LOVE, FEAR AND THE TIME MACHINE

"Let's believe this is our time"

It was 2008 when I stumbled upon a song called "02 Panic Room" by a band named Riverside. Enthralled, I ended up purchasing every album and have preordered every album since, as well. Riverside is just as valid and exciting to me as they were back then, so you can imagine that I approach a review for their new album with bated breath. A new Riverside album is a spiritual experience for me in many ways; indeed, their music very much falls in line with the various seasons of my life. They have gotten me through difficult times emotionally, and, yes, are my favorite band, without question.

So, is this a fanboy review, then? Maybe, but ultimately no. Only certain albums in their discography would garner a 10/10 from me, but I am thrilled to say that, after listening to the new album "Love, Fear and the Time Machine" about 30 times, it deserves that score every little bit. "LFTM" represents Riverside at their most mature, both on a musical and an emotional level.

"I wanted to turn into a butterfly, but I couldn't trust you enough"

Keeping their core band the same since the second album, Riverside consists of Mariusz Duda on bass and vocals, Piotr Grudziński on guitars, Piotr Kozieradzki on drums, and Michał Łapaj on keyboards. These four have proven much to the progressive world over the years, but "LFTM" really feels as if they want to prove something to themselves. While they've never been much for the technical wanking of many progressive bands out there, this new album is a purposeful exploration of a warmer, lusher, more hopeful side to the band. Anyone that has followed them knows that their past albums are sometimes very dreary and depressing: Indeed, "melancholy" describes their music well (though, I've always seen their music as strangely hopeful). However, Riverside has taken that depression and given us a journey with light at the end of the tunnel. Instead of offering pain and fear without remedy, Riverside gives us a vision of life with hope, happiness, and purpose at the end. Riverside has completed and clarified their message.

All four of these musicians are at the top of their games. Duda's vocals are once again perfect, packed with relatability and emotion. His bass, quite frankly, is the best of the year. Michal's keys hit all the right notes, and I especially love when he plays counter to the time signature a bit, as I just get an unearthly peaceful feeling from it. Piotr's drums are more clarified than ever, and I found myself tapping out the beats hours later. And, as always, Grudziński's guitars are packed with emotional solos, driving rhythms, and even some shoegazing moments. The band, then, feels very calm and confident.

All of this is reflected in the musical choices. Bright acoustic guitar make an appearance here, as well as an overall softer sound and incredibly strong and clear vocal melodies ("Time Travellers"). Duda has also brought back his vocal noises that I love so much. Spacier, lovelier, and happier, "Love, Fear and the Time Machine" laps and flows like the waters at, well, a riverside. Instrumental sections sound organic and naturally flow in and around choruses and verses. One sticks out in particular: the first few minutes of "Saturate Me" reminds me of the "Reality Dream" instrumental tracks from their first few albums. There are others, such as the end of "Caterpillar and the Barbed Wire" and the end of "Towards the Blue Horizon". There are plenty of instrumental fireworks, but they never lose purpose or restraint.

Influences from the 70's and 80's make an appearance throughout, but the core sound is Riverside. In fact, I think the press releases have been overplaying the supposed influences on this album. This is the band reaching maturity in every way. They have their own identity and their own purpose, and they honestly don't care what you think.

"In my invisible *oh* life, I don't want to feel like I'm no one anymore"

That attitude spills over into the amazing lyrics on this album. The theme of this album is very personal for Duda, and it involves an analysis of the various situations and catalysts in life that allow or force us to make huge decisions. That might be a misleading description, though. The album is more about encouraging and supporting us as we choose to make life changes; as we throw off our shackles, break our chains, and run from our self-imposed cages. This is an album about freedom and living life as the person you are, without fear and without a focus on the past. In other words, it's time to move on and become somebody. So, yes, it's a weighty and sometimes dark theme, but the band channels hope, ultimately.

