Synopsis
Office of Strategic Influence is a progressive rock supergroup. It is also
the name of the group's first album.
History of The Band
It was Mike Portnoy who had the initial idea of working together with Fates
Warning's Jim Matheos. However, Matheos was busy at the time, but Roine
Stolt came to resque, and so Transatlantic was born.
Later, Jim Matheos contacted Portnoy to form Office of
Strategic Influence. The original lineup was the following:
However,
Daniel Gildenlöw was dropped later from the line-up, because
Matheos felt that he needed to take the band to a different direction
(
Gildenlöw was originally supposed to be a
vocalist /
co-
compser in the project, but
Matheos later decided that
Moore should do all the vocals himself). Also,
Sean Malone has
been named as 'guest bass guitarist', and therefore is not a permanent member of
the group.
After this, the recording process for the group's first, self-titled album
began at Carriage House Studios in Connecticut.
The Band Members
Discography
- 2003 - Office of Strategic Influence
The Album
Office of Strategic Influence's first album is self-titled (and therefore is
included in this same node as the description of the band).
There are two international versions of the album available in CD format. The
limited edition includes a bonus disc containing three extra songs and video
documentary. Furthermore, there is a Japanese version of the album
available. It is apparently a single-disc release with all the audio tracks of
the limited version (thirteen tracks altogether).
The album also features Sean Malone of Gordian Knot on bass and Stick, and
Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree on vocals on shutDOWN
The music on this album is not exactly what you'd expect when considering the
style of the parent bands: it is less agressive, with a heavy but slow,
industrial-like sound.
Perhaps the biggest surprise (at least for a Dream Theater/Transatlantic
fan) is that Portnoy's drumming is rather "plain" for most of the
time, thus allowing a rather laidback rhythm.
Moore's vocals are not very powerful, but this works well to
create the album's strong mood.
Track Listing:
- The New Math (what he said) 03:36
- OSI 03:48
- When You're Ready 04:09
- Horseshoes And B-52's 04:18
- Head 05:17
- Hello, Helicopter! 03:44
- shutDOWN 10:25 (feat. Steve Wilson from Porcupine Tree)
- Dirt From A Holy Place 05:10
- Memory Daydreams Lapses 05:56
- Standby (looks like rain) 02:09
Limited Edition Bonus CD
- Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 08:49 (Pink Floyd cover)
- New Mama 02:22 (Neil Young cover)
- The Thing That Never Was 17:21