For
Born of Osiris' fourth album,
Tomorrow We Die Alive, the Chicago alt-metal sextet reins in their brand of extreme metalcore. Joey Buras' synthesized soundscapes play a bigger part on this release than on the more brutal last two outings, 2009's
A Higher Place and 2011's
The Discovery. Considering that the technical wizardry of the guitarists, bassist, and drummer were a huge draw for fans, pushing their instrumentation into the abyss of synthesized strings makes their wicked cacophony feel less jarring. Even so, the roar of lead vocalist Ronnie Canizaro adds a welcome, savage counterpoint to the melodic aspects of the album. ~ Jason Lymangrover