So, all of this can serve to prepare you for one hell of an album. From the haunted uneasiness of "Lost" to the gentle scolding of "Under the Pillow", or from the weightlessness of "Afloat" to the pulse pounding excitement of "Discard Your Fear", Riverside have not only created an album that is beautiful and never gets tired, but they have also once again created an album that reaches me (and I hope you) on a personal level. I honestly can't get enough of it! My favorite tracks are difficult to choose, so I will say the awesome "Under the Pillow", the keyboard-rich "Caterpillar and the Barbed Wire", the nostalgic "Saturate Me", the single "Discard Your Fear", the transitioning serenity of "Towards the Blue Horizon", and probably the strong melodies of "Time Travellers". Yeah, basically all of them.

"In your Fabletown, you're still afraid of starting something new this life"

I hope you will give this album a shot. "Love, Fear and the Time Machine" is the best album I've heard this year, and I don't see it leaving my playlist for some time. It is in many ways the best Riverside album since "Second Life Syndrome", which is not a light statement, as that happens to be my favorite of all time. That's actually a little scary to say, but I'll stand by that claim. Everything about this album is Riverside, past and present and future. Yet, now I feel that they have completed their emotional journey, and they've taken me along for the ride. Thank you, Riverside, for continuing to try new things and for purposing to reach individuals on a personal basis.

Originally written for theprogmind.com

What has quickly become the most divisive album in Riverside's catalogue, 2015's `Love, Fear and the Time Machine' sees the Polish band take a big side-step away from their usual metal/heavier style to move their music in a far more streamlined, accessible direction than ever before. It shares similarities to the recent Anathema albums, Steve Hogarth's Marillion era and Steve Wilson's solo works, and in some spots almost comes across as a solo album for main-man Mariusz Duda. Needless to say, some of their metal fans are already throwing around terms like `sell-out'! But despite being less complex and placing more importance on actual tunes over instrumental show-boating, there is still much to instantly identify the band as Riverside here. Duda's voice is still full of emotion and his thick upfront bass is dominating and given many opportunities to stand out, with Piotr Kozieradski's drumming furious and busy, Piotr Grudzinki's guitars vibrant and varied, and Michal Lapaj's synths, piano and Hammond organ plentiful. Even though some pieces do push the five minute mark, you can mostly forget lengthy, more expected prog-rock workouts this time around ' the song, vocals and lovely group harmonies are what's most important, with the more progressive instrumental parts mostly restricted to short bursts in the middle of tracks, or perhaps an extended intro or outro here and there.

Looking at a few highlights, chiming guitars, gently whirring synths and a hopeful, reflective chorus welcome the listener on opener `Lost', surely destined to be a rallying favourite for fans when performed live. Plentiful synths and guitar soloing livens up `Under the Pillow', the fragile and melancholic `Afloat' could have fit easily on a recent Anathema album (lovely restrained Hammond throughout that one too), and both `Time Travellers' and album closer `Found' are warm sheltering ballads that could easily have the kind of crossover success that Steven Wilson has enjoyed.

But there's a couple of tracks that prove to be very special that take the album higher. `The Caterpillar and the Barbed Wire' and `Saturate Me' will definitely appeal most to longtime Riverside fans, allowing more opportunity for longer instrumental sections with great interplay between all the musicians, whilst bringing back some of ethereal guitars runs and heavier grunt (and the sparse and lonely repeated refrain of `I don't want to feel like I'm no-one anymore' on the latter is very confronting). Same too for the mysterious verses behind slinking electronic loops and bouncing relentless bass of `Discard your Fear' lifted by a reassuring chorus. The longest track here at just over eight minutes, `Towards the Blue Horizon' brings plenty of light and shade by alternating between dreamy, Hogarth-era Marillion vocal purrs with bursts of heavier intensity and darker groaning drones full of tense brooding unease.

Big respect also goes to the shamelessly up-tempo radio-friendly `#Addicted', a sad commentary on those addicted to social media, with a tune kissed by the gods of great pop music. Driven by Duda's murmuring chunky bass line, his sweetly crooned chorus and careful falsetto vocal would have probably made Eighties romantic synth group A-Ha an absolute fortune back in that day, and he even sounds like their lead singer in a few spots ' yes really, get on Youtube now!

