When Born of Osiris released the 28-minute The Simulation in 2019, they had immediate plans to return to the studio to record a sequel. At the time, singer Ronnie Canizaro and keyboardist/vocalist Joe Buras were each processing losses as long-term relationships ended, and their emotions found their way into their songwriting. While several songs were demo'ed and recorded for The Simulation II, they were left by the wayside as newer material emerged. By year's end, that project had been abandoned; an album was completed in February 2020 and submitted for a summer release, but the pandemic intervened. More than a year later, we have Angel or Alien. Thematically, its songs seem to point at the dichotomy in its title: We all love the angel, but the alien is an unknown quantity, one whose nature we have yet to discover but are driven toward.
Fans of BoO's early work -- especially 2011's The Discovery -- will hear a slight return to the trademark sound that helped to establish "Sumeriancore" as a subgenre in progressive metalcore itself. It's got the djent-infused breakdowns, the Phrygian-dominant, and blistering keyboard and guitar runs inside off-kilter time signature changes from drummer Cameron Losch, and chug-riffing. That said, it's not an about-face nostalgia trip either. If anything, it sounds like a career retrospective with eyes aimed at a future horizon. Bassist Nick Rossi moves over to join Lee McKinney on guitars; both handle the bass duties. The twin guitar attack also recalls The Discovery period, when McKinney shared six-string duties with Jason Richardson.
For evidence, one need go no further than the set-opener "Poster Child." It offers an abundance of BoO trademarks, including a soaring keyboard chart that ushers in guitars and basslines delivering djent-y syncopated chugs and modal vamps behind alternately clean and dirty vocals. After a manic breakdown in the bridge, call-and-response vocals restore the frame before a melodic outro, comprised of lush keyboards and saxophone, entwine and whisper it out. Singles "White Nile" and the title track are quantifiably heavier. The former juxtaposes Phrygian grooves, stop- and-start death metal cadences, thudding drum breaks, and masterful riffing from keys and guitars as Canizaro and Buras scream at one another. Its layered production weaves massive, swirling keyboard lines around McKinney's squalling, yet tastefully articulated, harmonically expansive leads. Chaos and a djent-dominant rhythmic bounce drive the jerky flow of "Oathbreaker" while "Crossface," with its skronky keyboard, bass, and syncopated drum intro, pave the way for an all-out shredfest. "Threat of Your Presence" and "In for the Kill" both offer in-your-face, hard-grooving death metal. The radically disjointed powerhouse "You Are the Narrative" has sections that consciously and directly reference The Discovery. Closer "Shadowmourne" is an anthem combining signature electronic elements, blazing, arpeggiated fretwork, and forceful, syncopated percussion amid jagged grooves and a soaring sax solo, seamlessly balancing prog and deathcore. The winding trajectory Born of Osiris deliver on Angel or Alien displays a continued ability to create dazzling displays of musical imagination and creativity.