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.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The New Math (What He Said)Jim Matheos | O.S.I. | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | O.S.I.Jim Matheos | O.S.I. | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 3 | When You're ReadyJim Matheos | O.S.I. | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 4 | HeadJim Matheos | O.S.I. | Play | 05:18 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 5 | Hello, Helicopter!Jim Matheos | O.S.I. | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | ShutdownJim Matheos | O.S.I. | Play | 10:24 | 23 MB | 65 MB |
| 7 | Dirt From a Holy PlaceJim Matheos | O.S.I. | Play | 05:10 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Memory Daydreams LapsesJim Matheos | O.S.I. | Play | 05:55 | 13 MB | 30 MB |
| 9 | Standby (Looks Like Rain) | O.S.I. | Play | 02:09 | 4 MB | 12 MB |
| 10 | Houseshoes And B-52's | OSI | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 47 mins | 109 MB | |||||
| 47 mins | 288 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Ewerhard | Design |
| 2 | Phil Magnotti | Drum Engineering, Engineer, Mixing |
| 3 | Sean Malone | Bass, Engineer, Guest Artist, Stick |
| 4 | Jim Matheos | Bass, Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Programming |
| 5 | Vladimir Meller | Mastering |
| 6 | O.S.I. | Primary Artist |
| 7 | Mike Portnoy | Drums |
| 8 | Steven Wilson | Engineer, Guest Artist, Vocals |
OSI
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |