Born Of Osiris's Lee McKinney and Nick Rossi deliver a dizzying playthrough of White Nile

Hailing from Palatine, Illinois, Born Of Osiris have established themselves as somewhat of a juggernaut in the metalcore scene, gracing – or more accurately, pulverizing – fans with their destructive brand of heavy since 2003.

With a lineup currently consisting of vocalist Ronnie Canizaro, guitarists Lee McKinney and Nick Rossi, drummer Cameron Losch, and keyboardist/vocalist Joe Buras, the quintet are gearing up to drop seventh studio album, Angel or Alien.

Two tracks have been released thus far – White Nile and the title cut – both of which see McKinney and Rossi's tectonic riffs and mind-bending leads placed center stage.

The pair join Guitar World today for a full playthrough of the former, showcasing its dizzying electric guitar work in all its glory.

Gear-wise, both McKinney and Rossi wield Kiesel guitars – an LM6X and a Vader 6, respectively – which run through EVH 5150 III amp heads and Fractal Audio's Axe-Fx III.

“White Nile is a very guitar-focused song and one of the first we decided would make the cut for the record,” explains Rossi. “When I was working out some of the riffs, I knew I was going for something aggressive, in your face and punchy. 

“The main challenge with this song I’d say is endurance. We take a mostly down-picking approach throughout the whole thing, which gives it the edge and clarity needed to make the riffs sound the way we intended, but on the flip side, things become tougher that way. It’s a good exercise in stamina and consistency and a really fun song to play.”

Adds McKinney: “We knew we had created an extremely aggressive and heavy track, with a constant barrage of intense riffs hitting you at a relentless pace. My goal for the solo section was to give you a release, a melodic climax where you could take a deep breath and smile. 

“This intentionally gives you a contrast to what we had been giving you up until that point. To close out the song, we brought back the heavy rhythmic vibes from the beginning, and tied it all together with harmonized guitar lines to bring you to a close.”

• Born Of Osiris's Angel or Alien is available for pre-order now via Sumerian Records.