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Riverside - Second Life Syndrome CD (album) cover

SECOND LIFE SYNDROME

Riverside

 

Progressive Metal

4.25 | 1869 ratings

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octopus-4
Special Collaborator
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
4 stars I think one of the best characteristics of prog music is that usually very good albums can flow seamlessly from the beginning to the end, and even when there are huge differences between different tracks or sometimes inside the same track, they are just part of a whole.

This second album of the Polish Riverside belongs to this category. It contains some scream, some very heavy distorted guitar, but there's also an Emersonian piano, moments Pink Floyd like and an obvous connection with Porcupine Tree. It's not a coincidence if the last albums of this band have been engineered by Steven WILSON.

For my nature I prefer the Floydian moments, but I absolutely don't dislike the heavier parts. Mariusz Duda has a great voice in both clean and screaming, as well as the missed Piotr Grudzinski can do what he wants with his guitar. Possibly one of the most talented rock guitarists of the current century. Not that Lapaj And Kodzieradki are less skilled, of course.

I have to say that "Conceiving me" is the first RIVERSIDE song I've ever listened to, and I was stunned by the title track immediately following it on the album, a 15 minutes epic which crosses the whole prog.metal subgenre.

I have mentioned Grudzinski. His guitar playing is closer to John PETRUCCI or than to GILMOUR, but it has a FLoydian mood in choosing the right notes, without putting too much stuff in a solo and supporting the band when his guitar is not the leading instrument.

The last track, "Before" can be taken as example. All the four create a soundscape in which there's not a prevalent instrument. All do their parts and the result is excellent. There also a bit of GENESIS influence on this track in my opinion.

Anyway this is very close to be a prog masterpiece, and honestly even if I'm not much into prog-metal as subgenre I have to say that RiVERSIDE has become one of my favorite bands, and this is the album from which I have discovered them.

octopus-4 | 4/5 |

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