Review Summary: Magnificent synths flooding over a sea of subpar music.
Tomorrow We Die Alive is certainly overshadowed by its predecessor. "The Discovery" was all the majesty and grandeur and technicality you could usually want in progressive metal. Unfortunately, largely for the worse, "Tomorrow We Die Alive" severs this vein. It opens with one of the most synth and arpeggio dominated tracks "Machine". It probably has the biggest punch out of any song off the album. The synths that open the track are powerful and instill a much needed vigor throughout the track. This is honestly due to the rather flat and insipid vocals and the even more uninspired guitar riffs. This track falls into the much dreaded plague that is the chug fest-not original or exciting no matter how you present it.
This would become probably the biggest drag on the album. A few poorly made breakdowns are acceptable-e.g, bands like "After The Burial". However it's such a dominating obnoxious force on this album that it stabilizes the talent of the synthesizer. However, the riffs aren't necessarily constantly unexciting and bottom of the piss bowl bad. If anything in spite of the mediocre breakdowns the guitarist does show a gleaming little light of potential, albeit a former shell of "The Discovery". Tracks such as "Absolution" and "Source Field" show with splendid luminosity how uplifting and impressively technical some of the melodic leads from the guitar can be. In additions littered throughout the album are some pretty sweet and well placed arpeggios. Although not quite enough to dig out the guitar from mediocrity, it at leasts instills hope and alleviates the snooze fest that some tracks can be (especially "Divergency", which attempts to have appeal through in an extremely mediocre and awkward...electronic/dubstep hybrid?).
The next double edged sword is the vocalist. Sometimes he can pack a light punch and have some energy, such as on "The Origin", but otherwise he almost sounds bored with his own singing. There is usually an evident lack of power or passion in his voice, and it sounds almost produced to be the point of squeaky cleanness. The only time I would even say this level of production brings out his voice in a positive way is the cleans off of "Absolution", but otherwise the vocals are close to completely unimportant to the album. There will be stellar synths that pop out in your head, e,g "Machine", "The Origin" and "Source field", and some solid guitar melodies and surprisingly well executed drums (which I will get to), but there is absolutely nothing memorable about the singing.
That being said, with the synthesizer set aside, the drums are probably the most consistent part of "Tomorrow We Die Alive". They are diverse and keep a sense of aloofness throughout the album. They are probably the most consistent talent you will hear as well-very solid fills, and there constantly playing with dynamics-slow and tranquil or blasting and sparked with energy. They don't exactly save the more mediocre tracks, but they at least give them something worthwhile.
As maligned as this album is its worth the time. Granted, you have to dig through the wreckage that is the first few tracks, however on the latter half of the album much potential is unveiled. Through the insipid chug fest like sweeping melodies and epic and powerful synth, carried by perfectly harmonized drums. Even if this is all incredibly dampered by the flat vocals, Born of Osiris has released an album with much potential to carry them into a new sound.
