RIVERSIDE

I love this album. The general atmosphere of "Wasteland", dark and desolating, but with some glimpses of light for moments. In my Top Albums of Riverside, this is my #2 because I love "Love, Fear and the Time Machine" (because of that brighter sound and feel), but this album I can say is their best balanced album.

From dark, metal with some odd rhythmic moments too (Acid Rain, The Struggle for Survival, Wasteland) to lighter and melodic songs but still powerful (like Vale of Tears) and exceptional and emotional ballads where Mariusz is a king (Guardian Angel or the beautiful ending with The Night Before, that piano melody is literally goosebumps moment)

And I can't end without mentioning River Down Below, such a great song, one of their best songs ever. So emotional, dark album, but it shows you that there is always hope and light.

It has been five years since the last album, 2018's 'Wasteland', which was recorded as a trio with some guests, following on from the death of guitarist Piotr Grudziński. They are now back as a full quartet with Mariusz Duda (vocals, basses, electric and acoustic guitars), Piotr Kozieradzki (drums), and Michał Łapaj (keyboards and synthesizers, Rhodes piano and Hammond organ) being officially joined by touring guitarist (and guest on the last album) Maciej Meller (electric guitars). There is no doubt that Duda has a fine voice, but the issue with this album is the lack of soul and power and the way the production has sanitised any roughness or power out of existence. My initial thoughts on hearing this was just how much they reminded me of Marillion, not in the musical style but the way the singer had now ripped the passion out of the band and all the focus was now on him.

A Polish friend gave me the debut album not long after it was released (can that really be 20 years ago now?), and while I never put them into the same brackets as bands like SBB or Collage there is no doubt the prog masses fell in love with them and to many are the ultimate Polish prog act. That this is very clever and well performed is never in doubt, but I have found the more I play it the less I actually enjoy it as I am feeling somewhat smothered whereas I should be feeling invigorated and excited at having the first new Riverside album for five years. It may well be top of the PA charts for Polish releases in 2023 but is actually the only one to get enough reviews to be included and does not have as many points as last year's album by Collage. It currently sits at #28 in the overall charts for 2023, but sad to say that is in my mind mostly due to fans being so pleased to hear a new album that they have marked it very high indeed. Don't get me wrong, this is a pleasant release which many will find satisfying, it is just that for a band 20+ years and eight albums into their career they should be producing music which is far more exciting and dangerous than this middle of the road affair.

If there is something that we have to highlight in the entire Riverside discography, beyond how good musicians they are, it is the ability to generate very well-achieved musical proposals, well wrapped up by impeccable production work. All this, from the hand of its leader, the singer and bassist Mariusz Duda, who clearly sets the group's agenda.

And "ID. Entity" is no exception. Riverside experiments with sounds that go beyond the limits of progressive, as with "Friend or Foe?", a clear reference to the new wave and industrial wave of the 80s, or the jazzy and excessive "The Place Where I Belong", which gives us , in the midst of its extensive development, a little over two sublime minutes, where Duda's voice is perfectly accompanied by Maciej Meller's acoustic guitars and Michał Łapaj's keyboard. There's room for his distinctive progressive streak, too, with "The Big Brother," tinged with electronic elements and dark pinkfloydian sanatorium guitar, arguably the album's best. To conclude, the scratchy "I'm Done with You" and "Self- Aware", reminiscent of the synthesized structures of the 80s Rush.

All in all, and knowing that Riverside releases are always good news, the feeling remains that with "ID. Entity" the Poles have left some punch on the road, a bit of that spicy color that made them combust and be part of the proud front line of prog metal. Being that the central theme of the album inquires about the future of human existence, we find them less aggressive and more reflective, surely motivated by what we call evolution.

3.5 stars

RIVERSIDE and the Hidden Chronicle, revisited 20 years later, for those who dared to put a 1/5 on it; or why it is much better, unfortunately for them!

