LIVE ID.

12 tracks with 6 on each CD, the LP on 3 vinyls, the Blu-Ray DVD with its 12 tracks piled up and a bonus with the pleasure of the video recorded in Poland: "#Addicted" as a well-rehearsed intro to 2015's 'Love', "Panic Room" for one of the two hits from 2007's 'Rapid'. "Landmine Blast" and "Big Tech Brother" from last year's ID' to really open the musical ball with this innovative sound from their latest album; a sound unique to them that has no equal and that the live performance transcends a little more, with a great DZIĘKI launched to the audience, in conquered territory. "Lost" from 'Love' for the dithyrambic crescendo, the very fat synth solo and this chorus taken up in unison, Maciej's solo who appropriates his space in a solemn and masterful way. Finally, "Left Out" from 'Anno' from 2009 concludes this first set with this bewitching, repetitive, trance-inducing tune, with a Floydian tune that repeats itself endlessly and the purely progressive metal break. A bit of DEEP PURPLE-style sound made to reprise Oh Oh Ohhhh, in his room in front of his stereo at the top of his lungs.

"Post-Truth" and the first track of 2023, which was not in the set at the Loreley; just for this heavy finale, a sound sticking to the skin that makes you get up and move endlessly on it while screaming; prog metal I say. "The Place Where I Belong" long track with its Floydian peregrination, its progressive variation taking you far, far, so far that time stops and melts any prog fan in need of a concert. "Egoist Hedonist" by Anno again, 2nd track in addition with a trumpet sample that is even more confusing live. "Friend or Foe?" follows for the es'80s track, to dance, sing, snap your fingers to, TEARS FOR FEARS, ULTRAVOX in sight. "Self-Aware" with the DEEP PURPLE intro and the reggae air, innovative, confusing and a finale worthy of a live performance. "Conceiving You" with this basic intro, reminiscent of the soundtrack of 'Silent Hill', I digress but it's the captivating atmosphere that strikes me every time. The pearl of their 2nd album with the radio hit, then the variation, the progressive deviance with Mariusz and his bass, yes it's not just RUSH, IRON MAIDEN, QUEEN, THIN LIZZY or DREAM THEATER who had great bassists. The title that puts the live CD back in the spotlight with its unique enjoyable digressions and the dialogue of the said DUDA in final communion with his audience, with you; go one, two, three, four, RIVERSIDE makes rock'n'roll.

RIVERSIDE recorded this live in June 2024 in Poland; 3 Lps, 2 Cds, the blu-ray for those who haven't seen them yet. At a time when concerts are becoming increasingly rare, throwing yourself on these pieces is a real plus showing the fluidity, the movement, the delicacy of prog rock of the new millennium. Arrangements boost the soul of Mariusz and his friends, half of the tracks coming from their latest album prove, if it were still necessary, that RIVERSIDE is indeed the band looking to the future. They offer new music, original music as he had so rightly told me a few years ago. An evolving sound that does not remain in the progressive straitjackets and a RIVERSIDE that continues to innovate with the perpetual search for recent sounds bathed in the flavors of yesterday. The pleasant musical association with a disconcerting and changing aspect of the beaten paths. The Blu-Ray offers a quarter-hour documentary to bathe in the backstage of the concert and to have this unspeakable pleasure: to see RIVERSIDE in concert at home comfortably installed, the musical pleasure is definitely priceless, no limit.

Recorded on June 1st, 2024 at COS Torwar in Warsaw, 'Live ID.' completes the 'ID.Entity' album cycle with a limited edition 2CD+Blu-ray Digipak, a gatefold 3LP on 180g vinyl or as digital album, but no matter how you get this, you will be treated to 12 songs and 110 minutes of music. Right from the off the band set out their stall with the Floydian and bass-driven "#Addicted" from 2015's 'Love, Fear and the Time Machine'. Singer and bassist Mariusz Duda is always in full control, providing basslines which often form the main melody, while the only other constant, drummer Piotr Kozieradzki, keeps it tight at the back, never over playing. The role of keyboard player Michał Łapaj is often to provide curtains of sound to wrap everything within, and then we get the attack of guitarist Maciej Meller which gives us the crunch and allows the band to become very heavy when the time is right.

I have been a fan of the band ever since Artur Chachlowski gave me a copy of their debut album 20 years ago and told me this Polish outfit was going to be huge, and there is no doubt that to Western ears they have been the biggest prog band to come out of that country in the last few decades. They have a polished sound which only comes from bands full of experience and musicianship who have total faith in their own ability, and it is in the live environment where they really shine. The arrangements are tighter and there is a real punch, driven as always by the dynamic bass playing of Duda. It is his approach and style which makes Riverside what it is, providing the heft and cutting through the keyboards while also ensuring the guitar has something weighty to lean against. On top of that, he is one of the most melodic singers around, a combined role which few have managed to completely dominate the way he does.

I was not the biggest fan of 'ID.Entity', feeling it was somewhat smothering and that it was not worth the mass attention it had received which I felt was due more to it being the first album in five years as opposed to a great work, but here the songs from that set have a new life and vibrance. The result is a band who are really cooking, at the top of their game, in front of a home crowd who are more than happy to singalong when they are given the opportunity, which means this is a live album definitely worth investigating.