August 20, 2013 - Sumerian
The fourth full-length (third if you think their barely-20-minute debut, 2007’s The New Reign, should only count as an EP) from Chicago-based sextet Born Of Osiris is, frankly, a disappointment in the wake of its two predecessors, 2009’s A Higher Place and 2011’s The Discovery. When you consider how impressive those two records were, blending brittle technical deathcore with prog and synth-driven weirdness, it’s hard to figure out how these guys wound up with 11 songs this generic. Like The Discovery, Tomorrow We Die Alive was produced by the band, though they did bring Joey Sturgis in to mix; maybe that’s the problem. As always, the interaction between lead vocalist Ronnie Canizaro and keyboardist/vocalist Joe Buras is a big part of the overall package; on “Absolution,” there are moments where their two voices together sound remarkably similar to the Black Dahlia Murder’s Trevor Strnad. Buras’ keyboards are even more crucial to the BOO sound than his voice. Indeed, on most of these tracks, his sci-fi synth sounds are the only thing differentiating BOO from a million other breakdown-addicted young bands. Once upon a time, these guys were on par with their more experimental labelmates like Veil Of Maya and the Faceless, but on this album, they’ve slipped.