O.s.i. Office of Strategic Influence

A veritable prog metal "supergroup," O.S.I. - the "Office of Strategic Influence" - was formed by Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos, Chroma Key and former Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore, and Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, with help from Gordian Knot bassist Sean Malone. Like similar collaborations, such as Transatlantic or Liquid Tension Experiment (many of which feature the same rotating cast of six or eight talented players), O.S.I.'s debut album is more than the sum of its disparate parts. Office of Strategic Influence masterfully blends '70s-styled progressive rock, heavily influenced by King Crimson and Pink Floyd, with an '80s-era heavy metal aesthetic, and the avant-garde sound of underground indie rockers such as Max Vague…

Prog metal supergroup O.S.I. return with their second album, which finds the duo of singer and keyboardist Kevin Moore and guitarist Jim Matheos moving away from the fairly standard-issue epic metal of 2003's Office of Strategic Influence into something that sounds more like Evanescence's gothy metal-pop crossed with late-era Radiohead's fondness for electronic interference. Moore, formerly of Dream Theater (his ex-bandmate Mike Portnoy plays the album's few non-electronic drums), and Fates Warning leader Matheos are venturing into relatively new territory here: Free is downright commercial in a way that none of the duo's previous projects have been. Moore sings with a new, less aggressive voice and Matheos' guitar is downplayed in favor of keyboards and sequencers…