ANNO DOMINI HIGH DEFINITION

"Anno Domini High Definition" is the 4th full-length studio album by Polish progressive rock/metal act Riverside. The album was released in Poland in June 2009 through Mystic Production. The European and the US releases were in July 2009. The cover artwork was created by Travis Smith. There´s a special edition available with a bonus DVD containing parts of the concert recorded in Paradiso club (Amsterdam) in December 2008 during the "Reality Dream (2008)" Tour.

The music on "Anno Domini High Definition" continues the progressive rock/metal style that Riverside has played on their previous three studio albums, "Out of Myself (2003)", "Second Life Syndrome (2005)" and "Rapid Eye Movement (2007)". There´s a pretty strong emphasis on the metal side of the group´s sound on this album though and the softer progressive rock sections are fewer compared to the previous releases. "Anno Domini High Definition" is generally quite the heavy album. Don´t expect too many surprises though. This is still unmistakably the sound of Riverside, with atmospheric rock sections and mellower moments to compliment the heavy riffing. The music features many instrumental sections in addition the vocal sections, which are as usual delivered in the pleasant and warm voice of Mariusz Duda. The musicianship is generally on a high level. Great soloing, strong rhythmic playing and nice keyboard work throughout. In addition to that "Anno Domini High Definition" is packed in a detailed and powerful sound production.

So overall "Anno Domini High Definition" is a strong release, but if I have to the honest Riverside have gone in the complete opposite direction of what I had hoped for with "Anno Domini High Definition" and although the album is objectively seen a high quality product and a great listening experience I´m personally slightly disappointed that there are not more atmospheric progressive rock parts on the album. I´ve always felt that Riverside´s strength was in their softer progressive rock side and not in their progressive metal side and to my ears this release is the proof of that. It´s when the band are most melodic and sophisticated like they are on "Left Out" and not when they play heavier parts like they do on "Hyperactive", that they shine. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still warranted even though I feel this is a step down from their previous releases.