Riverside – Eye of the Soundscape

[nyrating]

16th October 2016 Kenn Jensen Album Reviews 0

“Eye of the Soundscape” is a homage to the late Piotr Grudziński, who passed away February 21^st 2016 and threw Riverside into bewilderment and despair… would the be band continue after the tragic loss of their guitarist, would they be able to soldier on or would this be the end?

The trio of Mariusz Duda, Piotr Kozieradzki, Michał Łapaj has thankfully decided to carry on, as a trio, and the first sign of life after Piotr’s passing is an album that has very little to do with their past albums at first glance.

On surface this has more in common with Mariusz’ solo project Lunatic Soul with its introvert, ambient and electronic soundscapes. But looking deeper into the album you’ll discover that it only features four new compositions – “Where the River Flows”, “Shine”, Sleepwalkers” and “Eye of the Soundscape” – two new remixes of “Rapid Eye Movement” and “Rainbow Trip”, as well as the Night Sessions from “Shrine of New Generation Slaves” and the Day Session tracks from “Love, Fear and the Time Machine”.

The ambient side of Riverside has always been a part of their sound, mostly hidden away on bonus discs, as the little extra for the devoted fans, who have to have it all, even if it means buying the limited editions. Now they’ve compiled all of the songs on this tribute to Grudziński and it really puts the songs into perspective and feels like a whole.

They are closing a chapter with this release, and have released a haunting and melancholic instrumental album that surely isn’t what everyone would have expected from Riverside at this point of their career. It’ll be really interesting to hear where they are going next, now that this is out of the system.

I like this album, mostly because of its significance, but also because it features Piotr Grudziński’s masterful and soulful guitar playing one last time.

Tracklist:

Disc 1

Where the River Flows (10:53)
Shine (4:09)
Rapid Eye Movement (2016 Mix) (12:40)
Night Sessions – Part One (10:40)
Night Sessions – Part Two (11:35)

Disc 2

Sleepwalkers (7:19)
Rainbow Trip (2016 Mix) (6:19)
Heavenland (4:59)
Return (6:50)
Aether (8:43)
Machines (3:53)
Promise (2:44)
Eye of the Soundscape (11:30)

Playing Time: 49:58 + 52:17

Release date: October 21, 2016

Label: InsideOut Music

Website: www.riversideband.pl

About Kenn Jensen 288 Articles

When I kicked this site off back in 2003, I had no idea that it would turn into what it has become. I am very proud of what we've done and achieved over the years. Musically I have a soft spot for 80s inspired hard rock, but my favourite music and bands are all to be found in the progressive universe these days.