Lately the debate between new school and old metal fans has been raging more than ever. Older metal and hardcore fans feel there is not enough respect for history or even a total disconnect in the awareness of some younger “kids” at shows or on message boards. Younger fans are often passionate but sort of focused on whatever is in their face or peer group, though of course there are always idiots who are dismissive of anything they are unsure about. Thankfully there are bands who rise above this like Born Of Osiris, The Black Dahlia Murder, Between The Buried And Me and yes, even Whitechapel. (C’mon, those guys kick ass!) These bands are straddling divides between age groups and have the right attitude of respect for metal history combined with (somewhat…haha) less cynical, youthful enthusiasm.

Any haters out there have been eating their words when faced with Born Of Osiris’ live onslaught and impressive songwriting, a blend of technical death and progressive weirdness mixed with nods to hardcore that aren’t forced or overly intoxicated with breakdowns. The weirdness of the band isn’t weirdness for weirdness sake, as with a band like Psykup, for example. I’m not saying that BOO are the new KK Null or even the next Casket Architects, but it is great to hear a heavier band in the metal ranks who care about textures and music as a story telling element as much as this Chicago outfit. Many moshcore fans or, of course, wishy washy, sappy bands that are considered “underground” like All Time Low seem to have blinders on. Thankfully the real punk world has bands like Strike Anywhere and Dead To Me who nod to tradition yet keep it real by being themselves, or in metal, our subjects today BOO, who think a bit outside the box and, like many of their label mates on fan-friendly Sumerian Records, are injecting a bit more color back into the metal scene.

The best part about Born Of Osiris is that their songs don’t sound forced. The band isn’t stapling parts together just to show off. Yes, there are a lot of changes, swells and plunges, but like Shai Hulud, Wrench In The Works or even something as complex as The Dillinger Escape Plan, it’s all in service to the song. Plus, the cold and atmospheric keyboard layers amidst the chug make it really fun to smoke a joint and listen to BOO while driving around in a suburban, New York snowstorm with barely any visibility, an experience I recently truly enjoyed.

I talked with BOO’s keyboardist Joe Buras about the band’s growing popularity, their writing process and what they’ve learned during all their tours with some heavyweights of metal and hardcore. Be sure to catch these brosephs live with the mighty Bleeding Through and heavy as all hell up and comers Oceano on the Spring Breakdown tour the next few months!

MORGAN Y. EVANS: Both of your records have a strong identity, from the music to the artwork (which really grabs the eye more than many other bands). “Live Like I’m Real” has an almost Middle Eastern vein it touches on, and I also love the introductory track on A Higher Place called “Rebirth”. That ambient keyboard intro almost reminds me of the first track from Enslaved’s Frost, where there is this great set-up for the onslaught to come. What were some of the outside influences or motivations behind the direction of A Higher Place?

JOE BURAS: The lack of unoriginally in metal in recent years has inspired us to do something a bit more outside of the box without replicating our first album but still staying true to the band we started as.

MYE: For sure, and you can hear that in the tunes. Hearing your band reminded me of how I felt when Protest The Hero came out with Kezia. They were so young but had righteously crazy musicianship and you guys are also inspiring like that. One, it fires up the old guard who are jaded with a lot of younger bands, and two, you set a good example that you can think outside the box AND it makes less passionate bands look like poseurs!

JB: Thanks. Glad you liked it.

MYE: Nile are way ahead of you guys in the Egypt referencing department, at least lyrically, but can you delve into the band name for newer fans? I’m sure you’ve gone over this before, but it bears repeating because it is cool and evocative/ominous.

JB: I think Nile has more of a focus on the Egyptian themes. Our lyrics don't have anything to do with Osiris or Isis or any mythological characters or themes. Our band was called Rosecrance before we were signed. Ash Avildsen came to us with the idea of Born of Osiris. At first we weren't too excited about the name because we didn't want to just be labeled as an Egyptian band, like I said Nile has it covered. But when we heard the history/info about Osiris we thought it fit us. Osiris was the God of life but after being murdered by his brother and having his body cut into pieces and spread across the world he became the God of the underworld. We have underworld aspects of our music with angry metal riffs and lyrical themes of conquering and overcoming conflict. We also have more positive melodic sounds in our music and lively themes of transcending the conflict and being in a "Higher Place." Osiris is a good way to represent those two sides of the band.

MYE: Speaking of transcending…I have been listening to 108 a lot again recently and on their Creation. Susutenance. Destruction discography release for Equal Vision there is a part of the liner notes for the song “Pale” that I loved. Trivikrama says that, “The freak out at the end of the tune is a place created in the song to go mad and express frustration and despair but with hope, using your physical being recklessly but with mental concentration and a focus grounded in spiritual knowledge.” While I have been drunk and idiotic in many mosh pits or done the circle pit thing many times, the best moments of that kind of dancing are like that, I think, where you have this higher awareness and the crowd work together. I was wondering how you feel about that, and also newer moshing styles. It seems much more violent and about posing than unity with a lot of the metalcore scene, for example. The lyrics to your song “Exist” really seem to be about handling anger in a positive way.

