Riverside is a group from Poland, and while Second Life Syndrome is their 2nd album as far as i know, this is the first album i’ve heard from this band. If i had to ‘tag’ them i’d say they play a dark progressive rock/metal. Emphasis is given on the mood instead of riffs, and actually that’s quite to my liking.
Speaking of mood, the opener song (after) does a wonderful job of conveying the mood they’re trying to achieve here. On second thought, it’s not a song actually, its more like an introduction, but wonderfully played. Tribal drumming, whispers, some great vocal melodies, made me repeat it a few times.
Volte-face kicks in then, displaying the power of riverside. Layered sound, (kudos to the keyboardist), heavy guitars, and some very melodic leads with lots of the sweet sound of guitar feedback, which remind me of Danny Cavanagh’s (Anathema) work on Eternity. You also get some very nice vocals here, and occasionally some very strong vocal melodies.
Besides the great introduction song, i also love the porcupine tree-ish ‘i turned you down’ with a haunting riff, and the climactic closer song ‘before’, which closes the album leaving you with a desire to put it on again.
What this album lacks is consistency. Some songs tend to lose focus after a while and even if they give you some great moments, its just not enough. And consistency is really important on progressive records, especially on those that give out a continuous feel to it like this one.
However it’s a really pleasant album, and really promising too since it’s only their second. I’ve heard that they are now releasing a new album, and i’ll be looking forward to get this as well
7/10
