members (OSI comprises Jim Matheos and Kevin Moore of Fates Warning and Dream Theater respectively whilst guests included Steven Wilson of Porcupine tree and Mike Portnoy, also of DT). However, high profile or not, what was notable about OSI was that the band had its own unique sound and style which was not to be subverted by the involvement of others, and songs such as the atmospheric, opening instrumental ‘the new math (what he said’), ‘OSI’ and the Steven Wilson sung ‘shutDOWN’ proved that OSI were keen to carve their own niche within the progressive world.
Some two albums and an EP later, we find OSI (now absent Mike Portnoy but with PT’s Gavin Harrison filling in on drums) reduced to the core duo of Matheos and Moore and signed to the mighty Metal Blade label for the much anticipated release of ‘fire make thunder’, an album that has been some two years in the making and which sees OSI crafting some of their finest material to date, harnessing the melodic beauty of the earlier works and coupling it with a greater sense of dynamic urgency, the guitars surging with a vitality that was hitherto hinted at but not so explicitly explored.
Opening with the stuttering electronics and wide-roaming samples of ‘cold call’, the band get off to an atmospheric start, the music ambient but with a sense of menace that has you ever so slightly on edge although it’s impossible to clearly define exactly what is causing such unease. As the music builds, a distorted guitar suddenly scratches across the surface and OSI suddenly unleash one of their most immediate riffs to date. The contrast between the softly whispered passages – all stuttering beats and polite electronica – and the more surging guitar passages complete with the duo’s mellifluous vocal harmonies gives the song an unpredictable edge and the chugging riffs have both power and energy without overly contrasting with the unique melodic subtlety that OSI’s haunting vocals provide. As with previous records it’s all about control and restraint, and OSI know how to temper their performances so that every phrase has maximum impact. ‘Guards’ opens with a stuttering beat that’s neatly augmented with overloaded bass and Primal Scream-esque vocal before opening out with the introduction of a vital guitar riff and analogue drums. It’s one of those songs that builds towards moments of real power, the fury of the guitar serving as an unexpected counterpoint to the more relaxed style of the verses. However powerful these first two tracks prove to be, it is ‘Indian Curse’ that really sets the senses tingling with its gentle acoustic strumming and atmospheric piano. It’s a track that combines haunting beauty with a very real sense of sorrow and it is enough to set your spine tingling as it slowly draws to its close only to lurch into the Porcupine Tree-esque riff of ‘Enemy Prayer’ – the two tracks forming an emotional centre-point to the album, the agitated electronics of the latter track stripping away the sense of sorrow and loss and replacing it with a chrome-plated rage that shimmers and gleams beneath the track’s surface.
‘Wind won’t howl’ has the oddest opening you can imagine – a strange synth effect that’s part trumpet, part dying Theremin before a skittering break beat underpins the central melody in a move that sees OSI head in much the same direction as A perfect circle’s melancholic ‘Emotive’ set. Melodic, but with a sharp edge hidden just below the surface, as chugging guitars underscore the melody you’re never quite sure if they’ll break free from their self-imposed restraints and unleash a furious assault, creating a sense of tension that never fully dispels over the course of the track. ‘Big chief II’ is easily the most unhinged track, the odd-ball electronics giving way to a track with a hypnotic groove that never fully pulls itself together into the realms of the sane. It’s as if the band handed over their tunes to the Aphex Twin and Trent Reznor for remixing and then released the final, unhinged and feverish product upon an unsuspecting public – and of course it sounds cool: part Tool, part latter-day Butthole surfers with a huge central riff that proves as welcome as it is unexpected. ‘For nothing’ is a softer moment – closer in feel to the debut album’s more passive nature shot through with a bleak acceptance of the narrator’s apathy and memories of Lou Barlow’s odd-ball side project Folk Implosion. It’s a dark, but far from depressing track that reveals the album’s soft underbelly, hidden away by the propulsive armour of the rockier songs but vulnerable nonetheless. Things start to heat up again for the grand finale, ‘invisible men’, a track that sees the distant chimes of a guitar closing in over the oh-so-subtle backdrop before the band can take no more and the guitars are allowed to roam free with elements of both Porcupine tree and NIN present in the songs genetic make-up. It’s a fine, epic ending to an album that takes its influences from the very best of the progressive and alternative scenes past and present and knits them together to make something wholly atmospheric and engaging.
There was never any doubt that OSI would make another fine album – the duo of Moore and Matheos are fine musicians and exquisite songwriters, but here they have excelled themselves. The whole album is a thing of shimmering beauty, but in all honesty it would be worth your time if it was shorn of every track but the stunning ‘invisible men’, a song that they will have to work hard indeed to outdo. A sense of the epic hangs over the album as a whole, as if a mere disc can never truly contain the rampant ambition of OSI and this is one of those albums you can imagine would work a treat in 5.1 surround sound, with the listener able to completely immerse themselves in the music which veers from the beautiful despair to out-and-out rage across the album’s all-too-brief runtime. This is a grand, imaginative album indeed and possibly OSI’s best yet.
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