For a little more than an hour Poland’s premier progressive rock band Riverside entertains us on their sixth studio album, and on “Love, Fear and the Time Machine” they are taking their music in a gentler, a more song-oriented direction, with focus on melodies and Mariusz Duda’s magnificent voice.
The quartet of Mariusz Duda (bass and vocals), Piotr Grudzinski (guitar), Michael Lapai (keyboards) and Piotr Kozieradzki (drums) has been a steady and bright star of the European scene since their early days; established in 2001, first album in 2004. And with this new album they will hopefully get the recognition I feel they deserve!
Because this sonically journey is their strongest and brightest release to date, an album that comes across much happier and a lot more positive than the predecessor “Shrine of New Generation Slaves”. They do it all within the confines of their already well established sound, and this is still an adventure for the thinking man.
Building on the cornerstones already laid out, they have incorporated a few new influences, like some strong 70s inspired keyboard sounds, not unlike what Opeth did with great success on “Heritage”. But this is only small drops, and fear not: the general sound is easily recognized.
On offer: Ten strong songs, a brilliant deliverance and a crystal clear production, this is in my humble opinion the best progressive rock album I’ve had the pleasure of listening to this year. And I really hope the progressive rock community picks up on this one, because this is brilliant!
Tracklist:
- Lost (Why Should I Be Frightened By a Hat?) (5:51)
- Under the Pillow (6:47)
- #Addicted (4:52)
- Caterpillar and the Barbed Wire (6:56)
- Saturate Me (7:08)
- Afloat (3:11)
- Discard Your Fear (6:42)
- Towards the Blue Horizon (8:09)
- Time Travellers (6:41)
- Found (The Unexpected Flaw of Searching) (4:03)
Playing time: 60:20
Release date: September 4, 2015
Label: InsideOut Music
Website: www.riversideband.pl
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