S.T.E.A.M. is a Polish Djent/Progressive Metalcore band formed in 2012 in the capital city of Warsaw. They released their debut album "Warp" in 2016, and now return with their sophomore effort titled "Osiris" which contains nine new tracks.

"Do Not Look Back" leads us off here. It opens with funky and heavy bass accents, and vocals that float overtop where the two seem to exist in different spaces in time. When the angry vocals come in, they are more congruent with the sterile instrumentation. "Let Them Rise" has more of that dirty and angry rhythm with drop-tuned guitars. The clean vocals are again not very well connected with the sound. I can't tell if that is there intention or not, because they lose me for a spell until the harsh vocals arrive. "Swarm" opens with some spacy guitar effects, and another heavy rhythmic line. The clean vocals again...at this point they might want to consider ditching the clean vocals and just going with the harsh ones. The instrumentation is on point and it sounds better darker anyway.

"FFY" opens with some electronic effects, leading to a punchy riff that isn't overly sterile. Here the clean vocals make that bridge fairly well. The music is a bit more melodic here and it works well with the clean vocals. "The Light Reaper" goes heavy and hard from the start, with aggressive vocals and a punishing main riff. Some effects are nice in the chorus, rounding out the sound somewhat. "The Pioneer" opens with the sounds of outer space...gentle clean guitars and steady, pulsing keyboards. This is what I have been waiting for. That ethereal sound buried in between the heavier moments on the album. When the main riff comes, it crushes but blends things together so well. "Black Star" is weighted and aggressive, as the name suggests. The album is getting a bit better as it carries on, and they are finding more of their stride.

"Fly by Anomaly" opens with piano and clean guitars, and again with that outer-world quality that propels you into their space. The rhythms are timed very well here and everything is in its place. "Water" closes the album, with an electronic drum beat and some effects. It's fairly different than anything else on the album. Taken as a whole, it's pretty good. The musicianship is excellent, and they seem to work best when in the harsher moments. If it were me, I would consider getting rid of the cleans altogether. They are a bit pitchy and don't connect very well with the harshness and grittiness of the instruments. Overall, it's good, and something to build on.