SECOND LIFE SYNDROME

The sound produced is something on this album is allong the lines of colliding PORCUPINE TREE, PINK FLOYD, THE MARS VOLTA, and TOOL together into a rich and lucid mixture called Second Life Syndrome. This is RIVERSIDE's second studio album and is part two of a trilogy. They claim not to be Prog Rock, but with an album like this, you have no ground to stand on.

A slow introduction called After slowly draws you in with some incredible layerd vocals and percussion. This then brings us into Volte-Face; with great guitar riffs, dark atmospheres, jazzy drumming and a rich voice Riverside built this song and the entire album. Conceiving You is a gorgeous ballad that starts with a repeated piano theme and travels into some guitar melodies and vocal accompanyment. Then comes the best track which is also the title track. The listener will never loose interest for the entire fifteen minutes. Then some hard-rock riffs as in the introduction of Artificial Smile which is the darkest song on the track list. I Turned You Down has that excellent bass line and the weeping guitar melodies again. Reality Dream III is an excelent instrumental which is part three of Reality Dream I and II off of Out of Myself, their first studio album. Dance With The Shadows, is the second longest track which starts off with some Celtic style vocals and eventually turns into a heavy track. It evolves though several moods and tempos. Closing the album out is Before : another showcase for the fantastic vocals.

Many have stated that Piotr Grudziński's guitar is the what makes this album. And it is indeed one of it's biggest strengths, but not the only one. There is much more to this band: the deep and rich voice of Mariusz Duda for instance, whispering, screaming, raw and soft. His bass lines are inventive and played like a lead instrument every once in a while (I Turned You Down is a pretty good example). Michał Łapaj's keyboard: a bit in the background is always there to serve the music, but the song Conceiving You is almost carried by him alone. And last but not least, Piotr Kozieradzki's drums: firm, creative and not overdone (a common complaint I have about some metal bands)

The Production is clean, more so than a lot of metal bands in the same genre. The musicianship is event that these musicians know how to play! The only problem I have with this album is that it gets old after the first few times you listen to it. I dont know if its just me, but was bored with it after the tenth (?) time I listened to it. The guitar melodies also start to sound the same on every song (same range, tone etc.)

This is a remarkable album that is worth a listen for any prog fan. Anyone looking for prog metal without high pitch or death vocals? How about a drummer who knows that overplaying and riding the double bass every song can start to get annoying? This is the prog metal band for people who dont like prog metal. An excelent addition to ANYONE's collection

4.3/5

Share this RIVERSIDE review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to pianoman
• Report this review (#202547)
• Buy RIVERSIDE music online with PA partners
• Show all RIVERSIDE MP3/Stream
• Go to RIVERSIDE page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Second Life Syndrome page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for RIVERSIDE related discussions