Two years following their masterpiece, “The Discovery”, Born of Osiris is back and has finally unveiled their newest creation, “Tomorrow We Die Alive” to the world. Born of Osiris has pulled out some new tricks and styles, and for some it will be great, and for others not so great.
I expected a lot from Born of Osiris when I was told how great “The Discovery” was, and they fulfilled that expectation to the highest. I set high expectations for “Tomorrow We Die Δlive” as well, and I think on some levels BOO reached those expectations, but on some levels they just fell short. Following up two phenomenal records (A Higher Place & The Discovery) is no easy task, but this record is so different in a way that it might take a while to grow on me. While this album does contain some powerful leads, riffs, and melodies, I found myself listening to too many breakdowns and mundane chugging behind some keys more often than I would have liked.
BOO’s intense and unique key instruments that back their tracks are what keep them out of the “generic zone” of metal bands. Unfortunately “Tomorrow We Die Δlive” does not compete with how impressive and brilliant “The Discovery” was. Don’t get me wrong though, this is not a bad effort from Born of Osiris and this album is definitely one that listeners need to hear. I think the bar might just have been set too high for BOO. I don’t think you can blame Joey Sturgis for this and I don’t think it’s fair to say the absence of Jason Richardson is the problem (but it definitely would of helped to have him). I simply don’t see this album further pushing the musical boundaries of Born of Osiris.
While Born of Osiris may not have changed the game with “Tomorrow We Die Δlive”, I think fans of the album could pick out some songs that they love from this record. Check out the songs, “Illusionist” and “VengeΔnce” and watch their newest music video for their song “MΔchine”.
8/10
-Ryan