Time Travellers (Riverside, 2015)

Riverside go on changing and exploring, that's why I like them. This song, taken from the album "Love, Fear And The Time Machine", is a dreamy ballad, and it also includes beautiful mellow instrumental passages, never too sweet and never too long. The lyrics are beautiful too, about life's recurring times and chances. Mariusz has a beautiful voice, both srong and soft and this is a brilliant performance.

...And what about this misty cover art?

The moody way the band has to build up transparent, fluid atmospheres easing deep meditations is slways surprising and the more their song gets plain, the more they reach the listener's soul. This is exactly what "Time Travellers" does, so it doesn't need a longer ntroduction.

Towards The Blue Horizon (Riverside, 2015)

Riverside are one of the most popular bands from the 21st Century when it comes to prog & friends. The only problem with them is that they decided to title their albums with as many words as the number of their releases (since their third CD, I think). That's why their 2015 sixth album has a six words title. Well, I wish them a long and successful career, but please... stop that before it's too late! Seriously, this track has a diversified and plesant plot, including a gentle opening ballad (great theme, by the way), a hint of Cure, a long and intense instrumental section and beautiful vocals.

For their Sixth studio work, Riverside went poetic... more or less.

When a band can write and play a song like this one, with no special effects at all and a deep emotional side coming out what seem to be plain lines, well, they surely are at their heights. A perfect balance and a solid composition are the well known but scarcely shared way to beautiful songs. Riverside are more and more into it.

Escalator Shrine (Riverside, 2013)

Riverside are more than a promising band: they're one of the most innovative and mature acts among the 21st Century prog acts. This "Escalator Shrine", a 12 minutes song from the album "Shrine of New Generation Slaves" is a perfect example of their modern and evocative music. A deep sung theme, a series of instrumental embroideries, a slightly acid atmosphere are but three of the main features of the track. I'll also remember here a Gilmour-like electric guitar, a pulsing instrumental section mixing "The Wall" and ELP, a variated and rich drumming and - last but not least - plenty of keyboard progressions and thick guitar riffs.

This is Riverside's fifth studio album, one of their best ones, IMHO.

The distorted guitars are also there, but they're employed with measure and even discretion. And how wonderful is the second instrumental section with its piercing guitar and the Hammond effect introducing the second sung theme, even better than the opening one. A real shrine of musical ideas, all perfectly in tune with the cold and almost psychedelic mood of the song. Congratulation, my Polish friends!

Rapid Eye Movement (Riverside, 2007)

Stunning. This 12:37 minutes track, originally conceived as part of the Reality Dream Trilogy, was finally released in the bonus disc included in a special edition of "Rapid Eye Movement" CD. So, strangely, the album title track wasn't included in its standard edition! I love this instrumental track, reminding me some old Tangerine Dream suite for its gradual and clever building up and also for its strong electronic flavour.

This song was also included in the "Schizophrenic Prayer" EP.

The suspended, increasingly sorrowful mood of this song also includes some more relaxed and open breaks, somehow concurring to the weirdness of the big picture. Piotr Grudziński's guitar plays an essential role, fluctuating from Gilmour-esque to psychedelic tones and actually biting the listener's soul. It's a secret trip into human fears and nightmares, an intimate exploration, a dream and a nightmare. And one of the main reasons why I included Riverside in my fave bands list.

The Same River (Riverside, 2003)

I'm fond of the darker and nocturnal side of this Polish band, I think they have the right touch when it comes to explore our common inner fears and hidden feelings. This is exactly the case with the long and hypnotic "The Same River", taken from the album "Out of Myself" (2004) but originally issued in a 2003 promo, published in 300 copies, their first ever release. All guitars and drums are in the spotlight, while keyboards provide a light background and surface now and they with beautiful sour sonds.

This is where all began for Riverside.

A promo released at their own cost in 2003.

The vocals come in in the second part of the track, adding their own contribution to the oppressive mood of the song. This section, with its bass guitar à la Roger Waters is really good, but I like even more the next one, beginning with a chorus variation in a lower volume and leading to the beautiful final guitar solo. In short, a well composed and richly arranged song, with several different moments and moods, mostly dark but with some brighter and peaceful passages too. A perfect specimen of modern prog rock and a great outset for Riverside career.

Second Life Syndrome (Riverside, 2005)

Before their metal drift, I used to love this Polish band and I still reckon they're one of the most interesting fruits of the progressive tree at the dawn of 21st century. This three part suite of 15 minutes, the title track of their second official full length album, is a magnificent song, where Riverside succeeed in gathering many different sources and moods in one recognizable and consistent musical style. You'll find here all the peculiar doom and sadness of Riverside, but also fragments of hope and rise towards another kind of life.

Riverside adore gloomy promo pics like this one.

Until they play good music, I tend to forgive them...

Most of all, I enjoy here the abundance of ideas and inspirations: good melodies, new rythmic solutions, old patterns revisited with modern sounds. I especially like Piotr Kozieradzki's drumming, slightly reminiscent of Marillion's Ian Mosley. The third part of the suite, an instrumental finale, also offers to the listener a very good dreaming guitar solo by Piotr Grudziński. A treat, like Mariusz Duda's voice and bass and the keys sound carpet by Michał Łapaj. As you may have imagined, I highly recommend this track.