Out of Myself

Riverside really isn’t all of that special. They’re more or less a standard prog rock band that isn’t doing anything very new for the genre, let alone are they progressive in the true sense of the word. Let’s face it, they basically sound like Porcupine Tree, which raises the question of why they’re even considered a metal band. I would agree with one of the previous reviewers in saying that about 20% of Out of Myself is actually metal.

In spite of this lack of metal-ness, or even all of that much advancement of progressive music, Riverside manages to craft a spectacularly beautiful debut, an album that despite following the general prog rock formula, has a few quirks and factors that set it apart and then set it above the heap of similar releases.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what elevates Out of Myself so, but it has a unique atmosphere, brought about by the flowing background soundscapes of the keyboards and aided by the reverb-drenched production. This isn’t the type of atmosphere present in, say, Agalloch or classic Darkthrone, that will make you want to go out to the forest, but it creates an entire second set of music, an ambient song that flows behind the main music. It makes Riverside’s sound so much fuller, deeper, and transcendental, a definite point of differentiation and superiority.

The guitar leads are magical, gorgeous and also steeped in reverb. These are played clean and like most of the album, not in a metal style. Throughout Out of Myself, the solos are moments where the guitar seems to break loose into the forefront, not just as an obligatory solo section from another prog band but as something that in fact adds to the music. All of the leads are great without being overused, and a few specific instances come to mind – the riff at four minutes into Reality Dream Part 1 is the prettiest moment of the album and maybe of any song I’ve heard. The beginning of The Curtain Falls, where the careful soloing of the guitar coupled with the dreamy ambience of the keyboards produces a strong image of a peaceful pool or stream dappled by sunlight. RIP Piotr Grudzinski.

Riverside doesn’t stick to only one type of song, either, providing for a good amount of diversity that still does not deviate from their established sound. The Same River is the true highlight of the album, the opening epic that reaches twelve minutes. It gives a good sense of what Out of Myself is all about, and it builds and flows, well, like a river. Mariusz’s vocals come in a long way into the track. He can get shriek and angry when he wants to or when the song demands it, but here he sings simple and beautiful lines. I Believe and In Two Minds are the two acoustic ballads of the album, exemplifying the same tender singing and lyricism, but the other ballad that ends the album, OK, takes a darker and jazzier turn. The Reality Dream sequence is more or less what one would expect of prog instrumentals, and the shorter rock songs also hold up, the title track catchy, Loose Heart sweeping and vast, and both desperate.

Out of Myself is a great prog rock album. Although it emulates the sound of many past greats and isn’t really original or truly innovative, they make the formula their own and damn near perfect it. Keeping with a variety of song types and the elements of atmosphere, and some truly gorgeous guitar work, Riverside makes their music beautiful.

Debut albums that managed to be more or less successful can be generally divided into two groups – the first one are the ones that were noticed because of being extraordinary in some way, even if inconsistent; the other one are the albums that walk the same path as many bands before them, without trying to be revolutionary, but are simply really good as they are. They're the ones that don't surprise anyone too much, but are very enjoyable to listen to and the realisation is on a very high level. Out of Myself certainly belongs to the latter group – the band doesn't hide their influences throughout the album, but it's the way they handled it that matters. The result is a release that holds together very well as a whole album and not a bunch of songs, doesn't have “debut album – be patient” written all over it, and shows that they knew, more or less, what they were doing.

The main influences here were apparently Pink Floyd, Anathema and Marillion, giving a sound based on melodic, melancholic guitar leading the whole album. There are some occasional heavier riffs here and there, sometimes an acoustic guitar takes over – like in I Believe – but mostly it's the lead guitar that forms the core of the music. Keyboards complement the guitar with various soundscapes, adding to the atmosphere, while the rhythm section is rather subtle throughout most of the album, creating a backbone for everything else (although I need to point out you may find out the drumming is really good, if you decide to focus on it). The main exceptions are the title track, which is the only heavier, more straightforward song here, and the two instrumentals called Reality Dream I & II, which go in a more progressive metal direction (though they also contain the trademark melodic parts). The closing track, OK, is a venture in a different direction, dropping the guitars and giving the song a much more jazzy feeling with a saxophone and slow, quiet percussion.

The strength of the album, however, is that even though it's not very diverse (at least much less than the later albums), each song holds well on its own and they don't blend together. The greatest highlight is the opener, The Same River – the closest to a progressive rock epic with 12 minutes of length, perfectly leading into the atmosphere of the album (starting with the nearly legendary Riverside sample of tuning a radio), written with feeling and finesse, perfectly crafted from four parts, each of them sounding quite differently from each other and defining the mellow, melodic style of the band. The Curtain Falls is another excellent track, easily the saddest and the most melancholic, with the most visible Pink Floyd influence – the guitar shines here more than anywhere else with a particularly memorable, fading note at the end. Finally, the third highlight is I Believe, which is one of the best acoustic ballads I've ever had a chance to hear – it had probably been done many times before, but Riverside handled it perfectly, creating a short, rather minimalistic song which is full of feeling and emotion (actually, there are three versions of the song – the second one is more piano-oriented, while the third one uses bass instead of acoustic guitar, and both have a very nice guitar solo at the end – but even though they're also great, I still find the album version to be the best).

