RIVERSIDE - Out Of Myself - review

I'm still not quite sure if Fobia Zine is the right place for progressive music, but I'll try to encourage some of the people who read these reviews to check some interesting music besides metal :-) Riverside was formed in Warsaw, Poland by the end of year 2001. Inluding (ex-)members from such bands as Hate (drummer Piotr Kozieradzki) and Unnamed (Piotr Grudziński on guitar) they explored rather different sounds than in their former bands. With the addition of keyboard player Jacek Melnicki and Mariusz Duda on bass/vocals they started rehearsing. Year 2003 brought the first demo cd which resulted in an overwhelming response from fans. Having prepared songs for the full-length cd, they entered DBX Studio in Warsaw. 'Out Of Myself' was released on 22 December 2003. This record reminds me of bands like Porcupine Tree, late-era Anathema or recent (with H. on vocals) Marillion but it's not an ordinary copy and has it's own, very interesting spirit. One of the highlights of this cd are the vocals by Mariusz Duda. Great English prenounciation, splendid sound and fantastic arrangements make him a world-class frontman, who could probably stand comparisons to the likes of Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree). Riverside's music is definitely not in the vein of Spiral Architect if you know what I mean... Of course, there are some solos and twisted rythms, but they are thankfully not in the first place. The most important thing here is the atmosphere - beautiful, yet very dark. Full of contradictions and mood swings, with an interesting lyrical concept to complete the picture, this record is not aimed only at the fans of progressive rock, but I guess for metalheads also. You should check www.riverside.art.pl for free mp3 samples and up-to-date news on the band. 'Out Of Myself' is probably the most interesting debut album in 2003 in Poland.