ID.ENTITY

A really strong, melodic, beautiful and a bit dystopian new album by Riverside - the Polish prog rock masters return in 2023 with the eight installment in their studio catalogue, titled 'ID.Entity', this time taking some more time between this release and the previous one, which landed in 2018. One important change in terms of the band's line-up after the unfortunate passing of their ex-guitar player Piotr Grudzinski in 2016, as he has been officially replaced by Maciej Meller, previously only a touring member. Now with a proper lineup of four again, Riverside come back to present a collection of a little more uplifting than usual, quite versatile, and very lovely compositions, whose style ranges from their usual prog rock with tints of Porcupine Tree to a more classic rock-oriented numbers, all making up for a pleasant listening experience. Apparently Mariusz Duda is taking a critical look upon the contemporary world, with the songs hinting at themes like mass control, identity crisis, disillusion, disappointment with friendships and relationships, among other topics.

A catchy and somewhat 80s synth-prog-inspired opener, 'Friend of Foe' is quite a lovely way to kick off 'ID.Entity', starting off on a more uplifting note, presenting some tasty bass playing, lovely keyboards, and the usual warm vocals delivering some thoughtful lyrics. Even if the music seems a bit different than usual, I would not consider the lyrical content too distant from what is expected from the band, meaning that what Riverside is best known for, is still present here, the identity of the band could hardly be lost, despite the fact that this is one of the revolving themes of the record. 'Landmine Blast' is also very strong, tricky bass playing here, with Duda displaying his great songwriting capabilities once again. 'Big Tech Brother' is very interesting, once again reminiscent of some 80s synth-prog, I just cannot put my finger on exactly what it is, but the keyboards are very impressive on this one, so are the guitars. 'Post-Truth' is unfortunately a bit more forgettable and 'The Place Where I Belong' is not my favorite longer track by Riverside, but 'I'm Done With You' redeems both of them with its powerful, darker and anthemic nature. Finally, there is the playful and enjoyable 'Self-Aware'. The deluxe edition of this album features two bonus instrumental tracks as well as the single edits of 'Friend or Foe' and 'Self-Aware'.

'ID.Entity' is a very solid addition to the band's discography overall, it presents a different side of Riverside, and catches them trying to display a less darker musical presentation - the end result is a very well-constructed new album for them and a great entry point for their new lead guitarist.