Review Summary: this album really takes you to a higher place. the best name of a metal cd like this should be called 'a higher place'. The cd shows the growth of Born Of Osiris as a group and shows the growth of Cameron as a songwriter. BEWARE of cameron, he is going to
Born of Osiris is a band that is composed of 6 members out of which their drummer, Cameron who is the main writer for all of the songs (meaning he wrote every song ever and even on the new album except for 'Exist', who was written by their lead guitarist Lee), has been doing his thing for a long time.
Born Of Osiris have come a long way since being YourHeartEngraved and Rosecrance. Cameron plays every instrument believe it or not and he is still growing as a musician. He has been playing guitar since 8th grade and since 'the new reign' came out, BoO has been categorized as a scene band like Bring me the Horizon for songs like 'Bow Down' by some and is considered very talented and musically gifted by others.
All of that is now in the past because 'A Higher place' takes you on a journey from the end of the last song on their debut album and starts off with 'Rebirth', which is a less cheesier intro than the outro to the last album and has a very dark yet egyptian theme to it.
The 2nd song Elimination starts off with an explosive riff which reminds me of OLD Chimaira and has some heavy riffs before the melodic passage that comes right after. This track is probably the most fun track to listen to because it is about 2 minutes long yet has some very interesting riffs as well as a breakdown which sounds so fresh. The vocal patterns in this song as well as the lyrics pretty much make this song. "Try to see me in a different light. Time to conquer the raising threat of existing in the tension and the strain we're in" these are my favorite lines from this song because it reflects so much to their personal lives of being under stress and pressure.
I find 'The accountable' to be a decent track. I just can't get into this track but it has its parts such as the solo at 54 seconds which sounds very 'Summerian' themed to be quite honest. Like elimination,this track is very short with many time signature changes and technical riff but the difference is that the riffs fly over your head in this one
"Now Arise" the 4th track of this CD and is also the first track BoO put out on their myspace. This song has many heavy riffs along with a black metal feel to it with blast beats and evil sounding synths in the background which makes the song so much more fun to listen to because the riffs in this song are pefrect along with the crazy drum fills by cameron. This song reminds me of The Faceless even though they personally are trying to not sound like them at all.
"Starved' is the track that has the best components of metal and done so perfectly in this song. The songwriting here is brilliant by Cameron alongside the lyrics from Joe and Ronnie that are about their lives touring the world and seeing all around them and how this is their destiny..this is their lives. This track hits hard if you follow the lyrics and see how they basically show and prove to the metal world that they are here to stay.
"Exist" - This is the only song is written by Lee on this album which is a really heavy song that has some really catchy melodies with a heavy breakdown at the end which makes me listen to this song over and over because it is a little over 2 minutes and is the second easiest song to digest. Notice how this song is the closest resemblance to their previous CD while all of Camerons songs have progressed so much since his songwriting and music.
"Put to rest' starts off with some really heavy riffs while keeping it interesting with the great songwriting that is provided by Cam. The heaviness doesnt drop till later in the song by that i mean, the song builds up so much and still is fun to enjoy because the grooves just keep getting more enjoyable. The song leads into a riff that i find really 'Sikth' influenced and then hits the melodic slow part where ronnies screams 'gaining speed? or just stopping faster, I cant master these thoughts'. The song keeps the melody and ends with a very slow riff and Joe in the background screaming 'be put to rest' and fades out smoothly into 'An Ascent" which starts off with a misery signals feeling riff yet the riff sounds so fresh at the same time. the rest of the song leads into alot of time signature changes and some breakdowns which is amazing if you look at the way Cameron has incorporated so many styles of metal into his composition...It just amazes me how much different and better this is from their debut.
The article in Outburn magazine said that they want every album to blow the **** out the one before it and so far they have seemed to do it.
The title track to this song is the most prog feeling song there is on the album because it has no actual breakdowns like most of the CD and jus has some really groovy riffs with one of the best endings to a song i have ever heard. Just listening to this song makes me smile..i dont even try to.
An Ascent is the most melodic track in this album. The melodies in this song are really addicting to listen to. I usually listen to this song most on the cd besides Elimination and Starved.
The ending track to this cd feels like it should be placed at the end because of the mid-paced riffs throughout most of the songs with a slow lead behind the rythm.
Pros
-Vocals are much better this time with Joe, their keyboardist also getting more screaming parts. The combination of Ronnie and Joe is PERFECT.
-no scene ass synths lol. the keys are really metal and suite the music perfectly. Cameron = god.
-songwriting has improved more since the new reign and in a completely new direction.
-One of the most original music i've heard
-techinical composition and great songwriting by pretty much one member of the band.
-length
cons
-some tracks are hard to get into and listen to. some songs lack alot of staying power but thats only a few but they are still top notch its just the really good ones make them look a little weaker.
-im not a fan of the production. wish they kept it the RAW way of ZEUSS.
-shouldve kept the hip hop beat alone without the screaming rap.
- feels like theres something missing at times but it is all there it feels like.
- cameron has much more to learn and by the time the next album is out, he will have learned even more
