Customer Reviews

Second Life Syndrome

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ask you! Have you ever witnessed a band, who after releasing a monumental debut album, that had garnered widespread praise and universal acclimation, actually top that album with their second effort. I'm not saying it hasn't happened but I can't recall if is has, until now. I have listened to Riverside's brand new release Second Life Syndrome for a week now, probably some two dozen spins and I have come up with one inescapable conclusion. Second Life Syndrome not only surpasses their remarkable debut, Out of Myself: [...] but it ranks with the all time giants of progressive metal like, Dream Theater's, Images and Words and Awake, or Green Carnation's, Light of Day, Day of Darkness.

Forget the Opeth, Porcupine Tree, and Anathema comparisons, I made in my review, about their first disc, Out of Myself. Second Life Syndrome not only eclipses it, but it also insinuates a raw new Riverside direction that, shows the band evolving into a shadowy musical realm, while expanding the creative nucleus of their debut album.

Riverside

What are we talking about here? We're talking about a group of talented Poles, who seem to be creating a new and different style of music and yet it isn't. It's fresh as a spring rain and yet it's dark and morbid: "I can't take anymore, I can't breath, I'm sick of this goddamn darkness, sick of the sadness and the tears. I threw it all up every single day together with last nights dinner"

Take the best from Pink Floyd, Anathema, Porcupine Tree and Pain of Salvation and you almost have something close but not quite. Their music runs the gamut from mellow and subtle to intense and powerful. Most of the album is delivered in a slow to slow medium ethereal tempo but picks up for overpowering crescendos. Most of the music is carried by whining guitars with excellent keyboards interjected perfectly to compliment the music. The vocals by bassist Mariusz Duda, who still reminds me of Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt, though not inspired, are perfect for this melancholy music.

Total length 63:39

Line-up
- Piotr Grudzinski / guitar
- Markus Duda / vocals, bass & guitar
- Piotr Kozieradzki / drums & percussion
- Michal Lapaj / keyboards

Second Life Syndrome opens with "After", a slow moody, sing song number, which for somehow reminds me of a forty year old song, "Born to be with You" by the Chordettes, followed by a frenetic piece, "Volte-Face", Which has fast and somewhat discordant Middle Eastern feeling and some great keyboards. Track three, "Conceiving You", is an ethereal ballad.

The title track, starting with a slow guitar Pink Floyd ambiance, leads to a very long complex and varied number. "Artificial Smile" features a heavy bass and drum workout, finishing with manic screams. "I Turned you Down" is a rock style ballad that gradually picks up steam and "Reality Dream III" is a super instrumental. "Dance with the Shadows", another long one and most other reviewer's, I've read, favorite. The final track is "Before" is an ambient moody guitar and piano laden number.

CONCLUSION

The biggest mistake you can make, is blowing this band off because of where they are from. Believe me when I say, there is currently no better, progressive rock/metal band in America, Britain or anywhere else. There's no one out there, with more imaginative progressive music. No better ear for music, no better compositions, no better arrangements. In summary, the worse thing a progressive rock/metal fan can do is ignore Riverside.

Evidence of the imminent, popular ascension of this band comes from the fact that this album will now be released world wide by prestigious Inside Out Music. What do they know that you don't? I can't tout this album and the previous one enough. It's your move! 4.9 stars!

RIVERSIDE - Second Life Syndrome
-
Fusing the styles of Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd, A Perfect Circle and even touches of the legendary King Crimson, Poland's Riverside is an unstoppable progressive tour de force. Though offering nothing entirely `new' to the genre... They have created an album in exceptional beauty and with ample feeling. It is powerful, emotive and moving... I love whenever a bands music is actually `felt' and not just simply `heard'.

I could go into extended lengths about how amazing this CD is... But one listen to any track on this disc and it will sell itself...
Oddly enough my primary diet consists of Metal music but as a Prog lover and fan of Porcupine Tree I was told to check this out, and boy am I glad I did. Once again, I now have to update my Best of 2005...

Favorite Tracks: Second Life Syndrome, Reality Dream III, Conceiving You and I Turned You Down
-4.75 Stars


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Riverside is the best new band I've heard in ten years.

In fact, had I looked for them any earlier, they would have been impossible to find. Not because the band is from Poland. Not because they weren't popular. But because the band started taking critics by surprise when they played live for the first time in just 2002. I must tell you that my standards in a group are very high. Most bands don't cut it with me. When I'm going to invest my time with a group, I choose carefully. And you know that if you choose right, you become a part of the group's message and grow old with them.