JB: I think most metal in general is meant to express frustration. It’s about what you believe and how you see the world and the way everyone chooses to fit in it. Everyone has an opinion of how it should be and that creates conflict. Even in the pit, some do the push mosh, others dance like a ninja and everyone enjoys a little circle action. I don't think the specifics of moshing are as important as expressing those feelings of tension and despair. A line from “Exist” that I see fits into that well is "Renounce your Command" telling yourself to let go and not care what you look like dancing like a monkey or if you're gonna get punched in the mouth. You’re expressing yourself and being aware of the feelings that come with these types of music.

MYE: When you wrote A Higher Place did you think about how the songs would translate to the live setting? Have any been particularly well received over others?

JB: Well we knew “Exist” would be one of the best live songs on the album and we were correct. It has been received well every time we perform it. We don't usually write music with the live aspect at the top of the list but always make sure the songs are possible to play live. We are just excited to play more and more songs off A Higher Place. They are steps up technically and that’s what we're usually thinking while writing… to make it better than the past material.

MYE: How was it touring with Hatebreed and what did you learn or take away from the experience compared to other tours you’ve done? The new, self-titled Hatebreed is stupid awesome!

JB: We've been on over 17 tours and have seen some very inspirational bands such as Misery Signals, The Black Dahlia Murder, Suffocation, and Chimaira, to name a few. Hatebreed was no different. When I say inspirational I don't just mean in a musical aspect but in their overall touring methods and performance. Every tour we go on as a support band gives us a chance to see how other bands choose to portray themselves on and off stage. It gives us a chance to see what we do or do not want to do on our headlining tours. Even though the tour wasn’t always the craziest draws we still took away a sense of how a band that’s been around for so long puts on a professional tour. Chillin’ and watching the Jasta kick was always a party. Also the tour gave us a chance to listen to some of those new tracks off their self-titled. I think the biggest thing we took from that tour was new fans. We played in front of an older Hatebreed crowd and were accepted by most.

MYE: Very cool. So, Sumerian seems like such a great label. I am apeshit about Stray From The Path. But the label seems to really support good, fresh up and coming bands that work hard. How has your experience with Sumerian been?

JB: We got signed quite early on. I believe we were the 3rd or 4th band on the label! I think that started us out with a good relationship just because we were there in the beginning, so to say. From then on we've only gotten tighter with everyone there and have seen the label really grow and sign more and more up and coming bands. They have helped us with everything from merch to a van to writing vocal patterns. Yeah, we have had some conflict here or there about tours and the direction of the band. The experience isn't always perfect but a large majority of the things they've done have helped the band in many ways.

MYE: What stage are you at as far as writing material for your next release and how would you compare any of it? It seems that you guys could do any style you want!

JB: The new stuff is a combination of the last two albums. We have more people writing the music now as opposed to the first two albums, where almost everything was written by our drummer. Also, expect the new album to be a much longer experience.?

MYE: More epic, huh? There are a lot of syncopated moments and yet also melodic textures in your songwriting. That’s something I also love about a band like Gojira, for example. There is technicality but it isn’t subordinate to the overall song. Although people who aren’t used to extreme metal might still get freaked out and confused by both bands, but you make sense to me! It seems to me that after Nu Metal a lot of bands reverted back to old fashioned galloping dueling guitar metal, which is fine because it rules, but some do it as a safety net because they don’t want to risk criticism from experimentation. That’s too easy!

JB: Well, we are definitely never afraid to experiment with new and different styles.

MYE: You worked with Zeuss and then remixed things with Andreas Magnusson. What kind of discussions did you have with them that helped shape the specific tones or performances on A Higher Place?

JB: Well, the original mix of A Higher Place was more relaxed and smooth. That was a kind of collaboration between both us and Zeuss. We thought at the time that was what we wanted but after a week or so we decided that we wanted a more heavy sound. That’s why we went back to remix it. We knew Andreas had done some well known CDs so we just told him to make it heavier. Unfortunately, the mix was sent to the production plant or whatever before we got a chance to give it our final approval. There were a few things we could have done without on the mix.

MYE: Well, it is still a very enjoyable record. Any wild tales of adventure from recent tour dates you are allowed to divulge to the Crusher readers? What are you looking forward to that you have coming up?

JB: After our two summer bus tours we were back in the van, which was a wild adventure in itself. Nothing too crazy the past tours… lots of WoW and weed. I think this summer is going to be a lot crazier and we're bringing cameras this time so be ready for lots of crazy new YouTube footage, and who knows, there could be a DVD one day.