ANNO DOMINI HIGH DEFINITION

It is true that Riverside did not impress me in their previous releases. I thought that they are just a good band which tries to play intellectual progressive. But in 'Anno Domini High Definition' they proved me wrong. They are not just a good band. In this release they combine the technicality that is essential in progressive releases along with deep,'brain' music. Another plus in this band is the good voice of Mariusz Duda. We are many times compromised with pretty bad voices because of the nice music of this and that band. Hyperactive starts with some piano and fade-in music and grows more intense with memorable refrain. A very good opener. 'Driven to Destruction' initiates with a bass assault followed by oriental instrumentation and very nice guitars.It is less dynamic than the first song but totally progressive. Then,after the 2 very good tracks it goes my favorite 'Egoist Hedonist' which I like for the kinda jazz passage a couple of minutes after the start and for the subject it deals with. Of course,it has a memorable refrain and beautifully arranged music.I have not read the lyrics but I understand that the main issue is states of human condition(feelings mostly) by the prism of society.If I am wrong,tell me. 'Left Out' is more mellow and sentimental with very good moments in terms of musicianship. I like very much the aggressive ending with chaotic riffs and anxious(with the good meaning)music.And how could this great album close?With a track that starts with a piano session as the first one.So,what,piano and that's all?Not at all. The music after the 3 first minutes starts to become very Dream Theater-like but not a bad copy, it includes all that Riverside are. It lasts about 12 minutes which is the only flaw,because after the ninth minute is just keyboard stuff. I forgot to mention how good the keyboard player mr.Lapaj is. I rate it with 9/10 which means 4.5/5 and with the rounding it goes 5 stars.