2009's Blood saw OSI iterate on their sound with some noticeable progress towards a fully blended mix of electronica and prog riffing. The groups hopefully-only-temporarily final recording as of this writing, Fire Make Thunder dropped in 2012 to sweep away all doubts that the group was done evolving by delivering their most crystallized sound yet.
Forgoing the use of any guest musicians or vocalists for the first time, Fire Make Thunder again sees Jim Matheos handling guitars, Kevin Moore providing lyrics and keyboards, and Gavin Harrison taking on drumming. Written in the same back-and-forth long distance fashion as the previous OSI records, what stands out about this album right from minute 1 is how rich and vibrant it sounds in comparison to Blood. Moore seems much more present vocally on these tracks as he drones out some of the best lyrics he's penned yet on "Invisible Men" and "From Nothing" while Matheos' playing is taken to another level thanks to the roomier production and less overtly electronic sounds found here, which had a tendency to obscure his picking. With less effects layers to take up headroom, his riffs are finally able to sit up straight in the driver's seat and hit the gas, as testified to by the opening crunch of "Cold Call", basically the entirety of "Enemy Prayer", which might be in the top five best instrumentals of all time, and his David Gilmour tribute in the second half of "Invisible Men". His bass lines have improved as well and the interplay between him and Harrison's drumming seems much more familiar and confident than what was found on Blood. Individually the songs still mostly alternate between Matheos' gorilla sized riff emporiums and Moore's samples and quite pieces but their is a unity of composition here that elevates the material noticeably beyond what they achieved with Blood or Free, for that matter - "Wind Won't Howl" starts off as textbook Moore electronica before gradually building into a full-forced climax once Harrison and Matheos join in to bring the song home. "Guards" is a teetering house of cards built on a skittering drum sample and an almost funk synth line by Moore before Matheos enters after the chorus. The closing track "Invisible Men" wraps the disc up by combining all the elements of OSI into one lengthy piece that makes "ShutDOWN" look like it was written by Twitch: Moore's lyrics and atmospheric keyboard work combine like never before until Matheos brings the thunder, and the song shifts into a Lynchian groove that recalls Pink Floyd at their best.
Matheos and Harrison's renewed vigor is confidently matched by Moore. Whether he's chopping up and distorting a drum beat for the into to "Big Chief II", delivering some crushingly dark lyrics in a near whisper in "For Nothing", or applying his talent for crafting atmosphere in the haunting synths of "Invisible Men" and "Indian Curse", he steps up to the plate and really adds that special ingredient to Fire Make Thunder that sets it apart from the rest of their catalog. "Warm" or "Hot" were never words anyone would use to describe OSI's music, but the spark of life visible throughout all of Fire Make Thunder adds a human element that Blood was missing. With this album they finally achieved the aural synchronization they've been striving for ever since Office of Strategic Influence. We can only hope they'll be able to build off Fire Make Thunder's success and deliver an even greater follow up.
B+
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