Anno Domini High Definition - dprp.net

Monday, 20 July 2009

Progressive metal band Riverside has very quickly become one of the top acts of this genre since their 2001 debut in Warsaw, Poland. The natural match with the InsideOut label beginning in 2005 has produced some of the genre's best titles and it continues with the release of Anno Domini High Definition.

My initial exposure to this band's music was Second Life Syndrome and I couldn't get enough of it. In the spirit of remaining true to progressive music, Riverside has yet to falter. Even though their last release, Rapid Eye Movement, was great this newest release is truly a step forward for the band and I believe time will show this as a pivotal album for the prog music world at large as well.

Although the album reviewed here is the Regular Edition version, there is also a Special Digipack Edition which includes a DVD entitled Live In Amsterdam 2008.

• Hyperactive begins the album with a piano routine you might expect from Steven Wilson but soon after Riverside is in high gear. This is the introduction to the theme of modern life in its less flattering light.
• Driven To Destruction continues the theme of this album, which visits the perils of our throwaway society running headlong into self-destruction. It starts with a bass echo intro to set up the mood. If you aren't familiar with Riverside, you will find they are very good at this. The keys kick in and it has begun ' an artful display of song writing.
• Egoist Hedonist continues with a culmination of instruments that one wouldn't expect from a metal band. The guitars brought a type of staccato you would find in a Red Hot Chilli Peppers song, with a horn section more reminiscent of The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and keyboards borrowed from Rick Wakeman of Yes crossed with Deep Purple's Jon Lord on the Hammond B3 (nice use of the Leslie cabinet to make the B3 meaning all the deeper.) Then in an instant you are in a Pink Floyd trip-out song and the amazement continues from there with change after change. This is all done while maintaining a distinctive heavy Riverside sound. I really can't believe they fit that song into a paltry 9 minutes.
• At 11 minutes long, Left Out takes it down a notch at first with a bass driven melody that cedes room to the guitar to sound off momentarily ' a good change from the usual pigeon hole the bass ends up in so many times. This song develops into a mild mannered prog masterpiece showing the incredible versatility of Riverside to make amazing music at any pace.
• A soft piano leads into Hybrid Times, the long song and the finisher. It isn't soft for long, however, due to the serious belting out of lyrics by Mariusz Duda on vocals, powerful guitar licks, bass forward mixing, and the continuation of the retro keys that jump back and forth between the B3 sound and something more akin to what modern Yes would deliver. It is a fascinating disc to listen to over and over. There really isn't anything like this out there, despite my using several different acts as comparison. The guitars even move into a David Gilmour sounding solo and drums light it up from there. Before its done, Hybrid Times turns into a song that could be played at a rave with sound effects that you would expect from a techno release but with a decidedly OSI flair. I really wish I had more ability to describe this stuff.

This album sounds like the best elements of Opeth's Watershed, Porcupine Tree (from the atmospheric to the metal), OSI, and Tool combined with the delicate thoughtfulness of Pink Floyd.

The innovation shown with Anno Domini High Definition is awe-inspiring. The only complaint I could possibly muster for this album is that it is too short. It left me wanting more, but that only makes the next title all the sweeter. I don't give a perfect score lightly, but this one has it coming. Riverside is defining the future of progressive metal.