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Finch Platte
08-03-2010, 12:55 PM
OSI. Saw this in the store and the sticker proclaimed Gavin Harrison was playing the drums on the disc, plus that the "sticker is removable." It sounds a lot like PT, all dynamic 'n' sh!t, but not quite as cerebral. GH's all over the drums, and there's some nice low bass (all keyboards) for you subby-dubby fans. Not a lot of Steven Wilson-guitar-like solos & stuff; OSI is keyboard driven with some chunky guitar thrown in.

I know there's an older OSI out there that has Mike Portnoy on several tracks, but this is a damn sight better.

It's called 'Blood' in case yer interested. PM me if you want to hear it, especially if you have any of the older OSI stuff I could check out.

AllMusic sez: Many of the progressive metal bands that emerged in the 1990s and 2000s have been caught in a stylistic time warp. Operating with a pre-Nevermind, pre-'90s perspective, they get all of their inspiration from power metal and prog rock bands of the '70s and '80s and show little or no awareness of alternative rock or alternative metal. But O.S.I.'s third full-length album, Blood, is a prog-metal outing that has a strong alt-metal/alt rock influence. No one will accuse Blood of going out of its way to sound like Dream Theater, which is ironic in light of the fact that the co-leaders on this 2009 release are singer/keyboardist Kevin Moore (formerly of Dream Theater) and guitarist/keyboardist Jim Matheos (of Fates Warning fame). If any prog-metal group should be oblivious to alternative, it should be O.S.I. But in fact, the sound on Blood is basically prog-metal meets alt-metal and alt rock. Prog-metal often has an overt power metal influence; Blood's approach, however, is Pink Floyd and King Crimson by way of Radiohead, Nirvana, grunge, alt-metal and alt rock. Instead of bright, shiny '70s/'80s-like guitars, we're talking chug-chug riffs and downtuned guitars. Blood has its aggressive, forceful moments, but even so, the material is quite melodic — and most of the time, O.S.I. are moody and darkly atmospheric more than anything. Some of that moodiness comes from O.S.I.'s appreciation of Pink Floyd and King Crimson, but some of it comes from their appreciation of Radiohead. So there is no getting around the fact that this 47-minute CD draws its inspiration from different eras and different generations of rock. Some headbangers who know Moore from Dream Theater and Matheos from Fates Warning might be surprised by how much alternative appeal Blood has, but that alternative appeal is a plus on an album that falls short of earth-shattering but is still solid and worthwhile.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drm500/m589/m58988yby0s.jpg

Dumbass cover & liner notes, all dark red on black. Barely readable. :skep:

Edit: This is way closer to PT than DT- less wankier than DT. Maybe the reviewer has just never heard any PT,

Troy
08-03-2010, 05:06 PM
I thought it was OK. I still like the first album the best of the 3 (it had Wilson all over it – ShutDOWN is like a long lost PT song). Great for a late night drive across Nevada.

The second one, Free, had a couple of good songs and one stand out track in Once, still a favorite single track, from any band, from the past 5 years.

Blood never hooked me. Overall, I like it's sound more than Free, but it's missing that killer track.

Definitely part of the Porcupine Tree school of modern rock (which is a mixture of Pink Floyd and Metallica).

3LB
08-04-2010, 10:46 AM
That first OSI was killer and one of the few albums where the special edition is actually the definitive one (it has killer covers of Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun and New Mama).

The next album, was a shift back to Kevin Moore's first project, Chroma Key, in that its basically a two-man show with guitar and keys, with more synth-program than drummer and bass player. It still was a good album once you get past the fact that its completely different fron the first one.

I had Blood for six months and traded it.

If you like the PT, you might like the new TPT (I think you liked the other stuff I sended from The Pineapple Thief). I have it and its their best.

MasterCylinder
08-04-2010, 11:10 AM
That first OSI was killer and one of the few albums where the special edition is actually the definitive one (it has killer covers of Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun and New Mama).



Totally agree.............