It's refreshing to see the band try a different approach, and many other bands would be envious of how well-written and performed the tunes on offer here are and how slick the production is. But as good as the album always sounds on the surface, stripping back on a lot of the elements that their existing fanbase appreciated about them has also made Riverside a little less interesting here in a few spots, and while many moments are initially instantly exciting from the first spin, repeated plays, despite some distracting and slick vocal arrangements and easy-to-enjoy tunes, reveals not as much in the way of depth to keep the listener coming back, something that all their previous albums offered. Seeing as `Love, Fear and the Time Machine' has already become their biggest seller to date chart-wise in several countries, it's definitely proven to be a valid move for the band, and they should be proud of the achievement. But hopefully this strong crossover album helps them get their foot in the door to a wider audience that some of the above mentioned artists have achieved, that they can then use to really impress with a more wholly challenging and complex album in the future.

Three stars as a progressive rock album, but add an extra star if you're happy with simply a damn fine rock album.

I love bands that evolve, who are not afraid to try new things or to reinvent themselves every once in a while or even for every album. Riverside seems to be one such band. Each and every release of theirs from their first in 2004, "Out of Myself" to this one have been quite distinctively different from all the others. What is unfortunate is that only one of the many mantles Mariuz Duda and company have tried on only one has worked for me, the others have all been minor or major disappointments. What causes such disappointment is due to the absolute heights of perfection the band achieved on their 2005 masterpiece, "Second Life Syndrome." Everything that has come since (and, for that matter, before) must be compared to the stunning standards of production, composition, engagement, power, ambience, and flow that was SLS and, like this one, "Love, Fear and the Time Machine," all have come up shockingly short. "Too Neo Prog," "too abrasive metal," "too sterile," "too much awash in synthesizers," "too derivative of past styles and sounds," "moving too much toward the pop end of the prog spectrum"--these are just some of the criticisms I've had for Riverside albums before and after "Second Life Syndrome." Why can't they create songs as clean, crisp, and starkly powerful as SLS again? Why all the fooling around with styles and sounds that are so far beneath them? I don't know who is giving them their ideas, their notes, their suggestions, but they're wrong! This is a heavy prog band with THE best, most signatory album in modern heavy prog music! I hope that someday they will be able to recapture the majesty and grandeur of one of the 21st Century's most brightly shining examples of progressive rock music.

The Incident: So here is Steve Wilson sitting in a boardroom (a bored room?), informing his esteemed Porcupine Tree colleagues that time has come to 'erase the hand' and 'move on' (just like 'she' did), putting the mercurial band on hold, for who knows how long . Bassist Colin Edwin just smirks and smiles like he always does, the perennial Mr.Chill, while Richard Barbieri mumbles an 'Alright then!' and moves to Japan. Drummer extraordinaire Gavin Harrison turns Crimson and the King barely shrugs as he never has experienced unemployment anyway. 'My perfect life would be to go solo and do my own thing, lads but not to worry, I found the right band to continue our style. These Polish dudes Riverside have always copied us, well, they are free to do so now'. Wilson leaves the room with 'Bonnie the Cat', 'Even Less' irritated than when he had ordered a 'Lightbulb Sun', earlier in the day. Oh well'..

Mariusz Duda is no dummy, savvy enough to know that chess is quite popular in Central and Eastern Europe, so every move has a counter move, no? 'Don't Hate Me' he is heard humming smartly, he will play his tune regardless, being a Lunatic Soul. After a deluge of soft albums followed by hard ones, looks like Riverside has gone 'Hatesong' with their latest offering 'Love, Fear and the Time Machine', a sideway sashay that will please some fans and enrage others. The harsh guitar metal onslaught is nowhere to be heard, the growling silliness is completely erased and the mood is way more melodic (read: accessible) than ever before. The songs are also way shorter, more succinct and to the point, the instrumental fat trimmed off completely. Disappointing? Not really and let me explain why. The melodies are magnificent and the delivery is simply first class. It must be said that this sounds more like Duda's solo work (Lunatic Soul) at times but with a little less contemplation and way more approachability. Also it's perhaps more feminine and less masculine than , say 'Anno Domini', for sure. There is very little doubt that a gemstone song like 'Time Travellers' could and should be a hit by any existing standard, armed as it is with the deadliest of melodies. The heartfelt chorus is utterly genial and the entire experience is one of classic prog perfection. 'Let's go back to the world that was 30 years ago and let's believe this is our time' repeated often enough to be seared into the brain, a pastoral and jazzy backdrop, gently rippling organ rolling in the grooves. Timeless indeed.