1. 'The Same River' radio, EAGLES, a bit of pop with ah it goes fast, the bass, yes it's Mariusz, ah that intro that I no longer imagined, that solo by Piotr, that wave noise against the rowboat, PINK FLOYD in the distance what; it's going up and it gives a taste of the prog revival of the new millennium; just perfect; Mariusz arrives very late on this phenomenon title, his voice sticks to the sound; a sound that looks like RIVERSIDE, reminiscences yes but it's them, the PINK FLOYD, MARILLION or COLLAGE for the atmosphere otherwise it's dreamlike a bit of vocoder à la 'Animals' and this vintage keyboard of Jacek yes the first keyboardist who melts; the most is Piotr's spleen guitar, hi Piotr you remember at the bastille scene when I greeted you in the room and you turned around he's talking to me in Polish him, short RIP; fundamental title for curmudgeons who are weary 2. 'Out of Myself' eponymous title which keeps the sound, the atmosphere; dark prog metal before its time with this metronomic bass and this abortive metal riff which only asks to roar a little more; ah Marius has understood, his voice rises, surfs on the metal profile, on the verge of belching, a moment of sharing the musical waters where metal shows its adherence to the progressive movement, phew! 3. 'I Believe' I can't believe it, we are transposed into the open bar, after the concert; the intro, the spatial moment when you no longer know where you are; depressive primary acoustic-vocal to keep a good mood in itself; the crescendic ballad that rocks you; I find there the melancholy madness of the ANATHEMA, the ballad of the happy days of the fans sad forever to see where the world is going 4. 'Reality Dream' with this title in declination, yes you are thinking of ARENA and its I, II, III; you think of SAGA and its chapters, in short, prog there in front of you; the intro I come back to the intro straight out of a S-F game soundtrack; the instrumental piece with the anthology of instruments that speak to each other, Mariusz remaining in voiceover halfway through, more on a siren sound; souvenir piece of my first listening, wow they do an orchestral in addition, the catchy melody of the guitar, the keyboard which helps it behind, the riff which is loose, the foot; quickly answer it sounds. 5. 'Loose Heart' follows on another beautiful depressive melody, where the musical oxymoron invites itself to the table; the more this vibration of Piotr which hooks the most reluctant and brings them before their contradictions... ah it was better before.... ah but we don't ask you to choose, to compare, just to listen.... the melody that I will call syrupy to rinse the ears a little where Jacek signed the melancholic bases; prog digression on the last minute with the nascent, striking, almost surreal, enjoyable growl. 6. 'Reality II' ... and the second interlude, a declination, an aside, a dreamlike journey of catching up for the nostalgic who would have the laziness to get up ... hop on we go back to the instrument to move a little because yes that's it RIVERSIDE it's captivating and catchy, Piotr that you play so easily; it cascades, echoes...prog, stereo, dreamlike. 7.'In Two Minds' second acoustic-voice with the piece church, I'm kidding but good YES made it vibrate well on flights worthy of a cathedral; ANATHEMA and TANGERINE DREAM played well in it and it was not a sacrilege, not an abuse of power, not a publicity effect to make the buzz... I won't say more about it; well the zik is the least addictive for me, yes I concede it but those who like what is melodic, ethereal are likely to like this passage. 8. 'The Curtain Falls' for the second title master; the soft title, one that blends in with the crowd, with a solo by Piotr that tears you off anyway; yes but since it's stamped prog pure juice, you are entitled to the declination at mid-term, like a wave that gets stronger after the slack; it rises, it increases, we wait to see the musical tidal bore, we seethe; ah that's the riff.. you see the wave rising, growing, sweeping everything in its path; the vibratory spleen of Piotr's guitar notes dries up our tears of joy; final planing like a TANGERINE DREAM precisely. 9. 'OK' I remembered more, I check it was indeed on my CD; like what to listen, to listen such is my motto becomes a necessity; well surely this one hasn't passed, too bad, it will serve me to finish my column slowly... oh yes the outro I had really forgotten the hidden end.

It's up to you to make your choice, personally I have been listening for 20 years. 5 for the album 'Out' of course!

I'm a huge fan of Riverside, but with this album, the first time I listened to it I wasn't convinced at all. But after a few times listening to the album, I understood it better. Conceptually and lyrically, a great proposal and critic about society.

Musically, it's like a mix of all their albums; you find some dark metal moments as you would see in their first records, and some fresh and soft rock as in their album "Love, Fear and the Time Machine", which is my favorite one. I think this time, you enjoy it more if you listen to the entire album, all the songs work well together as a unity.

However, if we had to choose a song or two, I would definitely go with "Friend or Foe?" (I know it's really melodic and pop but it's a nice tune), "Self-Aware" (more classic hard rock, very Rush-ish) and with the longest track "The Place Where I Belong".

Not my favorite album, but a great job by the guys from Riverside!

