Tracklist:
- Falling Asleep (intro)
- The Dream
- Breaking Test
- Heart of Steel
- Wizard
- Tears Shed in the Sand
- Madman
- K-129
- Look Me in the Eyes
- Spirits of the Forest
- The Dream Ends (outro)
It’s not exactly new, but I won’t pretend its not a
pleasure to have this album for my first review. Little-known Russian band, Riverain, are a five-piece outfit,
sporting the growling female vocals of founder-member Anastasia Ligotskaya
alongside four guitar, bass, and drum playing men. That’s where the certainties end. Riverain are a group typically labelled melodic death metal, but
they don’t seem to bothered with stuffing themselves into any pigeon holes. “The band’s actual style”, reads their
webpage, “can be described as varying from melodic death and modern metal to
progressive metal with art rock touch.”
Overstepping the Verge is their
full-length debut, and appears to revolve around the notion of an epic
dream. Russian friends of mine haven’t
let me in on any of their national bedtime customs, but judging by the
experiences of Ligotskaya and co., they involve some rare and magical
incantations. Listeners are transported
into a world of vibrant colours and deep textures, which seem to use the full
sonic spectrum, from shrill screeches and intricate riffs on guitar to delicate
and classy keys. Riverain are without
the benefit of full orchestral backing, but their use of electronic sounds are
self-conscious and self justifying.
From the very start, raw synths pour out, providing harmony and
counterpoint to driving drumbeats and crunching power chords. Only in the slower sections of songs like
“Madman” do generic strings threaten to devalue the effect. Overall, in fact, the whole thing is
extremely well produced. It’s always nice
to hear the full, deep patter of double bass drumming in those bands that use
it, but the unexpected appearances of vocals twisted from deliberately
excessive autotune are a no less welcome addition.
A dream, and a right good’un too,
by the sound of it. But this is
certainly not a concept album. There
seem to be a few noteworthy references to a hidden identity, revealed to the
dreamer only during sleep, an emotional experience, perhaps, which can’t quite
be gained through waking consciousness.
Track 4, “Heart of Steel” features the lines “I have a heart of steel in
my chest/No sufferings, no ache, no pain to feel”, and this interpretation may
provide an explanation for the masks on the album cover. The lyrics are, perhaps, the album’s weak
point. According to the band’s webpage,
they’ve been translated from Russian.
And while the translation looks pretty accurate, its probably fair to
say such lines as “Winter wood is dark an perilous/And tracks here are quickly
covered in slash” probably sound better in their original language. Angela Gossow-style vocals have probably
been done better, too (by Angela Gossow, for example), but Anastasia
Ligotskaya’s haunting shrieks have more variety than many death-grunters,
intertwining whispers, growls, and other (less expected) surprises.
Regardless of the obscurity of
its main themes, however, it’s hard to argue with the overall balance of the
album. There’s a lot to be said for the
good old-fashioned intro-outro combination, and Riverain use their license to
the full. In true soporific fashion, we
are serenaded into the album’s dreamscape with a few well-chosen words – from
what sounds like Mrs. Cleetus from the Simpsons – about having “found each
other in the dark” to a subtle backing of guitar and keys (the voice, I have
been reliably informed, is a sample from the movie “The Green Mile”. News to me!). The tracklisting is carefully ordered, suitably starting with
“The Dream”, a complex and deep number which climaxes into a roaring
nightmare. There follow a series of
hard-hitting and technically demanding tracks, notable amongst them “Breaking
Test”, featuring an extended an absorbing instrumental breakdown, and “Heart of
Steel”, with some particularly neat bass riffing. And an impressive depth in variety is maintained by the gently
flowing ballad, “Madman”, which throws up the pleasant surprise of Anastasia
Ligotskaya’s lilting clean-voiced vocals.
There is certainly enough variety to keep things interesting, but
equally important is the album’s climatic rise, which carries listeners through
the excellent instrumental, “K-129” (in reference to the sunk Soviet submarine)
and onwards towards the final song, Riverain’s 8-minute, 8-second magnum opus,
“Spirits of the Forest”. Throughout,
the prog influences are obvious: songs are typically long and musically
complex, with vocals often taking a back seat.
And it’s not therefore likely to please those fans of the
verse-chorus-verse orthodoxy. But the
endless invention and development certainly keeps things fresh and
exciting. By the time the end of the
dream arrives with the outro, it’s obvious is was a night well spent!
As might be clear, I really like
this album. There’s tons of material
crammed into each song, and while it might not be either one thing or the other
when it comes to genres, that’s definitely to the band’s credit: not many acts
would be as bold with their music. It
might have been a couple of years since Riverain released the album, but if
they’re thinking of throwing another pyjama party, count me in!
Production – 5/5
Lyrics – 3/5
Album Cohesion – 4/5
Music – 8/10
http://www.riverain.ru/en/band.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment