Progressive metalcore outfit Born of Osiris has outlasted almost every group in its lane, thanks to the band's ability to consistently identify the perfect proportion of grueling heaviness and dazzling technicality in their songwriting. Friday, the Illinois crew is dropping its fifth album The Simulation, a dystopian mediation on the dangers of technology (you can pre-order it here), and today they're giving fans another taste of the record in the form of new song "Analogs in a Cell." The cut opens with a mosh part not unlike that in BOO crowd favorite "Bow Down," before segueing into a more technical movement. Clean-sung sections give the song minor flourishes throughout, but the main allure of the track is how much bounce there is throughout and, for all the single's shreddy nerdiness, just how tastefully ignorant the song is.
"This specific song is such a fun little journey to look back on for me," says guitarist Lee McKinney. "I started writing it back in 2016 or 2017. It was one of the first songs I wrote for the new album after moving to Dallas [and] the song has seen a couple different forms over the past couple years. Regardless, I was sleeping in the studio we rented to track this album. The guys would come in the morning and leave in the late afternoon, but I'd still be there the rest of the time. I used late nights as the time to track all of the instruments for it after we had drums. 'Analogs in a Cell' became my fun little late night project. The best part about forgetting the guitar parts from the demo was rewriting them and making them better. The demo guitars were very similar, but I tweaked all of the leads and made them more interesting. The entire ending was chugging. I was getting bored with it and I knew I could do better. I started replacing the chugs with notes, then bringing them up an octave, and eventually I ended up writing entirely new guitars for the end. Then I matched the bass with the guitar. I absolutely love how that song ends now. The fact that it was all made brand new in the studio gave it a longer shelf life for me. Usually when we're done tracking, I'm also done hearing the songs. I don't want to listen to them. This song is different. I'm still enjoying hearing all the changes that were made and I can't wait to see what everyone else thinks.
"I think a cool element of this record is how different each song is. They are all very much Born of Osiris, but they all have different vibes and bring different things to the table. 'Analogs in a Cell' has a very live feel. I can't wait to perform it. All the guitar parts are really shreddy but also fun to play. The guys wrote some amazing lyrics and vocals to the song. Beginning to end, this is one of my favorites on The Simulation." Check it out above.