Riverside is one of the bigger names in the progressive music world. They're a progressive metal act based out of Poland that came to prominence in the early 2000s. Their first decade or so of existence was great, with 2009's Anno Domini High Definition being one of the best records of that decade. Moving into the 2010s, though, the band faltered a bit. Shrine of New Generation Slaves didn't quite land, in my opinion, and I disliked Love, Fear and the Time Machine so much, I didn't even give their 2018 album, Wasteland, a listen. So, when I saw they had a new record coming out (their first since I started this site), I was viewing it comparably to how I view Dream Theater: something I'm pretty much obligated to cover; something I'm not that jazzed about; but something I'm willing to be surprised by.

When I first heard "Friend or Foe?", the album's opening track and leadoff single, I had a rather negative reaction to it. Those blooping faux-80s synth lines usually summon a visceral revulsion from me. I don't like synthwave or most of the other '80s pastiches that have been in vogue for what feels like at least a decade at this point. It can be fun as an interlude to switch things up, admittedly, like BTBAM did on Colors II. "Friend or Foe?" isn't even a bad song; I've warmed up quite a bit to it. But there's a difference between tossing in some contrast two-thirds of the way through an album versus leading an album off with such a decision. I was worried this would wind up being something of a mission statement for the record, but thankfully it isn't.

"Landmine Blast" opens with a Steve-Howe-inspired riff in an irregular meter. This is the sort of sound I expect from Riverside. It's dark and atmospheric, straddling the line between rock and metal. Mariusz Duda's voice is gentle but strong, and it suits the song very well. The closing 90 seconds features a lovely instrumental crescendo, building from a quiet moment back to the main riff.

Hacky, robotic sci-fi narration opens "Big Tech Brother". It made me roll my eyes a bit, but it's thankfully short. The opening riff on this song is really well composed, but the synth tone is atrocious. It's this awful, farty synth brass that sounds like it's right out of 1988. After this speedy, technical section, the verse is dark and slow-moving, evoking some of the stronger moments off The Wall. The lyrics are a bit Steven Wilson-y for my taste (specifically his shallow technophobia seen on Fear of a Blank Planet and The Future Bites), but it's not that hard to tune out.

"Post-Truth" opens with some great, growling organ. As the song goes on, it does blur a bit into generic Riverside-ish mush. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as generic Riverside is pretty decent, but this piece doesn't do much to stand out in their oeuvre.

The longest song on ID.Entity is the 13-minute "The Place Where I Belong". Duda opens this track with gentle singing over acoustic guitar in a passage reminiscent of Porcupine Tree. Duda's voice has a warmth that Wilson's does not, though, so while similar, it is distinct. (It's really hard to not repeatedly compare this band to Porcupine Tree, and I apologize for doing it so much. There's just a lot of sonic similarity. At times, Riverside may as well be Drzewo Jeżozwierza.)

Moving past this acoustic opening, a groovy, slightly-fuzzed bassline leads to a churning, hard-rocking passage where their keyboardist gets a few chances to show off. It's melodic and engaging, and it does a great job of moving the track along. In its second half, the song slows down and focuses more on mood and melody; it's a nice way to wrap things up.

"I'm Done with You" kicks off with a crunchy instrumental passage that gives bass, organ, and guitar their turns in the spotlight. This energy contrasts against the quiet, tense verses. This lull in turn builds to a more impactful passage, but the band constantly switches up the dynamics. Loud-quiet contrasts are a staple of their sound.

The riff that kicks off "Self-Aware" reminds me strongly of '70s hard/arena rock acts, like Boston. I'm not crazy about the rather poppy melody of the verses, either, or the first six minutes of this song, but I could see a lot of people liking it. As the song enters its final three minutes, though, the mood becomes more ominous and anxious. A palm-muted guitar line and eerie stabs of synth cultivate a nervous atmosphere that adds another dimension to the piece overall. 

A spacious, haunting plucked passage opens the 12-minute "Age of Anger", though this intro lasts for too long. It's not until three minutes in that some semblance of a real musical idea shows up. A simple pulsing rhythm and lonely guitar line provide a small sense of momentum while maintaining that isolated atmosphere. A metallic riff finally emerges to give this cut some urgency and backbone. Unfortunately, this song can't keep it up, and it keeps oscillating between some pretty solid riffs and vacuous noodling. This instrumental probably could have been halved, and it would have been stronger for it.

