O.S.I.‘s third studio album Blood has been officially reissued via Metal Blade Records and is now available as a double CD, digitally, and on vinyl for the first time since the album’s 2009 release.
In celebration of the reissue, guitarist and founding member Jim Matheos has made a guitar play-through for the track False Start. View it here:
Blood Track Listing:
01. The Escape Artist
02. Terminal
03. False Start
04. We Come Undone
05. Radiologue
06. Be the Hero
07. Microburst Alert
08. Stockholm
09. Blood
10. No Celebrations
11. Christian Brothers
12. Terminal (Endless)
Fans can order from the following locations:
US: indiemerch.com/metalbladerecords/band/osi
EU: eu.kingsroadmerch.com/metal-blade/artist/1176
UK: eyesoremerch.com/bands/o/osi
About the album:
In Blood, O.S.I. have succeeded in creating a fascinating album at the crossroads between rock and progressive metal. Music that alternates between atmospherically dense and aggressively demanding elements, while effortlessly transcending barriers between different styles and genres. Following its impressive predecessors, Office Of Strategic Influence (2003) and Free (2006), Blood is the third release by Kevin Moore and Jim Matheos. O.S.I. unites two exceptional composers who share their penchant for the unusual and are on the same artistic wavelength. “We have different musical tastes but an unspoken musical understanding” Moore enthuses.
The creative process which produced Blood lasted more than a year. In their now familiar long distance collaboration Matheos sent his ideas via email to Moore, who honed them to his own taste before mailing the results back to Matheos. At the end of the day, some pieces were sent back and forth countless times, while others, such as the pulsating metal track ‘Be The Hero’, required very little exchange. “When Jim sent me his tracks, I had a vocal idea right away. I think it all came together in a couple of days. I love when Jim sends really heavy ideas, and he doesn’t mind me chopping them up. It was fun to play around with the time signatures by editing, and adding a lot of Minimoog effects and unison lines.“
Along with Moore and Matheos, Blood features Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison. There’s also a guest appearance by Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) on ‘Stockholm’, which the Swedish musician composed together with the two O.S.I. masterminds. “I think it was Kevin’s idea to have a guest vocalist. He asked me if I had any suggestions and I immediately thought of Mikael,” Matheos explains. “It was Mikael’s choice, we gave him several songs to pick from. Mikael wrote the lyrics and melody and recorded his parts at home in Sweden.“
Moore and Matheos took care of the album’s production themselves, while the mix was done with Grammy winner Phil Magnotti.
Blood is an ambitious album recorded by real masters of their trade, for people with a taste for the above-average.
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 