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Jim Matheos:
Eye to OSI
by Tommy “Hashman” Hash

OSI: Matheos in the foreground and Kevin Moore, sitting

When O.S.I. released their debut Office of Strategic Influence in 2003, it was one of the most groundbreaking records that ever hit the racks - in both metal and progressive rock; there was nothing like it before and nothing was like it after, sure the whole nu-prog movement had already begun, but that record took it to everything whole new level and it was just three guys that melded the monstrosity of metal and electronica textures to a higher plain - you had keyboardist/programmer Kevin Moore (Chroma Key, ex-Dream Theater), guitarist Jim Matheos (Fates Warning), and drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Transatlantic) - a group that put the super in supergroup.

Now three full-length records into the fold, Portnoy has left, but that didn't stop Matheos and Moore from continuing what they started; Blood is the latest release from the band and has been met with anticipation worldwide. Jim Matheos paid us a visit, talking about the band, which has seemingly become more than just a mere project, the new record, and even hinting at the future of other well known musical endeavors he is involved with.

"I would say that Blood and even Free, the dynamics on those two records are different than the first one," begins Matheos, "The first record evolved during the process of making it; from just basically being a solo record for myself to more of a prog thing, like Fates Warning, with the idea to just bring in a bunch of musicians that I was used to working with - being similar to Fates, but expanding it by using a lot of different musicians. Once Kevin came into the fold, it took on a different direction - it still has all these prog roots in it but with more of the electronic influences that you hear as well. So I think with Free and even more so on the new record, we started off with the writing knowing where we wanted to go rather than just falling into it, like we did on the first record."

The two both use email as a means for sending each other ideas and audio files for recording, as they both work in their own studios; this formula, which was used from the beginning, has continued to work well, "(We use this method) with a few exceptions," explains Matheos, "on the first and second record we were all together when Mike was in the studio working on the drums, we were still developing the songs at that point and I think on Free, there was a point where Kevin was at my studio and we worked together on a few songs - but this record, we did it completely separately, I did my stuff in my studio and Kevin did his stuff in his. It just seems to work out well for us, we can take our time while working on things, to let them 'stew' for a while, come back in a couple of days and listen to them rather than putting something down and moving on to the next idea, so it works to our benefit to have time alone to apply different things before we expose it to the other guy."

In Portnoy's absence, Porcupine Tree's Gavin Harrison provided the drumming and he has fit in like a glove; being first choice for both Matheos and Moore, luckily he was able to participate in the sessions as the guitarist explains, "I'm a huge fan of his style, I'm a big Porcupine Tree fan, but think Gavin is an incredible drummer, he's got a great feel and I really love his writing, the way his playing compliments his songs so when we knew we needed somebody else, we came up with a short list of people that both Kevin and I like, and Gavin was at the top of the list so luckily for us, he had a nice hole in his schedule last year where he was able to record his drums, so it worked out well for us."

The lyrics are Moore's department, so that, as Matheos would say, is something that Kevin would have to explain, yet the title was something that came up in easy fashion; considering how hard it can be sometimes to make the final decision on a title for an album, "The title Blood, actually the song came first , Kevin told me the song name and one of us suggested it (as the album's title) and that was it - sometimes it's hard for us to come up with an album title, you can go back and forth on that; cover-wise, it's just a group of blood cells."