Funny that the first song is entitled 'Lost' and the final one, 'Found', definitely proof of their detail-oriented shrewdness, a band that has reached maturity. 'Lost' is a vaporous lullaby, swirls of mood that again wink at Porcupine Tree's 'Lazarus' when the following lyric parallels the latter ( 'Come, follow me down where the river flows'), a coincidence ? No, just an 'Incident'! One is a valley, the other a river, how quaint'.The guitar solo is wavy, bright and suave, a simple glide down the neck and thrills galore.

The brooding 'Under the Pillow' opens the proceedings with a convincing rant that offers clanging guitar and Mariusz' defiantly soft voice, a sinewy atmosphere that sounds closer to old REM or the Church, slashed by a buzzing axe furrow and an insistent chorus that repeats the title. Yeah, 'watching too much daytime TV' can kill you indeed! This also has a definite PTree stylistic feel, mostly due to the voice that does sound quite similar to Mr. Wilson's. A churning Hammond blast gives this a lovely sheen what with Duda's thick bass scouring the lower ledge with authority. Great song, must be said. Another winner is '#Addicted' , pumped along with a bopping bassline that only serves to elevate the thrilling melody, a musical universe where fragility and despair coalesce, throwing in some harsher guitar notes, relentless drumming and Duda's seductive croon ruling the waves. Great song again.

The mysteriously muted 'Caterpillar and the Barbed Wire' begins generously minimalistic with bass and voice leading the charge, later joined by binary drum fills and a rattling guitar adornment. The organ does provide some brooding melancholy, a perfect foil for the otherwise gloomy trust lyrics. The restrained and crystalline axe solo is simple and yet effective. The finale is suitably grandiose and aggressive but more like insistent then say, noisy. Great stuff, really.

The pieces that are closest to classic Riverside are the longer ones like the moody 'Saturate Me' and the cyclically vaporous 'Towards the Blue Horizons', both extremely evocative with a sizeable amount of instrumental preponderance, giving guitarist Grudzinski and ivory man Lapaj (who truly shines throughout this release) room to roam and 'dream on'. These will please the fans without any hesitation, a cool duo of stalwart music that hits the spot. Both are killer!

The big surprise is the thrilling 'Discard Your Fear' , a lament that fits more into the Steve Wilson mode, bopping bass leading the charge, massive mood changes (Lapaj again) and convincing delivery by all. At times brooding, greasy and urban, they aggress nicely towards a Killing Joke 'Love like Blood' riff before going 'Insurgentes'. The axe rages loudly and resonates wildly, a very impressive display by Mr Grudzinski, indeed! Duda's fragile vocals are intuitive and breathless. Amazing!

The finale is 'Found' and it succeeds as a glorious wave goodbye, until the next time, whichever the Riverside wind may blow. The mood is climactic, 'Oooh It's a lovely life'' pointing towards some future bliss. Some hard-core fans will be disappointed but I say just raise the volume to louder, as the production and sound is clearly top notch and let the caress begin.

4.5 polished Poles

You won't hear me complaining about the direction RIVERSIDE is going musically these days. It seems to me they are following in Steven Wilson's footsteps with these melodic, more mainstreamed songs. But they are amazing songs! The lyrics and music on this album have moved me many times over the last couple of weeks. So we get an hour of meaningful music bringing to mind THE CURE, Steven Wilson and ANATHEMA.

It's impossible to pick my top three songs here but I could do a top six. "Lost(Why Should Be Frightened Of A Hat?)" is a top six. The organ floats as the bass and vocals join in. It stays laid back until just before 2 1/2 minutes when it kicks into gear. Some nice sounding guitar a minute later, along with the chunky bass. "Come, follow me, we'll go down where the river flows". So uplifting! "Under The Pillow" opens with picked guitar and atmosphere as reserved vocals join in. I like the spacey synths and prominent bass before 1 1/2 minutes. Nice guitar/ organ section after 4 minutes. "How long can you hold your breath under the pillow".

