Born of Osiris: Angel or Alien @Sumerian Records (ENG)

After spending a few years away from the news of Born Of Osiris, the announcement of the release of « Angel or Alien » seemed like a good opportunity to see how the band evolved. So I started listening to this new opus without any a priori and with rather vague memories of “Tomorrow We Die Alive” and “Soul Sphere” which I had at the time considered to be relatively good but very uneven albums. About this new opus “Angel or Alien”, the first thing that can be noticed is that the artwork is much less ugly than usual, treating loss and rebirth like the whole album and is directly inspired by the music video for the eponymous track. I didn’t listen to the anticipated releases of “White Nile” or “Angel or Alien” and this is with this little information that I set out to listen to this opus. And what a punch in the head ! Technique, groove, solos, big breaks, Phrygian scales, ghost kicks, intensity, we find it all in this album! All harmoniously shared between the songs (unlike some albums, which I remember feeling like BOO wanted to put everything in each song). All along the album, we go from melodic anthems with catchy choruses like “Poster Child” or “Waves” to more classic tech-death songs like “White Nile” and “Crossface” (which correspond more to what I remembered from BOO). The album also carries its small batch of experiments with the integration of saxophone parts in the outro of “Poster Child” or on “Shadowmourne”. We can also find clean vocals on the incredible eponymous song of the album. “Angel or Alien” is as catchy as it is heavy and its atmosphere and the overall harmony it exudes completely sweeps you away. Those clean vocals aren’t the only interesting vocal part of the album, there are also perfect high screams on “Truth or Denial” as well as mastered lows on most of the songs. Every instrument fits perfectly into every song and there is so much to say about this album that the best way to have a good day is to go straight to listen to it. 

As you already understood, I was totally won over by the album and particularly thanks to the alternation between the more stereotypical sounds of the genre and the more “airy” and “emotional” sounds. I am also very interested in getting feedback from the “Die Hard Fans” of the band and to see how they received this album which seems to me to be one of the very best of their discography in terms of mastery and variety.

Tracklist :
1. Poster Child
2. White Nile
3. Angel or Alien
4. Waves
5. Oathbreaker
6. Threat of your Presence
7. Love Story
8. Crossface
9. Echobreather
10. Lost Souls
11. In for the Sill
12. You are the Narrative
13. Truth and Denial
14. Shadowmourne