22. Riverside – Anno Domini High Definition (2009) I admit that I did never really listen to the separate instruments in Riverside’s music until guitarist Piotr Grudzínski died very unfortunately less than two months ago. When I heard that news, I thought that their 2015 gig at the Night of the Prog festival was the last time that I got to see them live. To be honest, I’m not really sure how the band will continue without a founding member, guitarist and friend.
It might seem silly and at least a little undeserving that I only really started paying attention to the individual instruments (including the guitar lines) after his death. This is partly due to this band’s music. All of the instruments tie in together greatly, creating one sound, rather than hearing four different guys playing at the same time. Some of Dream Theater’s latest albums have this problem, where one of the instruments is clearly more in the forefront than the In Riverside’s music, this never seems the case
This makes it difficult to say that Riverside’s members aren’t really as proficient as some of the more well-known prog musicians, it just that Riverside has absolutely no ambition, nor the need for over-the-top virtuosity. In fact, basically all of the guitar solos in their music are far more melodic than fast per se. I read a comment by someone, after Piotr died, who claimed that his guitar playing is not to be remember for his virtuosic ability, but for his craft to weld melodic lines into the framework of the rest of music. A perfect example of this is the fantastic guitar solo in
Hybrid Times at around the 7:30 mark. Coming from a completely unexpected point, the solo starts off brilliant with that first note. The rest is pure melodic greatness.
This album is, for me, Riverside’s high point. Although all their albums have a very distinct sound, I think ‘Anno Domini High Definition’ mixes all of Riverside’s elements in exactly the right amounts. It’s probably one their heaviest albums, if not the heaviest, but it’s very accessible and groovy throughout. Don’t let the track-list fool you either; this album contains only 5 tracks, and each subsequent track is longer in length. That’s not to say that they’re full of proggy detractions, although some songs do contain such moments occasionally, but all the songs are very to-the-point and have great flow.
Without a doubt my favourite song on the record would be the album closer
Hybrid Times, one of the best prog-songs written in recent years as far as I’m concerned. Among the song’s highlights are the aforementioned guitar solo, but also the great riffs that make up the first half of the song, including its chorus. The penultimate track
Left Out is also a mini-epic that’s actually more of a song even than
Hybrid Times, since the latter ends in chanting noises after about 9 minutes. Of the first three tracks, the album opener
Hyperactive is a great mood-setter, whereas
Egoist Hedonist is (or was?) a staple in the band’s live set-lists. The only song not mentioned here is
Driven to Destruction, which is not a bad song at all, but probably the weakest link on an album full of gems. Seriously, this is great stuff.
Favourite song: Hybrid Times
Other songs worth checking out: Left Out, Hyperactive, Egoist Hedonist
Other stuff by this band: I feel bad for leaving out
Driven to Destruction, as the only track not featured above. All of Riverside’s albums are great. My second favourite is probably ‘Love, Fear and the Time Machine’ and after that it’s all even. If you’re more into heavier stuff like this album, you could go for ‘Shrine of New Generation Slaves’. The remaining three albums, ‘Rapid Eye Movement’, ‘Second Life Syndrome’ and ‘Out of Myself’ are quite alike. Each one of those has great moments, but to me also moments of filler songs. Every album of theirs is very enjoyable nevertheless.