Having long been a fan of progressive rock, my groups must be overwhelmingly competent. My definition of an intelligent person's rock band would be Spock's Beard, Dream Theater, Flower Kings, Transatlantic, Yes, early Genesis... well...you get the idea. Nowadays, it's really hard to find exceptional music in the 'progressive' genre to invest in. It's not unlike a 35 year old twice-divorced man who begins dating again. He knows the field and most of the field is not to his liking because he's seen all of the hooks and tricks before.

But Riverside is like a fresh lover. Fresh, naughty, experienced, playfully naive, and ready to teach you.

So one day, while searching for a new lover amongst the cross-listings of NEO-PROGRESSIVE ROCK at Amazon.com, one band stood out. I mean REALLY stood out. People had nothing but heaps and mounds of praise for Riverside. Pretty unusual for a group which never played outside of their home country and were overrun by fans at their first gig. But like computer dating, just because the profile seems be a good match on paper, the truth is meeting your date face-to-face, or in this case 'ear-to-ear'. I want you to listen to Riverside.

You're getting in on the ground floor here. I'm giving away bits and pieces of the band because they seem too good to believe. Would you believe that there are an incredible 94 reviews of the band's first album, 'Out of Myself' carefully compiled and linked on the band's website. All of them are overwhelmingly positive. There are even reviews of their self-financed 300 copy promo CD! Riverside has only just released their second album "Second Life Syndrome"(yes folks, only their second) and has kept the critics raving. 137 reviews - 137 double-thumbs up.

If you're in the states and have never heard of Riverside, don't be alarmed. The group was invited to NearFEST last year (2005) but was not able to attend. Not that they didn't want to (it's progressive rock's highest showcase). They wanted to, but passport pleas fell on the deaf ears of the authorities. In June 2006 Riverside will make their impact on the international rock scene properly. Watch and see. It's actually not a hard prediction to make (word has it that Nearfest SOLD OUT in 30 minutes)

Some thoughts about Riverside. . . (while in a deep dreamy state of Vulcan mind-meld)

blend of prog rock, art rock, and ambitious music

sensitive lyrics.. straight to the heart

an intravenous injection of music

a critics' joy!

highly addictive

raw talent, clear focus

it's all about... finding YOURSELF

Lyrics:

Follow my name
Follow my sin
Wearing my mask
Cover my fear

All of my blame
All in my place
Wearing my mask
Cover my shame

We are so far from understand
We are so far from
"we can take"


ONWARD AND UPWARD

To be at the right place at the right time requires luck and synchronicity. I've seen some fantastic live photographs that have accurately captured in pixels what must be the live energy of the band. I can only imagine. Riverside is a rare treat that must be shared. 5 Stars!

I bought this album totally based on the reviews, without hearing a single second of music, and it is probably my best new discovery this year so far. This album is overflowing with lush melody, imaginative songwriting, intense emotional lyrics and heartfelt singing. There are many mellow moments, but it has plenty of heavy rocking moments as well. There is lots of keyboard usage, and refreshing, colorful guitar melodies.

The singer, Mariusz Duda, is the best I've heard since Daniel Gildenlow, maybe even better. His timbre is smooth, his range is incredible, parallel to the music, it varies from soft and delicate, to wailing and powerful, hitting high and low notes, and even a few screams which captures that true emotion being released.

This is truly some of the most _Progressive_ music I've heard. The different ideas and movements seem very natural as they flow into each other, forming crescendos and crashing down again, yet the next part of the song is always an exciting mystery, even after listening to it several times. The songs don't linger around forever with the same feel and then suddenly change, different parts last just the right amount of time before moving on to something new.

The title track is my favorite song here. It spans over 15 minutes, and every chord progression, every note, every second of singing is musicianship at its finest. At one slower part, between breaths there is a little twinkle of keyboard notes that snuggles in just perfectly. It is only one second of this song, but the little things give this album that substance so it never feels empty or drawn out.

"Conceiving you" is probably my second favorite song here. It starts with a contemplative piano loop which soon blossoms into a full band. The guitar solo shortly after is one of the most absolutely heartfelt melodies I have ever heard, and near the end of the song it climaxes and everything comes together, while the singer cries, "Still Conceiving you... all along..." Even though this track is short it always leaves me in astonishment.

