OSI - Fire Make Thunder

Jim Matheos (Fates Warning, Arch/Matheos) and Kevin Moore (Chroma Key, ex-Dream Theater) along with the drummer Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree) are back for album No.4. Keeping the three-year gab between albums, their creation “Fire Make Thunder”… is not anything new from what OSI has delivered and we have been used to… but this time the guitar work is a bit more intense.

 

This so called progressive metal/rock music… which is mixed with ambient samples and electronic elements… is rather exciting at times but Kevin’s colorless and plain voice does not take the whole effort a step further… instead, it takes it back occasionally. Yeap, that’s nothing new… but think of those songs whose vocals were done by singers like Wilson or Åkerfeldt… how much better they were. Anyhow, Jim is a genius when it comes to prog metal music… and he can’t deliver a bad album at all… but I feel that he had something else in mind with the OSI project from the very first time… even though he hasn’t quite succeeded it as yet. The album was produced by both Jim Matheos and Kevin Moore and it was mastered by Roger Siebel. The sound is excellent… and pretty moody every so often. Best songs here are: “Cold Call”, “Guards”, “Indian Curse” (a very gloomy atmospheric tune), the instrumental “Enemy Prayer”, “For Nothing” (nice ambient track) & the progy “Invisible Men”.

 

Those who follow this band won’t be disappointed in this album… furthermore, I think that they will like it very much… possibly, it will be their most beloved one after the band’s debut.