The Plight – Winds of Osiris

‘Winds of Osiris’ is one bastard of an album. Think the illegitimate child of heavy metal being raised by the surrogate parent that is classic rock, whilst constantly being coerced by a neighbourhood gang of hardcore punk. In one moment you can shoehorn the record into one neat box only for it to burst out with a lunatic grin. Oh yes, ‘Winds of Osiris’ is a good record, and quite frankly, there’s not much out there that compares. Uniqueness ahoy!

From the off, the album sets itself up like it’s metal as. A short instrumental sets a landscape (although a fade out seems a little, well, strange) before “Lovesick Maniac” kicks in with some big riffs and an even bigger sense of hair. If it wasn’t for the raspy, throat-itching vocals, this might well be the hair-metal stylings of Motley Crüe. Yes, it’s a hardcore vocal but let’s put this straight; this isn’t just indiscernible yelps, you can actually hear each word. Let’s call it discerning hardcore.

For the first few tracks everything seems somewhat pedestrian. Sure, a pissed-up, staggering, angry pedestrian, but pedestrian none the less. And then comes “Lifted to the Sun”, a track that really should stick out like the proverbial. It’s an instrumental number, sounding almost like something you might hear at a medieval banquet (because you go to those all the time) and, somehow, it really, really works. Under the skin of this angry dragon lies a calm, steady heartbeat. And how that heartbeat sets up the rest of the album.

From that moment of calmness comes the onslaught; mega Donington-bothering riffs, intense vocals and a pace that seems to quicken with each song. Even the mellow moments seep power. “From Hell” comes across like those prog bands of old (dare we call this progcore? Let’s not, hey?). The title track sounds like Black Sabbath has been resurrected without the blithering dolt of a frontman. The double-header of “Tied to the Tracks” and “Hard to Swallow” shines through, the glistening gems on the end of the Afterlife god’s crook and flail. You’ll tap your foot before your head starts to nod, and then bang. Bang vigorously.

Strangely though, for all the quality on show, the album doesn’t actually seem to capture the intensity and fierceness that The Plight exhibits on stage. This isn’t so much a knock on the record so much as testament to how good that live show is becoming. If anything, this recording does go a long way to demonstrating how technically proficient the outfit is, far more so than any gig is likely to.

Full marks to The Plight for getting out there and trying something different, and actually doing it very well. ‘Winds of Osiris’ is an album that metallers and hXc kids can both get down to it. It’s an astute little number that doesn’t dash out of the blocks, but does impress the further along it goes. Bottom-heavy albums are few and far between these days, but this one certainly fits the bill, and is actually more imposing because of it. Clean the wax out of your ears, make your hair real big and get the air guitar ready: The Plight is bringing the noise and it’s a damn fine racket.

Alex