Riverside - Rapid Eye Movement

Year of Release: 2007
Label: InsideOut
Catalog Number: SPV 79610 / IOMCD 283
Format: CD
Total Time: 00:00:00

Riverside hails from the land-locked region of Warsaw, Poland, and they planned this release to coincide with support for Dream Theater on the European leg of their tour. It's also the last lap in a trilogy, and it's delivered swiftly without anemia. In other words, this benefits least from a blood transfusion.

From the get go, they are in a hurry to get something done. In short order, they accomplish so much, it hurts. The ticking metronome is beyond ominous. It doesn't take an expert from the bomb squad to realize that this baby is explosive. This makes for a tense situation in the tersest expanse of time.

The first song, "Beyond The Eyelids," grows under the branches of Porcupine Tree. There is no doubt that this was influenced by Steven Wilson. After doing my research, it turns out he is unlisted in their membership. Just like Opeth, his signature is scribbled on the canvas; however, his physical presence is nowhere to be found.

Oh snap; the second number, "Rainbow Box," is one my favorite tracks. It has repetitive albeit sensible samples in the accepting vein of rap. Notwithstanding the replicated echoes, it goes to show their versatility.

To be excruciatingly clear, this cut is awesome. It's like Rammstein over a movie score. As in the first, I really like the execution of the bass. This is so well-produced; it's apparent their perceived talent is no fluke. These guys are the furthest thing from producers of a one-hit-wonder. The arrangements are cool and very tight. So far there is nothing dorky about this album.

?Up to this point, the band seems to be going in a bold new direction.

From this point forward, the songs have Riverside written all over them?

The misleading safety of the third song, "Panic Room," is complemented by the security-based amenities of track four. This canon is aptly-entitled "Schizophrenic Prayer." While the former lends itself to attack because it provides mice the temptation of cheese, the latter retains its serenity by way of a suitably-prescribed ballad.

This song and the series to follow are closer in kin to their earlier works. So if you're a fan and needed a carrot, this is it. Disorder is restored and we are back in the game; though I did enjoy the newfangled and creative threads situated at its commencement.

Later in track seven, "Embryonic," the acoustics are greatly-interlaced with hypnotic suggestions. Throughout this comatose nap, their attempts at mind-control are thoroughly-convincing.

Afterwards, "Cybernetic Pillow" has the most exasperating rhythm. While it's no pleasure cruise to be upset, it's a guilty-pleasure standing on the outside watching someone else's pain unfold.

Then in the end, "Ultimate Trip" is their all-around best; just as the name alleges. It causes their competing worlds to merge, and utilizes the heuristics of Hourglass while it calls upon the algorithms of Frameshift. There is Dream Theater in its bass - no surprise here - and Van Halen in the guitars. Like any top-notch Progressive Metal band, they are constantly changing their time-signatures. In this particular case, they don't even pause to flinch. Like the starting pair of tracks, they finish with their listeners in awe. At this cut's culmination, the keyboards flourish while the rest of the instruments die out.

It seems that the Age of Aquarius has at last arrived. We can finally play an album for both the progressive intellects and the simple-minded conformists. It reaches us equally on primitive and advanced levels. It's so accessible, it'll knock you out. Then again, there is unemotional artificial intelligence in its dangerous circuits. No matter what the obstacles, this sentient being delivers without sentiment or a second thought.

Make no bones about it; there is humility in its grizzly rhythms. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins. So it's fortuitous that Riverside's telemetry is unbroken by pretentious ambition. In the end, they get the job done without looking like commercial yes-men.

On the whole, this album is too scary for a dream; still, it's a lovely reverie to experience. As it's been proven - even amidst a nightmare - Rapid Eye Movement is a most restful state.

As to the executive music-men, there is trouble in River City. Despite that, Riverside is unstoppably-full-steam ahead. With their trilogy in the books, all signs point to a most prosperous future.

Tracklisting:
Beyond The Eyelids (7:53) / Rainbow Box (3:36) / 02 Panic Room (5:28) / Schizophrenic Prayer (4:20) / Parasomnia (8:09) / Through The Other Side (4:05) / Embryonic (4:09) / Cybernetic Pillow (4:45) / Ultimate Trip (13:12)

Bonus Disk: Special Edition: Behind The Eyelids / Lucid Dream IV / 02 Panic Room (remix) / Back To The River / Rapid Eye Movement

Musicians:
Piotr Grudzinski - guitar
Mariusz Duda - bass, vocals
Piotr Kozieradzki - drums
Michal Lapaj - keyboards

Discography:
Out Of Myself (2003/2004)
Voices In My Head (EP) (2005/2006)
Second Life Syndrome (2005)
Rapid Eye Movement (2007)
Schizophrenic Prayer (EP) (2008)
Reality Dream (2008)
Anno Domini High Definition (2009)
Memories In My Head (EP) (2011)
Reality Dream Trilogy (box) (2011)
Shrine Of New Generation Slaves (2013)
Love, Fear, And The Time Machine (2015)
Eye Of The Soundscape (2016)
Love, Fear, And The Time Machine (CD/DVD) (2016)
"Lost 'N' Found" - Live In Tilburg (2017)
Wasteland (2018)
Wasteland (CD/DVD 5.1) (2019)

Reality Dream (DVD) (2009)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin PL

Added: September 29th 2007
Reviewer: Joshua "Prawg Dawg" Turner
Score:
Artist website: www.riversideband.pl
Hits: 6039
Language: english