ID.ENTITY

One of the first big releases this year, and one I have been looking forward too, is the latest Riverside album of ID.ENTITY. Riverside, to me, is one of Poland's finest prog bands out there, besides the curious cases of SBB and CzesŁaw Niemen. Mixed with the top tier contemporary sounds of Porcupine Tree with a more drive for metal, this band has been a recent favorite of mine. However, I feel like they have started to trickle down to safety rather than progression after the release of Wasteland, which, in my eyes, felt like an album they didn't give their all in. It seems like that safety has reached a second, and concerning point with their latest record.

On my first listen, I thought it was fairly mediocre, second listen I thought it was really good, but not after a third listen I find that it shifted back to mediocrity.

I do not like to dwell on the negatives, so let's start with what I actually like about this record.

For one, I think some songs on here are actually very superb and some of the best Riverside material we've got in a bit. The very 80s Neo Prog feeling Friend Or Foe, the super jazzy Big Tech Brother, and the very brilliantly executed I'm Done With You, are some of the best Riverside songs to come out of their current line-up. I feel like these tracks alone can make up a very great EP that could rival albums like Anno Domini High Definition, or my personal favorite of Love Fear And The Time Machine. I especially love I'm Done With You, with a very amazing combination of the usual prog metal affair, with a curious dosing of more Haken flavored keyboards, topped with star shining vocals that could rival some of the best vocalists in prog metal to begin with, creating for a modern day Riverside masterpiece.

Another aspect I like about this album is the general concept around modern times and politics. Each track centers around elements of corruption, big businesses, technology, racial issues, gender norms, and so on and so forth. It creates a very progressive outlook that I think is quite needed in prog metal, more than just the odd political song here or there.

However, that brings me to the issues I have with the album, and that is while I like the concept, I feel like the execution is very cringy at best. Tracks like Landmine Blast, Post-Truth, and especially The Place Where I Belong just have that awkward lyricism that I give odd looks to. The Place Where I Belong especially has this weird awkwardness with the lines of "What's my gender, What's the color of my skin" which just doesn't sit well with me. I know the band definitely means well, but when it comes to topics like racial issues and gender dysphoria, I feel like they could've been handled way better.

Aside from choice lyrics, relatively speaking this feels like a very generic Riverside album. What I liked about Riverside was their willingness to change their mold a bit, not to the point where their fans could not recognize them, but to ensure a healthy and steady evolution to newer sounds that test the waters. I think those tests reach a gold standard with Time Machine, but afterwards it seems like they missed an opportunity to mine diamonds and gold with Wastelands. I was fairly excited for ID.ENTITY as it could mean a new Riverside sound, but aside from a few songs, this feels like the Riverside I am used to, and I do not like that. It feels like they aren't trying to change, but rather be conservative within their sounds, and this is a PROGRESSIVE metal band we are talking about. For them to not make progress in their sound in some shape or form, even if it is subtle, is quite sad to me.

An album that I looked forward to managed to be one of the more lackluster. It has some good tracks, but the album's lows outway what I actually like, to where I fear that the band will stay the same. I want a new Riverside, not a Riverside that is the exact same from yesterday. I don't expect them to have King Crimson levels of change and variation, but I want something more. A change in atmosphere, maybe an emphasis on acoustics, maybe a more heavier sound, something to drive me ahead to new waters. This album doesn't do that for me, rather it sinks me down in the river.