Speaking about emotion... the vocals are a great highlight of Out of Myself. Mariusz Duda sings here mostly with his calm, soft voice which has already become one of the more recognisable ones of modern progressive music – for a reason, because he's capable of singing with incredible emotion when needed, but also with a very cold, detached voice when it's necessary. However, he's not afraid to do something entirely different, and on Out of Myself and Loose Heart he manages to sing with a really powerful, angry voice, maybe even with a slight hint of growling, and it actually manages to work perfectly. Also, there are moments of his “wordless singing” technique on the album, using the voice as another instrument – however, this is just the beginning, and it's a skill that was used to a much greater extent on the later albums.

The most ambitious idea is, however, the whole idea of the Reality Dream trilogy, this being part one. Lyrically, it's definitely the simplest Riverside work – we begin here with a person trying to find his place in the same relationship for the second time (hence “The Same River”), and failing for the second time... It doesn't really sound like the most original idea I guess; the lyrics are interesting and allow for plenty of emotion in the vocals, but still it feels rather obvious that this is really just the beginning – a prologue for something larger, deeper and more difficult to unfold. This ties in with the music, which stays mostly in the safe progressive rock territory, resulting in an album which maybe won't make you incredibly impressed, but will be a very pleasant experience nonetheless (unless you expect this album to be heavy – if I still need to make it clear: this album is around 20% metal, and definitely the band's calmest full-length to date). It's the kind of album that's perfect for relaxing and detaching from the earth a bit – it works perfectly as such, and you may end up returning to it more often than you think. It's beautiful and melancholic, with few dark shades or very strong emotions. However, part two and three will be a different thing entirely...

There isn't too much demand going around for such a zen style of Metal, at least not compared to most of the other genres. As much as Riverside differentiates itself from all of the other conformative styles much like Power, Death, and especially Black and melodic Death Metal. They seem to nevertheless fall into that stereotypical surreal, non-asociative sound that most if not all Progressive Metal bands have. However, because this is not particularily their fault, the enjoyment of this album is not ruined by the many other similar bands that we have all heard before like Tool (despite the fact that Riverside is, hands down, much better) and Devin Townsend (yet, not nearly as heavy).

Due to the bands that have such similar sounds to Riverside mostly have lyrical themes that deal with depression and inferiority, it will bring a smile to the faces of many to for once hear something progressive that doesn't render one sensitively charged. The lyrical atmosphere that Riverside creates is very transceding because listening to the entire album is the musical equivilant to an Outer Body experience.

Musically, the album is rather well achieved. Yet, one can state that they do not seem to have any sense of direction which is, of course, excusable because they are Progressive (and I will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they did this intensionally). There are wonderful moments in the album whereas their Vocalist will end his common singing contribution and scream in the areas where the music is heavy (or "Heavier"). His sining voice is quite well developed and there is nothing about it that one could find repulsive. Much the sam way as his screaming that is omni-present, however, this is sad due to how excellent he is. He has a screaming texture to his vocals that should be used in more Melodic Death Metal bands, it is niether annoying or unwanted, or even reluctantly recieved by the listener. I could be so boastful to proclaim that you [the listener] will if anything, want more - as I did!

It has been mentioned previously that the Guitarist of Riverside is not often heavy, however, is still gleefully accepted into the elements. The Guitarist is responsible for the zen, cadence-like sound that Riverside spawns. His entrancing styles and acoustic riffs are without a doubt superb. Yet, one can't help but wonder why this band is even considered Metal. As heavy as they have the historical pontential of becoming, they rarely ever throughout the album recreate it, and the wieght of the album regarding music is lost. However, it has regained itself many a time when Riverside dominates the listener's attention. The Guitarist's solos are performed greatly also. But not as intense as most metal solos, Riverside possesses solos that are very influenced by the likes of Pink Floyd, and other Blues/Rock bands that have since passed their prime and are now only faded memories.

The keyboardist is as omni-present as the band's heaviness, only coming into play during the intros, outros (most of the time being audio samples) and unexpectedly during the tracks in musical departures that suite Riverside very well.

Percussion is not at all what they would want you to focus on, but that does not necessarily suggest that the Drumming is bad. The Drummer is quitessencially just the backbone of Riverside's career. It is not at all poorly performed, and it is not given any particular spotlight. Credited as such, they do deserve one more little blurb of congradualtions with the insertion of the punctual Double Kick that is not even anticipated to have an inclusion at all in such a genre.

To summarize, this album is an excellent source of spiritually influenced Rock/Metal that defies space, time, and any hint of poor musicianship. However, it must also be noted that they do not possess a heavy quality to their sound and therefore would be dismissed by many as Tool wannabees (even though many bands could not even add up to Riverside's integrity). Only are they useful when one simply does not feel in the mood for anything energetic or fast, heavy. Only then could a generic Metal fan enjoy this quasi-genius contribution to the Metal scene.