"#Addicted" is my favourite tune. There's an eighties vibe here, especially THE CURE. "So hashtag me and go cause i'm addicted to your love." Just some killer bass work along with those incredible vocals that are so pure. I like the almost one minute closing section of acoustic guitar and melancholic synths that don't even seem like it's the same song, but man it works so well. "Caterpillar And The Barbed Wire" is a top six. This sounds so good early on with those vocals, bass and atmosphere. A classy guitar solo before 4 minutes, and I love the final minute of this song. "Saturate Me" another top six. A fairly powerful start to this one with the organ and guitar standing out. Riffs come and go then we get a change after 2 minutes as it calms right down with electronics and spacey vocals. "I don't want to feel like i'm no one anymore, in my invisible "oh" life". So good!

"Afloat" is sad with reflective vocals and picked guitar. It reminds me of the "Judgement" era of ANATHEMA. Some atmosphere a minute in and the organ floats in as well. Melancholic lyrics to this one as well. "Discard Your Fear" is a top six. I like how this builds and it reminds me of THE SMITHS early on. The vocals are higher pitched than usual. Love the bass and spacey synths. It turns so uplifting 2 1/2 minutes in as well as at 4 minutes and 6 minutes. Nice! It's heavy with some ripping guitar 5 minutes in. "Towards The Blue Horizon" is the final top six. Acoustic guitar melodies to start as releaxed vocals join in. The lyrics are so good, so moving. This is a song about missing a past love. "We just lived our lives". It turns intense before 3 1/2 minutes and we get some MAIDEN-like lead guitar 4 minutes in followed by organ then riffs. There's a beautiful section 6 minutes in. "I just miss those days wish I could be strong when darkness comes".

"Time Travelers" is a song about regret and it opens with strummed guitar and vocals. This one is my least favourite but it's still quite good. "Found(The Unexpected Flaw Of Searching)" really reminds me of Wilson's "Perfect Life" on the chorus at least. This one is very emotional and probably deserves to be in my top six but then this simply shows how solid this album is. It's so moving the way it starts and it turns fuller after a minutes. "Oooh, it's a lovely life". I also like the line "In my yearning for daylight I find you in my soul."

This was a huge surprise after reading about how mainstream it was, but this is simply great music no matter how you look at it.

"Love, Fear and the Time Machine" is the 6th full-length studio album by Polish progressive rock act Riverside. The album was released through InsideOut Music in September 2015. It's the successor to "Shrine of New Generation Slaves" from 2013. Riverside slowly evolved over the years from a progressive rock act with some metal leanings to a more fully progressive metal oriented act on their 4th full-length studio album "Anno Domini High Definition (2009)". On "Shrine of New Generation Slaves (2013)" they moved away from the metal influences again though, and that development continues on "Love, Fear and the Time Machine"...

...it's actually their least metal tinged album up until now. There are still some relatively hard rocking sections featured on the album, and even a couple of sections which borders metal, but "Love, Fear and the Time Machine" is generally a very mellow and pleasant sounding release. Artists like Porcupine Tree and Gazpacho often come to mind, but by now Riverside have found their own sound within the world of slightly melancholic and atmospheric progressive rock. Mariusz Duda has a pleasant voice, which helps convey the message of the material well, but the band are generally well playing and deliver their parts with both passion and conviction. Interesting rhythms, melodic guitar/keyboards, and an organic sounding bass, are just some of the features which make up Riverside's sound.

The material on the 10 track, 60:38 minutes long album is well written and quite catchy. While all tracks feature vers/chorus sections, which are easy to hum/sing along to, the tracks contain more than just that. The track structures always go beyond the basic vers/chorus structure, and while I wouldn't characterize the material as complex, it's still relatively adventurous. Add to that a warm and well sounding production, which suits the material perfectly, and we have yet another high quality Riverside release on our hands. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Let's start saying that for me this is a masterpiece. I quite like Riverside even without having been a strong fan of the band. I know that somebody considers this album a change in the band's style: less metal and more symphonic prog. Possible, but I can't hear very big differences in style with albums like Second Life Syndrome.