Photo Courtesy of Jeremy Saffer

Another special guest making the rounds on this record is Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt, who provides lead vocals on the track "Stockholm." Considering how the album goes from the ethereal to the extreme, Åkerfeldt could have used his voice in many ways, even using his famous guttural growl if he wanted to, which would have brought a more liquid edge to the record, putting the already present extremities involved with a few tunes to a higher level - but in the end he used his clean voice and it was something that was entirely up to him; obviously regardless of what he would have wanted to do, any texture he would have added would have worked, "I'm a huge fan of everything he does, whether it's the death growl or his clean voice," elaborates Matheos, "he's got a beautiful clean voice, he got a stunning sound - but we gave him the choice, it was totally optional for him to do whatever he wanted to do once he knew that he was interested in doing something at all with us. We sent him two or three songs, demo material and we said 'if anything strikes you, pick out the material, you have total free reign of whatever you want to do with the song,' so it was really up to him, although he wanted to try some different things, even though it's clean into the Damnation style. He even expanded a little bit into the 'bridge section' doing the Bowie/Scott Walker thing. I wouldn't have been disappointed if he went into some death growls on one of the heavier songs too, that would have been an interesting approach, but we gave him the option to do whatever he wanted."

Another track of note, at least on the bonus disc is a tune from the influential Elliot Smith called "Christian Brothers" that makes an appearance; the late Smith, who is regarded highly in indie/college rock circles, might be the last artist you would think that a band like this would cover - but it's no surprise, and nevertheless, why not? "We were just scrambling for some bonus material and we didn't have any extra songs so Kevin and I were bouncing ideas back and forth on cover versions we could do and Kevin suggested we do a song of his," says Matheos, "I'm not totally familiar with Eliot Smith to be honest with you. Kevin pointed me in the direction of that song and thought we could do a heavy version of it and I agreed; we experimented with it, sent some guitar tracks back and forth for a couple of weeks to see if it would work; Kevin was on a hunch to pull off the vocal - it was really a lot of experimenting until we got to the final moments."

As much as Matheos would like to do one, there are no plans to do another remix record off Blood, but never say never, "We haven't talked about it, but I thought that was a lot of fun. The Free remix idea came more from the record company, they wanted to hear a remixed version of "Go." I doubt it will happen with this album, but I will be interested if someone want to do it."

And what about Fates Warning as well as other appearances; there is a hint to some things that are on the horizon, but nothing is in stone so he can't really give the exact details, however, he does note that there are plans to make another Fates Warning record with Ray Alder, but again, nothing is in stone, as he states, "I'm always writing, I've got a stock of songs looking for a home, what I have planned should be out early next year - but it remains a secret for now. As for Fates Warning, Ray and I have been talking a lot recently and we will probably be end up doing something; like I said, I have songs ready and I have sent some of those to Ray and he's been working on them; no solid plans yet so I think there will be something coming out in the future."

It would be event to see this taken out on the road, but the logistics that lead up to the expenses have kind of hindered that for now - but again, there have been ideas stretched across the board, "We talked a lot about it after Free," says Matheos, "it was something we really wanted to do, we knew the way we wanted to present the project was more elaborate than just going out on stage and playing - I think the music lends itself and really requires to have a good visual show, movies, cool lights and everything. Unfortunately, looking at that, putting a budget together wasn't really possible for the audiences we think we would draw, so it's hard from a business point of view for us to do it as much as I would like to."

So finally an O.S.I. album is something is somewhat of a spur-of-the-moment deal; will there be another album? Well at least Matheos' passion for making music with Moore proves to give everything a positive outlook, "We have never make any long-term plans." concludes Matheos, "it's like "you want to do a record, you feel like doing one?" "nah" - we kind of wait until the other guy is ready and when we are both ready we do it and it's a pretty intense period of a few months or however long it takes to make a record and then we part ways until we come back together again so there are no plans for the future at this time. Personally myself, I really enjoy the process and I enjoy the end product, but we'll have to see."

Copyright & Publishing: 2009 Tommy Hash for Ytsejam.com

CLICK HERE to Read a Review of Blood
CLICK HERE to Read a Review of Free by Rita Bayer

Please Visit:
The OSI Website
OSI at MySpace
Fates Warning Website
Fates Warning at MySpace
Inside Out Records
Inside Out Records at MySpace
SPV Records USA
SPV Records at MySpace

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Jim Matheos: Eye to OSI by Tommy “Hashman” Hash

Jim Matheos:
Eye to OSI
by Tommy “Hashman” Hash