ALBUM REVIEW: Loss – Osiah

OSIAH are an ideal balancing act for modern extreme metal. Where some of their contemporaries are taking deathcore to new, electronic boundaries; the North Eastern crew are a more organic offering. It’s a stylistic choice that benefits them. Their early 10’s THY ART IS MURDER sound, despite being something of a throwback, still kicks like a mule when done well. Loss takes all the bite of Hate, and adds the sheen of apocalyptic production to it.

But in contrast to THY ART IS MURDER‘s breakthrough, Loss hits closer to home. There’s little focus on mythic bloodshed between devils and demons. Instead, OSIAH hone in on the importance of mental wellbeing, the conflict we bring upon ourselves, and our unusual zest for chaos. Its open glaring message is, of course, wrapped in a scabrous melting pot of deathcore fury.

Sometimes its message is irrelevant. When War Within Our Walls‘ lead riff pattern hits full gear, you may not care that the track discusses the importance of protecting friendships. No one could blame you, its acidic, blasting tone is made all the more ghastly by Ricky Roper‘s violent growls. Already Lived has a similar fate. By the time its half timed, soul crushing breakdown hits, you’ll already have been seeing stars for the past two and a half minutes.

Producer/guitarist Andy Mallaby is key to the fury. His ebb and flow with fellow riff merchant Chris Keepin is vital throughout Loss. Their gruelling passages are about as subtle as sandpaper. Temporal Punishment fleets between intricacy and fury, whereas the 100mph Paracusia is in constant pursuit of your throat. Mallaby‘s swift inflections take tracks like Echoes to the next level; but his ability to fuse the hurricane of sound OSIAH create together is what makes him the MVP of Loss.

Enlisting the brutality of SHADOW OF INTENT vocalist Ben Duerr – The Eye Of The Swarm is the show stealer. The vocal fist fight between Ben and Ricky makes for fascinating, if not terrifying results. It’s the highlight of OSIAH‘s career thus far; never before have they been able to deliver such groove, and intelligence in their soundscapes of war.

While deathcore has made valiant steps to move forward in the last couple of years; records like Loss are still vital. It doesn’t pursue vast, electronic soundscapes. But what it does do is take the original deathcore boom of the 2010’s and fit it with a modern arm. If WHITECHAPEL‘s self titled record got released tomorrow, it would probably sound something like this.

Rating: 8/10

Loss is set for release on May 7th via Unique Leader Records. 

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