Also, even if I'm not a fan of Steven Wilson, and you can be sure that his hands upon the console are clearly perceived, he has been able to give the band a consistent sound throughout the album without making them sound exactly like Porcupine Tree.

I can't deny that one of the reasons why I'm really impressed by the album is in the lyrics of "Toward The Blue Horizon". This is the title of a Sci_fi novel by Frederik Pohl, but they sound amazingly prophetic; knowing that Piotr Grudzinski is suddenly passed away few weeks after the album's release. Add to this that Mariusz Duda has now in my opinion the most beautiful prog voice after the passing away of Greg Lake.

That song is not the whole album, of course. "Time Travelers" is another intense song which would be enough to make this album worth a purchase, and one which touches me in some strange part of my sub-conscious. So we can say that this is more progressive than metal, but I don't think that Riverside have betrayed their usual public. There are clean vocals only, no screams or growls, but this is not what makes a metal album. It's just a style that this time was not fitting in the songs' economies.

I can't find more words. Surely, listening to it with the awareness that it has been the last album played by Grudzinski, adds some melancholy to an album which can be considered "sad". It's one of the albums I still listen to very often and one of the absolute best of the last three years.

Riverside have produced one awesome album after another and this, their latest, takes a new direction but is no less lacking in excellence. "Love, Fear And The Time Machine" has a sound more akin to Steven Wilson's solo albums but this is not a bad thing, and there are still heavy passages of guitar and that glistening vibrating Hammond sound is prevalent. It would be the last album for guitarist Piotr Grudziński may he rest in peace. He had been attending a Winery Dogs concert in Warsaw the night before but died on the 4th of March from a sudden cardiac arrest. Riverside cancelled the tour dates, released a compilation of ambient and instrumental pieces, titled Eye of the Soundscape, and held off replacing Piotr Grudziński, instead becoming a trio. Mariusz Duda played guitar on the albums, and session members played live. On February 22, 2017 Riverside announced that guitar player Maciej Meller will join the band as a touring member. So "Love, Fear And The Time Machine" acts as a tribute to Piotr and the last studio album since 2015.

Opening with Lost (Why Should I Be Frightened By a Hat?) the listener will be greeted by the clean vocals of Mariusz Duda and wonderful reflective lyrics; "I dropped down again, From a star, On a desert island, Full of skies, And I saw a boy, Looking up, Dreaming of his future, From my past, Soon I drew an ocean, Tamed the sun, And I plunged my feet Into the sand, Bit by bit I came To understand, How I miss this freedom, And the swoosh of waves." The musical interlude is delightful with proggish guitar licks and Lapaj's Hammond gloriously pervading over.

Under The Pillow has a cool guitar motif and lyrics that implore the protagonist to stop hiding under the pillow and face the consequences of their actions. There are some very atmospheric moments with keyboards and guitars trading off well and an energetic rhythm section. This is enhanced by the addition of a great lead break and shimmering keyboards overlayed. The bass heartbeat at the end is fabulous as the guitar soars over; a simply stunning track on the album.

‪#Addicted is adorned by a massive bassline, and very infectious guitar hooks. It is a clean sound and very accessible music overall. It has a Deep Purple feel at times, and this is really an outstanding track due to the melody that ingrains itself into your brain and Mariusz Duda's vocals that are superb. Caterpillar And The Barbed Wire is remarkable for its lyric content such as; "I want to fly, I want to flap my wings, And cause a hurricane in your heart, Butterflies Better lies than hate, But I can't pretend anymore, I'm tired of suppressing all of my needs, I want to belong to the cloudless sky, Not to the shaded ground." The atmosphere is darkened by distorted guitar riffs and some haunting keyboards, and the rhythm is fractured.

Saturate Me has killer guitar licks and some beautiful keyboards backed by a strong rhythm foundation. The lyrics are more supressed, not as many but I love how it is sung with an ethereal reverberation; very trippy and spacey with a psychedelic edge. As the time sig locks into 3/4 a glorious lead guitar break takes over; one of the best moments of the album.