Who says we can't make comparisons? I think fans of newer Anathema, Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd and Pain of Salvation will eat this album up like a huge cherry cheesecake smothered in chocolate sauce. You can hear the true emotion like Anathema, the long, shifting song structures like Floyd, the heaviness incorporated in like newer Porcupine Tree, and the brilliant lyrical content and lush blend of instruments like Pain of Salvation. The band isn't necessarily directly influenced by them, and certainly not "ripping them off," but like I said, fans of the previous bands will defiantly go crazy over this band; I know I love those 4 bands, and I love this.

This band has an extremely bright future ahead of them and I don't see how any intelligent music fan could possibly say this is bad. I don't think the band will ever retreat to any limitations or labels and will always do what's truly in their heart. It's my best new discovery this year and I'm very glad I "blindly" purchased it. I'll be getting their first album very soon. Rock on, guys.

After Riverside's amazing debut album Out of Myself was released, the band's vocalist and bassist Mariusz Duda made the following statement on their website: "We know that we're not discovering new lands in our playing, but we do hope that we're doing it our own way, and, sooner or later, we will work out our own distinctive style.". Well, judging by the music on their new release, also their InsideOut debut, Second Life Syndrome, it should be noted that they have achieved their goal to a great extent. Forget about the ever-present Opeth, Porcupine Tree, and later day Anathema references made regarding their first disc. Second Life Syndrome not only surpasses it, but it also presents a distinct Riverside sound that, despite some subtle influences, shows the band developing into a darker musical realm, while retaining the core stylistics of their debut album.

From a lyrical point of view, Second Life Syndrome expands on the concept started with their first album, forming the middle chapter of the band's trilogy. The overall brooding tone is carried over and is often coterminous with the storyline in that the protagonist refreshes the listener's memory about his inner turmoils and psychological problems. The album begins with cathartic whispers by Duda where he briefly gives us an insight into his state of mind in his "second life". The song very slowly builds as brush drums are heard distantly together with a lucid keyboard line that blankets the whole song delicately before waves of guitar sounds emerge and repeat themselves until the second track "Volte-Face" kicks in. New keyboardist Michal Lapaj's style is rather different than the one who played on Out of Myself. Lapaj opts for a more textural statement, reaching certain atmospheres and mostly underlying the bass and guitar chords. He often builds complex textures, perhaps a bit reminiscent of Marillion's post-Brave period, in order to help portray the protagonist's restlessness. His contribution to the album has created an emotional sphere that thoroughly surrounds the album, pushing it into darker areas. As with the debut, the guitar work is exceptional. Most of the riffs and themes are repeated continuously until the band is sure the melodies have sunk in and absorbed the listener in their lachrymose churning. "Volte-Face" has a pretty long build-up, from steady 4/4 drum beats to melodic guitar and bass arpeggios, and then to more riff-oriented guitar tracks. Duda's vocals finally enter the song with smooth shifts between his traditional clean vocals and somewhat angrier or even semi-growled aggressive passages. Things quieten down with the arrival of a fine bass solo and psychedelic guitar lines that are then replaced by a pretty piano interlude and soft string arrangements. Finally, the drums speed up and the riffs become more structured as the song reaches its incensed resolution. By now the tone of the disc has been set and the musical direction defined.

Duda's vocals on the melancholic ballad "Conceiving You" are emotive and expressive, and things hit atmospheric heights when Piotr Grudzinski lays down an elegiac guitar solo, showing incredible growth in his phrasing and note choices since the debut album. He is simply the biggest driving force of Second Life Syndrome with his strange juxtaposition of grooves and textures on the 15-minute title track, where cutting riffs are side by side with analog synths. This song is highlighted by a great bass and guitar combination where Duda uses some more growled vocals, before he ventures into a dramatic passage laced with a slow bass solo accompanied by his most vulnerable vocals to date. He whispers incoherently personifying the main character of the story, supported by eloquent keys and another amazing guitar lead at the end. On "Artificial Smile", besides the very heavy bass and drum workout, what comes to the fore is the lyrical message, conveyed through an impressive prog metal assault and manic screams. Perhaps the most vocal-driven track, it is amazing how great the dynamics are on this piece. "I Turned You Down" also marries heavy guitar riffs with grey synth motifs, bringing out excellent vocal melodies and acoustic guitars. So far, Second Life Syndrome proves to be a very unique piece of work apart from its lyrical content. However, the band also forms a musical link between this and their previous release, with the third part of their instrumental saga "Reality Dream". Sparse key melodies conjure up images of Porcupine Tree, but the song is lightyears ahead of the first two parts on the debut. Multi-textured arrangements, extremely heavy guitar work, and fragile Hammond leads abound the song with an undercurrent of passion. This is easily the most progressive track on the album, given its complex yet utterly beautiful ending. Another lengthy song, "Dance with the Shadow", comes next where Lapaj's keys are at their most prominent phase. After several listens, noticing all those subtle complexities happening at the end, with frequent shifts of tempo and rhythm, will be a great experience for many.

