Born Of Osiris – Through Shadows
Born Of Osiris – Through Shadows
Sumerian Records
11/07/2025
Review by Oli Gonzalez
8/10
Born Of Osiris. It’s been a journey. I still remember being a 17 year old metalhead and first discovering the band’s work in late 2009, the more primitive and gritty work on the “The New Reign” record, then rediscovering the band years later via the more polished and refined single ‘Follow The Signs’. No matter what era of the band, the North American Metalcore act have always offered something different in their approach, in particular via their more melodic and progressive approaches to the genre, but have never compromised on that raw balls-to-the-wall intensity! After all, it’s very difficult to stand out in such a stacked genre, but Born Of Osiris have managed to do just that. Which was why I was very much excited about getting my hands on their latest record “Through Shadows”. Will we see a more polished and progressive approach, more of the raw primitive aggression from their early years, or something very different? Let’s see. One thing’s for sure is that this will consist of lots of short bursts of Metalcore goodness with each of the 13 songs hovering around the 3.5-4 minute mark. Very different to the lengthy post and Doom Metal anthems I enjoy. But I’m very much looking forward to Born Of Osiris now!
As things kick off with ‘Seppuku’, this is feeling more towards the gritty primitive side, but the individual musicianship and technical prowess are almost impossible to ignore. Nonetheless from the dual guitar assault from both Lee and Nick. They lock in with the drums seamlessly and produce some gnarly water tight rhythms that are guaranteed to cause some carnage when played live! This thunderous rhythmic background are a mainstay throughout the album, though we get some nice solo guitar action during ‘Through Shadows’ and other tracks later in the album.
Another mainstay is the blistering effort from Ronnie behind the mic, his growls seeming consistently fierce! That’s not to say there isn’t a sprinkling of cleaner vocals though, like during ‘Through Shadows’, the album’s title track, and also during ‘The War That You Are’. This makes these songs just a bit more salient and memorable, which is what you need in a 13 track album. In fact, if you only have time for one song, I’d make it ‘The War That You Are’. Featuring the aforementioned musical prowess that you can sit back and admire while blending with some downright dirty and filthy heaviness which you can also dive into the pit headfirst to, if you prefer! Though the melodic feast that is ‘Dark Fable’ is a contender too!
I’ve always found it hard for Metalcore style bands to set themselves apart from one another and to avoid their songs sounding repetitive and too similar to one another. The experimentation of the synth tracks certainly adds a much needed degree of salience to each track. Especially during ‘In Desolation’. Though I can’t help but think that a full time keys player, like in earlier records, would be much better here given that depth of knowledge of the instrument that you can’t really replace. Also, despite this, it is hard for some songs to stand out on the record and can feel a little too repetitive and cookie cutter at times.
Overall, while being far from an instant classic, “Through Shadows” seamlessly blends technical prowess and raw primitive aggression in a satiating blend that upholds Born Of Osiris solid reputation.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Seppuku
02. Elevate
03. Through Shadows
04. The War That You Are
05. Inverno
06. A Mind Short Circuiting
07. Burning Light
08. In Desolation
09. Torchbearer
10. Activated
11. Dark Fable
12. Transcendence
13. Blackwater
LINKS:
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