OFFICE OF STRATEGIC INFLUENCE

OSI is a project consisting of a couple of musicians from bands that stand very far from what I want to hear in progressive metal. And yet, bringing them together for this album creates pure progressive metal bliss. Many thanks to singer/keyboard wizard Kevin Moore I'd say. Jim Matheos and Mike Portnoy are great musicians and they both shine on this album, but Kevin Moore understands the art of crafting meaningful songs out of the available talent.

Moore's vocal skills tend to divide options though. He's as far from the expected metal cliché vocalist as you can possibly get, and his seemingly detached and subdued delivery will disappoint many metalheads. For me it works just fine. It's one of the aspects that make this project stand out from the rest of the progressive metal scene.

Another element is his keyboard playing of course. Again it is very different from the symphonic keyboard bombast you get in the usual prog metal deal. Moore's interests are rather in techno, dub and sampling, meaning the electronics here brings the sound close to NIN. Another factor that might frighten away metal fans.

The songwriting is great throughout but the highlight comes from Steve Wilson's contribution. He's is partially credited for the songwriting on ShutDOWN but I guess his mere presence already suffices to bring out the best in every musician that comes within reach of his halo. The man is genius. Other highlights are the instrumental Dirt From A Holy Place and the techno space rock of Memory Daydream Lapses.

To sum it up, OSI is the perfect metal album for non-metal fans. 4.5 stars.