ID.Entity closes on "Together Again". The track alternates between slow, stretched out guitar-and-synth passages and more muscular metallic riffing. Much like the preceding cut, this is an instrumental, and it also goes on for too long, though its length is a more digestible six-and-a-half minutes. It feels like a fitting conclusion to the record, but it simply doesn't say or do enough to warrant its length.

I was pleasantly surprised. This is a pretty good record. Is it worth the eye-watering 21 US dollars they're charging for it on their Bandcamp? No, absolutely not. No digital release of this length is. But it's pretty solid. This is about what I would expect from Riverside. It's consistent, dark, fairly heavy progressive rock; and it's a worthy addition to your library.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2023/01/30/album-review-riverside-id-entity/

ID.Entity is the eighth album from this renowned Polish progressive rock/metal band; their first in five years as well as the first release featuring guitarist Maciej Meller (replacing longtime original guitarist Piotr Grudziński after his sudden death in 2016). Their last LP, 2018's Wasteland, represented (certainly in retrospect) a transition moment for the band. With Grudziński's passing, Duda took over primary guitar duties (alongside bass and vocals), resulting in a more riff-heavy, metallic sounding record. Without question and by nature a somewhat different sounding record, Wasteland nonetheless represented a powerful and affecting statement from the band. "Lament" still hits me hard every time.

With the January 2023 release of ID.Entity, Riverside has not only returned with a strong new album, a new fulltime guitarist, and a world tour that kicked off in my home state (and of course I had to miss it), but also with a renewed sense of artistic purpose. Traveling along a musical spectrum that ranges from quiet, almost ballad-like nuance to explosive metal anger, with multiple stops in between, ID.Entity bleeds emotional verisimilitude amid a broad dispersion of heavy progressive melody.

ID.Entity exemplifies the themes of this record: identity in the digital era. How vision is warped and manipulated by social media. Truth becomes malleable, political discourse becomes weaponized, self-realization becomes anathematic, and the entirety of one's being becomes commerce fodder.

Heady themes indeed, and Riverside delivers them in a powerfully cohesive and engaging album. Their songs reflect these ideas in a thematic concept album that questions and challenges the new realities of this social transition.

Leading off the album with "Friend or Foe?" is a gutsy choice. For starters, the track doesn't sound like anything else on the album. Nor does it sound like a Riverside tune in general. At least, not at first. It's a synth driven 80s pastiche with pop sensibilities of a bygone (but influential) era. To my ancient ears it sounds like something a-ha would have released in their '80s North American heyday. Only when the guitars crunch in during the pre-chorus/chorus do we realize we are in other territory entirely.

So yeah, it's gutsy, but it's the meta aspect that fascinates me. The early/mid 80s was the beginning of the personal computer/online era. Although it took another decade for mass acceptance and then another for social media to take off, the mid 80s was the launching pad for the Digital Age. What a perfect stylistic metaphor for this album's opening track, which delves into the sublimation or obfuscation of self in a virtual world, and the endless parade of masks worn in online interaction.

Plus it's a total pop earworm of the best kind.

"Landmine Blast" evokes the booming, forceful immediacy of crap going sideways in social media. Be it from Cancel Culture overreacting or General Stupidity accelerating. For whatever reason, the wrong words were said at the wrong time, context be damned, and the resulting detonation of outrage rolls on exponentially, without nuance or understanding, or perhaps even with too much of both. The track opens with some country-esque riffing, moving into a strong metal power swell. Middle Eastern melodicism is woven throughout the tune, adding exotic beauty through the crunch and distortion.

You can almost forgive the band for including the cheeseball 'terms and conditions' opening to "Big Tech Brother". Good idea in theory, but in practice, it's a bit silly. Still, it's over in seconds and the keyboard-driven riffing takes over. While the synthetic horns are an odd aesthetic, the transition to Hammonds as the intro ends allow the song to take on a haunting, howling vibe. The song excoriates its title subjects as it puts the adage "when you don't pay for the product, you are the product" to powerful musical effect. The band plays with dynamics to drive their concepts with melodic precision, from quiet piano interludes to atmospheric guitars and organs to evoke an endless digital prison landscape.

"Post-Truth" laments antagonism, hatred, and division, in which the dissemination of truth and verifiable reality becomes refracted through emotion and agenda. Capitalizing on the manipulation of fear, anger, and outrage is big money.

