ANNO DOMINI HIGH DEFINITION

I'm completely unfamiliar with Riverside and any of their earlier releases. I saw this album appear in the top of the top 2009 albums and trusting the judgment of the progarchives reviewers(which in general seems to be in the lines of my taste) I got a hold of the album.

At the first listen I was awe struck. Not knowing what to expect out of it I instantly fell for the production, sound and execution. Every inch of this felt right on the money for me. I have a rule for new music; I need to feel the urge to air drum to determine if a record is great. Let me just say that Anno Domini High Definition was off the charts in this respect. I'd be out of breath by the third track, still flailing away like a madman.

I think Riverside's music can quite blandly be called progressive metal. Yet, it might be misleading as that genre tends to turn towards big gestures and preachy lyrics. In Riverside's case the music leans much heavier on the progressive aspect of the music. It feels like a true cross of Rush, Marillion and Jethro Tull with Dream Theater or similar metal acts and with this I mean they aren't as heavy metal influenced as other bands of the genre. Do not fret though, if you are a fan of that genre you'll still find plenty to like here as well!

I played the album for roughly a month after getting it, still flailing through it wildly, but I slowly found that its impact waned over time. I can't say I found anything to complain about, the album is great all through to the end. But at the end of summer I had stopped listening to it completely. It wasn't until I remembered I hadn't reviewed it that I came back to it. I think this speaks pretty poorly for the album as a "best of the year" candidate when albums like "Part the Second", "Crack the Skye" and "Act III: Life and Death" kept fresh all through more frequent listens.

Anno Domini High Definition shows a new face of progressive rock to me and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a more colorful and interesting take on progressive metal. A great album that loses some value by lacking re-playability for me.

3,5/5