The album ends with "Before", a sad song driven by ethnic percussion work, electronic sequencing, soft and heavy guitar exchange (where Grudzinski really plays his heart out), and dynamic vocals. However, the piano towards the end with an underlying ominousness suggests the story has not concluded, and we should wait for Riverside's final part of the trilogy patiently. Till then, this disc will more than please any prog rock fan.

Wonderful band out of Poland. I do have a few minor detractions to this album (as well as their last one); 1) I think with a little bit better mix and master these guys could really break very well into North America. 2) I could easily do without the opening 35-40 sec. of whispering. If the album had started right away with the beautiful a-capella that is the opening track "After", easily could've developed a much more receptive mood from the listener IMO. Highly recommended.

Riverside is a band from Poland who play a very compelling breed of progressive rock ala Pink Floyd or Porcupine Tree. Riverside's previous release was very good (although slightly lacking in direction and polish), so I had been anticipating this release for about a year. After signing with the excellent and prolific progressive label Inside Out, they released their sophomore effort, "Second Life Syndrome". This is really one of the best prog-rock albums I have heard in years....no aspect of this album is lacking in musicianship or professionalism. One of the first things I noticed and liked about Riverside is the voice of their singer/bass player, Mariusz Duda. A wide range of vocal styles are displayed on this album, from metal-esque screeches to whispered words, and he belts them all out convincingly, with no trace of an accent. His warm vocals are reminiscent of Marillion singer Steve Hogarth's, and add a very human dimension to the band-a perfect choice. His skills on bass are not to be downplayed, either. After sort of wandering a bit in search of his own voice on Riverside's previous effort, "Out of Myself", guitarist Piotr Grudzinski shines in rare form, with killer modern rock tone, tasteful embellishments and arrangements, and fiery, emotive playing which embraces progressive elements (lengthy songs, complex song structure, etc.) without meandering so much that he loses the listener. Riverside is also a band which is somewhat autobiographical in lyrical content, and this album is very well written, with a conceptual narrative of choice, suffering, and loss. Heavy stuff, yet hopeful. I simply cannot recommend this vibrant, deep and beautiful album enough!

I had to re-write this review after listening intently for several spins. IMHO, there are albums when you listen to them the experience is just amazing. This is one of those albums.There is not a wasted note in this music. I've read countless reviews about "Riverside" and it seems they are always compared to PT,Anathema or Opeth. Let me say this: all musicians have influences albeit life experiences and other music etc.etc. The vocalist Mariuz Duda was asked in a review what his influences are and he simply repied "our emotions." Don't get into the "comparing" game, as some music listeners constantly do. Listen to this album with an "open" mind and remember this is "Riverside" expressing their own musical ideas and concepts. I assure you it will be a very rewarding experience.You must have an affinity for atmospheric prog-metal. Album of the year? Peace.

....which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I heard a couple of tracks from Riverside on internet radio, which lead me to buy this disc. About 3/4 of the songs I really like, but a bit of the music is too hard with a lot of dark imagery for my tastes. No question about the band's talent, just not quite my cup of tea. I will continue to listen and see if it becomes an aquired taste for me.

This blew me away. It's totally original, it's filled with real / true emotion, and is highly inspirational. Outside of the deep lyrical content, the guitar solos / arrangements are what really moved me. Whether you want to lable Riverside as a Metal band, or a Progressive band, one thing is certain, they compose their music from the heart. You can literally feel the music here, and because of it's pureness, it pulls you in....

I can't recommend "Second Life Syndrome" highly enough. Simply stated, Riverside is awesome, and "SLS" is a masterpiece that should not be overlooked. Buy it with confidence.....