Headline drew attention Then I lost my temper Again

The song ends with a soft piano reprise of the main melody, a plea of hope and reconciliation perhaps? Or is it a normalization of self-righteous outrage? This is the world we live in.

"The Place Where I Belong", at 13 minutes, is the album's "epic" track. In many ways it summarizes the entirety of the record, emphasizing political division, anger, insincerity, hiding identity, being forced into social conformity, and ignorance presented as defining knowledge. The slow, quieter opening erupts at around the three minute mark with a bluesy bass riff. The band briefly breaks out in a strong jam before the verses kick back in.

Duda's vocals vacillate between anger and self-recrimination as he tries to obtain the titular Westphalia, that place of individual balance, self-realization, and acceptance. His vocals, alongside Meller's shimmering guitar melodie, imbue the song with a strength, beauty, and dignity. It's not a powerful "TIME TO KICK ASS! I BELIEVE IN ME!" bit of posturing that erupts with wailing soloes and a thundering wall of rhythm section badassery. This is powerful musical reconciliation that underscores the lyrical recapitulation of self.

"I'm Done With You" takes its fuzz-bass opening and drives into full-on exorcism mode; good riddance to bad rubbish indeed. Through musical urgency the band bids a not-so fond farewell to the patronization of those who insist they have our best interests at heart.

You are not my judge You are not my God You are not my own CEO Why don't you simply shut your mouth And take your poison from my soul Far away

A powerful piece of self-determination, "I'm Done With You" pulls no punches. It segues into the more uptempo "Self-Aware", with a strong central riff, driving rhythm section, and even some elements of pop melodic construction. If anything, it makes a fine reflection of the "Friend or Foe?" opener. There we questioned who we (and others) really are; here the focus is on reconciliation. Unplugging but not disconnecting entirely. We still need that human connection. Musically the song has hints of Signals-era Rush; again bringing that mid 80s milieu back into high relief. We've come full circle in our reflection of the deregulation of human behavior in the digital realm.

ID.Entity was the first "major" prog release of 2023, and as such set the bar pretty high. It presents an exemplary collection of songs that probe the fragmentation of social and individual identity. The album doesn't proselytize, but it doesn't pull its punches either. Change, as it always does, begins with the individual. Riverside delivers this excoriation of the digital ethos in a manner both explosive and measured. ID.Entity is a different sounding album for the band, but not an entirely foreign one and ultimately an engagingly successful endeavor. Welcome back guys!

OK, I've never been a fan of progressive metal, but Riverside has always been interesting due to their mix of strong melodies and emotional depth that is quite appealing despite the sometimes overly heavy spots (and Mariusz Duda's great vocals are always a highlight). Riverside is lead by Mariusz Duda (vocals, bass), Michal Lapaj (keyboards), and relatively new guitarist Maciej Meller. On this album, their 8th, and with topical themes and lyrical content dealing with issues of the day, the band tries to incorporate a bit more of a commercial sound (at least on the released singles), while still maintaining their powerful Prog and Prog Metal cred, and are mostly successful in that. The opener 'Friend of Foe' has something of an '80's synth pop feel that features Duda's wonderfully smooth vocals. On 'Big Tech Brother' and 'Post-Truth' they flex more of their prog metal tendencies, which is why they are, for me at least, the least enjoyable tracks. 'The Place Where I Belong' is the longest and best track, a lovely song moving from an opening plaintive melody to a beefier prog middle section, leading to a more moody, atmospheric section, and a magnificent emotional extended instrumental outro. 'Self-Aware', the album closer, sounds eerily like some lost Rush track from the early 80's, but it works very well. Overall, a very good album, with strong vocals from Duda throughout, whether singing beautiful soaring melodies or more fierce metal ravings, but because of the lighter pop elements mixed in with the heavier metal-influenced aspects, it may not totally please either the prog metal or the more melodic prog fans. Best Tracks: The Place Where I Belong, Self-Aware, Friend Or Foe, I'm Done With You. Weak Tracks(due to metal content): Big Tech Brother, Post-Truth. Rating: 3.5 stars

Oddly enough, "Wasteland" was released in 2018! So it was time for Riverside to follow up on that transitional album.

And thankfully, that transition has crystallized into this brilliant "ID.Entity". The album has been produced by Mariusz Duda himself, singer, leader and bassist of the band, reaching what is perhaps the most successful production of his entire discography in terms of sound (the bass sound and melodies are just incredible!) In Europe the album has been released by Inside Out Records, who have been working with the band since its inception.