Afloat is a soft gentle approach from the band more akin to Steven Wilson in most respects. Duda's vocals are second to none, sparkling clear and haunting. Piotr's guitar is mesmirising, as is the keyboard work of Lapaj.

Discard Your Fear has a melody that immediately appealed to my senses. The bass is relentless and it is the guitar lick that grabs me along with those incredible keyboard flourishes. There are some heavy percussion fills on this, and a simply stunning instrumental break; it really is a great track.

Towards The Blue Horizon has wonderful melodies and guitar riffs that hook into the brain. Time Travellers opens on an acoustic layer with the strong vocals about travelling across lands far away, "We survived, To believe that this is not the end, This is not the time, Moving unseen beyond, The shadows, Waiting for, The birth of a star we can follow."

Found (The Unexpected Flaw Of Searching) continues the theme of searching and longing for peace in a world of chaos. A soaring lead break augments the track, emotionally played by the late Piotr. So the album ends on a melancholy note.

Overall this Riverside album is excellent throughout and even though it is a much more softer approach, it does not detract from the musicianship that is always brilliant. The vocals, the lyrics, the themes all make up for a very emotional listening experience and one that Riverside fans should enjoy from end to end.

Love, Fear and the Time Machine is maybe the most personal and controversial album of Riverside.

They showed here the most luminous and happy? side of their music, with some positivism that was not well receive amongst all their fans. But after some hearings most of the songs of this album start to dig deeper in your soul until you discover yourself hearing this record again and again. It's compelling, passionate and very well made. And it also contains some of the best lyrics of the band.

The overall sound of the album is also lighter, with cleaner guitars (lots of acoustics) and drums and not so heavy bass lines from Mariusz, who made his best vocal interpretation to date in my opinion here. Lyrically the title of the album is a good summary of what we can hear throughout the album, which is an exploration about the childhood's world where the origin of feelings like love, fear and friendship resides. Just beautiful!

And just like Shrine of New Generation Slaves was an homage to 70's music, this can be considered the same for 80's music, with even some The Cure gothic-sounding parts like #Addicted.

Best Tracks: Lost, #Addicted, Caterpillar and the Barbed Wire, Saturate Me, Discard your Fear.

Conclusion: if you are prepared to hear a slightly happier version of Riverside with a bit less of melancholy and desperation in their lyrics, then Love, Fear and The Time Machine is for you. Sadly, the overall quality of this album reaches not the level of their best works, but in my opinion was an improvement over (the also excellent) Shrine of New Generation Slaves and opened new and exciting horizons for the band.

Sadly, this was the last album that Piotr Grudzinski recorded with the band... We miss you, mate!!!

My rating: ****

Many, many years ago, I was introduced to Artur Chachlowski by Stu Nicholson, and that friendship has continued to the present day. Artur not only runs the amazing website www.mlwz.pl, but also has his own radio show and has been for me a constant source of amazing music coming out of Poland. He introduced me to the likes of Collage and Quidam, and then one day all he wanted to talk about was this new band who were making huge waves in their own country, Riverside. It is probably safe to say that in the fifteen years since their debut album they have become the most well-known Polish progressive rock band of recent years, and have continued to release albums of great depth and quality.

This 2015 album was always going to create a great deal of intrigue and discussion, as gone were the more metallic forays, as instead they had taken their love of Porcupine Tree and combined it with some very U2-style guitar to produce something that was quite a step away from what they had been doing before. True, there are the odd riffs and menace here and there, but in many ways this is quite different as they take a leaf from the book of Anathema. This is all about confidence, poise, and a much more reflective and emotional take on progressive music. There are times when the guitar production almost makes one think of Steve Hackett, soft and gentle, but whereas Marillion turned gentler yet somehow managed to remove all emotion from their songs, here we have a band that is moving forward in strength. Instantly accessible, it has a way of hanging onto the listener, refusing to let them go and compelling them to listen all the way to the end. I was playing their second album again the other day, 2005's 'Second Life Syndrome', and the same quartet have produced something ten years later that in many ways is quite different, yet is a very logical progression from where they were before. I can listen to this on constant repeat and never tire of it, as there is just so much here to discover and enjoy within the space and layers. Superb.