Rapid Eye Movement - Dark Publications

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Product Description
Poland's Riverside are undoubtedly THE buzz band of the current progressive rock scene. Their dark, moody, atmospheric sound - which has been compared to both Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree - is mixed with modern metal elements to create something both unique and authentic. Fans and critics alike warmly embraced their last CD, Second Life Syndrome with gusto and enthusiasm, and tours with bands such as Dream Theater have helped to launch what is certain to be a long and productive career.

The initial version of Rapid Eye Movement will be limited to 4000 units. It will be housed in digipack format and will feature 3 bonus tracks. The band are currently looking at touring possibilities for North America this autumn, stay tuned...

Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Rapid Eye Masterpiece October 9, 2007
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

Riverside have completed their amazing trilogy with Rapid Eye Movement, an album that lends itself to the melodious side of the debut and the heavier aspect of the band's second album. It achieves a wonderful balance between its two predecessors, emphasizing atmospheric dynamics more effectively and also showing signs of growth and compositional improvement. Like the first two albums, Rapid Eye Movement also contains nine tracks and encapsulates everything what the Polish band stands for: moody soundscapes, emotive vocals, dense keyboard structures, and a solid rhythm background.

Though there will always be fans who'll consider Out of Myself Riverside's high point, it is a given that vocalist Mariusz Duda's vocals have improved significantly since the debut came out. Now, Duda incorporates all kinds of styles into his vocalizations with great results. His unique chants that open up "Beyond the Eyelids" function as a foreshadowing to the album's emotionally dark aura throughout its course. His voice is always strengthened by mood-intensive synth work and textural guitar voicings, which eventually transform into jam-like sessions with a strong rhythm presence. The instrumentation on the track is underpinned by keyboardist Michal Lapaj's electronic sequencing, which works brilliantly underneath Duda's doubled vocal harmony that occasionally borders on aggressive outbursts.

The band must have been heavily inspired by Porcupine Tree while composing "Rainbow Box", right down to the vocals. Built around an instantly memorable main riff, this is one of the shorter pieces that lends itself to crunchy rhythm variations, around which Piotr Grudzinski's textural guitar lines are woven. The single-note keyboard in the background is stretched into eternity to provide an extra layer of atmosphere; and segues into "02 Panic Room", a track with a heavily synthesized bass line and a cool guitar theme. This theme is subtly developed whilst fizzling synth sounds pan on the right and left speakers (listen to it with headphones) and Duda's schizophrenic whispers are filtered through a thick soundscape. The last section of the song, while giving the impression that it may have been added as an afterthought upon first list, is comprised of cold acoustic guitars and funereal atmosphere, mostly because of Duda's low monotone singing. The way the guitar sound becomes less and less audible while Duda's voice is set against a mournful piano figure are testimony to Riverside's aesthetic ability, not only songwriting-wise but also from a production standpoint.

From here on, the album sinks into the depths of despair. "Schizophrenic Prayer" boasts Middle Eastern acoustic guitars and a mournful vocal delivery which eventually culminates in a terrific melody. Duda's wordless humming and tragic croon precede a drawn-out instrumental middle part, formed by a steady, unbreakable rhythm. The song is finished off with some of the most schizophrenic whispers and repeated guitar themes you'll hear on any progressive rock release. Much like "Schizophrenic Prayer", "Through the Other Side" and "Embryonic" are also compositions proceeding in a glacial pace. They are both characterized by a largely acoustic framework; the contrast between Duda's ultimately soothing and reassuring voice and the terribly disturbing subject matter on "Embryonic" is impossible to ignore. Riverside brings together opposite poles of songwriting elements here, and concludes the track with a phenomenal guitar solo which recalls Jim Matheos' restrained playing on A Pleasant Shade of Gray, due to its context. It's got the same vibe of building the whole album up and then climaxing with a killer solo that is emotionally draining.

The most progressive cut on the album is "Parasomnia", one of the longer pieces. Not only does it marry the hallmarks of the Riverside sound their fans have come to love over the years, it is a track with a powerful bass centre and wonderful harmonies. The a capella intro alone is worth checking this album out, Duda has rarely before captured so much intensity within only a couple of seconds. As the song proceeds, amidst rampaging bass and Tool-like tribal drumming, Piotr Grudzinski intensifies its degree of heaviness with added guitar voicings and shifts of tempo. The song retreats into a dreamy section, filled with Porcupine Tree-like acoustic guitars and floating synth lines, not to mention the Floydian guitar solo. Just as its intro, the overly repeated whispering atop sparse synth notes at the very end is simply sick -- and his chants are to die for. Duda is among the most expressive singers in this genre no matter what anyone says.

There is another epic-length song on the album to finalise the three-part concept story. After a long jammy intro, "Ultimate Trip" merges both vintage and modern synth sounds, developing a unique Riverside aesthetic, and contains extensive lead work by both Grudzinski and Lapaj. The tense silence in the middle is only a chance for the listener to take a breath as the piece is concluded with smashing rhythm battery and impressive guitar work.

The debut album was perhaps the band's most melodically engaging work while Second Life Syndrome saw the band expanding into heavier territory accentuated by intense guitar work. As for Rapid Eye Movement, this is their most atmospheric statement, created to underline the psychological turmoil of the protoganist. This is not to say any of their albums lack melody or atmospheric depth; it's just each album has its own priority and the level of cohesion achieved between each release is remarkable. The production is amazing, perhaps their best. Upon the first couple of listens, I had to think of the production of Katatonia's The Great Cold Distance, though this has somewhat waned now. Still, I can't help but listen to these albums back to back -- they do have something in common, at least spiritually.

Now that they've released their albums and solidified their sound, it will be interesting to observe what kind of path Riverside will forge on their future albums.

They will not disappoint.

4 out of 5 stars

A must have October 11, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Riverside's latest release, spacey prog-rock with crunch, is a must have. The songwriting is similar to their previous release, albeit less melodic and there are softer themes, but their musical abilities seem to be progressing. Mariusz's vocals are incredible and have such a beautiful smooth earthy tone and his bass playing is beefy. Piotr's drumming is powerful, Michal's keyboard parts are well thought out and enhance everything, and Piotr's guitar style (not many chords) of constantly accenting the rhythm with a few choice notes and crunching at the right time is very tasty.

The disc is divided into two parts, Fearless (5 songs) and Fearland (4 songs). My disc also came with three "bonus tracks" - "Lucid Dream IV" is a killer instrumental, "Back to the River", another instrumental, pays homage to Pink Floyd with riffs from "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", and the third track is remix of "02 Panic Room". 2007 has provided many great discs and this is right there with the best of them.

4 out of 5 stars

Trilogy complete... great October 12, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

This album finalizes the trilogy of the Dream Reality story... even at the end they got the radio scanning just like the beginnig of Out of Myself (1st CD). They have their unique sound down with an excellent creativity that is comparable to Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree without ever sounding like them.... if prog Rock is your thing this trilogy is a MUST have... highly recommended

4 out of 5 stars

A solid ending to the trilogy. October 13, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Riverside have created an impressive end the the Reality Dream trilogy. While I rate this at just 4 stars in comparison to the two previous 5 star albums I would still highly recommend this to any prog fan. Stand out tracks, for me at least, are 02 Panic Room, Rainbow Box and Parasomnia, although there are no really bad tracks on the entire cd. The only complaint about this effort is that some of the tracks are a little too ambient at times and take a bit long to get to the meat of the song, but this is just personal preference and doesn't reflect at all on the musicianship, which is top notch.

5 out of 5 stars

Polish Power Prog December 6, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

If Riverside had been around in the days when top prog bands were filling arenas and selling albums by the millions, it would have been one of those in prog's top echelon that people would still be speaking about today. Unfortunately, the music business has become highly fragmented while the radio business has become highly concentrated. Most good music has almost no chance of being heard on the radio because the hide-bound suits that control it are afraid to allow anything new that might appeal to someone older than twelve. The twaddle that one hears on top-40 radio today is so vapid that more discerning youth have been driven in ever-increasing numbers to embrace their parents' music. Thankfully, the tech revolution that has been ongoing for more than twenty-five years makes it ever more possible for those who seek quality to find it.
Under the leadership of lead singer and lyricist Mariusz Duda, the Polish power prog group Riverside has become just the kind of quality band that should make a lasting mark on the music history of the early 21st century. Rapid Eye Movement is their third full-length album and establishes Riverside as one of today's best progressive rock groups. The dark atmospheric sound with vocals eerily reminiscent of the Moody Blues and music often compared to Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree, Riverside sounds like its set to bring progressive rock back to its former prominence.
There isn't much that could be said about this CD that the reviewer from Istanbul didn't already say so eloquently, so I will just get into his amen corner. The Special Edition of this CD, which is the edition I recommend, offers the listener just over 70 minutes of great music. It comes with a booklet containing the lyrics and some interesting images that reflect the mood induced by the music. Just one reading of the lyrics should convince you of Duda's brooding and introspective genius, and English isn't even his native language! Think of Joseph Conrad, another Pole who wrote masterfully in his adopted tongue.
Its difficult to say what I like best since most all of this is so good. If I had to pick, I would choose Beyond The Eyelids, both mixes of 02 Panic Room, Cybernetic Pillow, and the bonus cuts Lucid Dream IV and Back To The River as my favorites. Those fans of Riverside who have not yet heard Rapid Eye Movement may find this to be a bit "heavier" than previously releases. No complaints from me on that score, I like the band's deft integration of modern metal elements with their core prog fare.
If you are one who likes inventive music, darkly intelligent lyrics, and have not yet heard Riverside then now is the time. I recommend not only this CD, but all of their other releases as well.

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