For this revival and confirmation of the new Riverside with the guitarist Maciek Meller already as a full member, the band has chosen to offer a mix between their most classic style (Landmine Blast could have been in "Second Life Syndrome", High Tech Brother reminds to "Anno Domini High Definition"...) mixed with new sonic adventures that presents a great influence of eighties pop and techno music even with influences from bands like Rush and The Police (Friend or Foe and Self-Aware), as well as more purely progressive grounds (The Place Where I Belong) and even surprisingly aggressive tunes (I'm Don With You)

The result is a very varied album, tremendously fun to listen to repeatedly in its entirety, and which brings us back a Riverside which is in top form. In fact, for me this "ID.Entity" is without a doubt their best album since "Shrine of New Generation Slaves", and a serious candidate for best prog-rock album of 2023.

Congratulations guys! That's how things are done.

Best Tracks: all the songs are very good, it is very difficult to stick with one in particular. Even the two bonus tracks on the special edition, Age of Anger and Together Again, are of a very high quality.

One of the first big releases this year, and one I have been looking forward too, is the latest Riverside album of ID.ENTITY. Riverside, to me, is one of Poland's finest prog bands out there, besides the curious cases of SBB and CzesŁaw Niemen. Mixed with the top tier contemporary sounds of Porcupine Tree with a more drive for metal, this band has been a recent favorite of mine. However, I feel like they have started to trickle down to safety rather than progression after the release of Wasteland, which, in my eyes, felt like an album they didn't give their all in. It seems like that safety has reached a second, and concerning point with their latest record.

On my first listen, I thought it was fairly mediocre, second listen I thought it was really good, but not after a third listen I find that it shifted back to mediocrity.

I do not like to dwell on the negatives, so let's start with what I actually like about this record.

For one, I think some songs on here are actually very superb and some of the best Riverside material we've got in a bit. The very 80s Neo Prog feeling Friend Or Foe, the super jazzy Big Tech Brother, and the very brilliantly executed I'm Done With You, are some of the best Riverside songs to come out of their current line-up. I feel like these tracks alone can make up a very great EP that could rival albums like Anno Domini High Definition, or my personal favorite of Love Fear And The Time Machine. I especially love I'm Done With You, with a very amazing combination of the usual prog metal affair, with a curious dosing of more Haken flavored keyboards, topped with star shining vocals that could rival some of the best vocalists in prog metal to begin with, creating for a modern day Riverside masterpiece.

Another aspect I like about this album is the general concept around modern times and politics. Each track centers around elements of corruption, big businesses, technology, racial issues, gender norms, and so on and so forth. It creates a very progressive outlook that I think is quite needed in prog metal, more than just the odd political song here or there.

However, that brings me to the issues I have with the album, and that is while I like the concept, I feel like the execution is very cringy at best. Tracks like Landmine Blast, Post-Truth, and especially The Place Where I Belong just have that awkward lyricism that I give odd looks to. The Place Where I Belong especially has this weird awkwardness with the lines of "What's my gender, What's the color of my skin" which just doesn't sit well with me. I know the band definitely means well, but when it comes to topics like racial issues and gender dysphoria, I feel like they could've been handled way better.

Aside from choice lyrics, relatively speaking this feels like a very generic Riverside album. What I liked about Riverside was their willingness to change their mold a bit, not to the point where their fans could not recognize them, but to ensure a healthy and steady evolution to newer sounds that test the waters. I think those tests reach a gold standard with Time Machine, but afterwards it seems like they missed an opportunity to mine diamonds and gold with Wastelands. I was fairly excited for ID.ENTITY as it could mean a new Riverside sound, but aside from a few songs, this feels like the Riverside I am used to, and I do not like that. It feels like they aren't trying to change, but rather be conservative within their sounds, and this is a PROGRESSIVE metal band we are talking about. For them to not make progress in their sound in some shape or form, even if it is subtle, is quite sad to me.

An album that I looked forward to managed to be one of the more lackluster. It has some good tracks, but the album's lows outway what I actually like, to where I fear that the band will stay the same. I want a new Riverside, not a Riverside that is the exact same from yesterday. I don't expect them to have King Crimson levels of change and variation, but I want something more. A change in atmosphere, maybe an emphasis on acoustics, maybe a more heavier sound, something to drive me ahead to new waters. This album doesn't do that for me, rather it sinks me down in the river.