What took British post-prog juggernaut PORCUPINE TREE over a decade – that is, honing the delicate balance between atmospherics à la PINK FLOYD and more metal-tinted prog quirks to perfection – the Polish equivalent, RIVERSIDE, achieved already by their sophomore full-length, “Second Life Syndrome,” released on October 31st, 2005, merely a year after their haunting debut. Mariusz Duda & Co. has been praised for summarizing nearly everything good about progressive rock, encompassing both atmospheric post-prog and prog metal, without leaning too heavily toward either school of thought. This sophomore effort is a tad more metal-sounding in its overall darker and heavier mood, especially compared to the 2004 debut “Out of Myself.” Still, it features ample atmospherics so that it can be seen as a masterful consolidation of the band’s signature sound to come. On a peculiar side note, PORCUPINE TREE had released “Deadwing” about six months earlier and, in retrospect, these two albums share some haunting similarities when it comes to their highly evocative, immersive, and complex soundscapes that blend piercing melancholy with progressive metal elements. Both albums also skillfully play with the beauty of contrast to build tension and drama, with emotional lyrical themes to boot. So, I guess it’s not entirely hogwash that some people jokingly call Duda “Steven Wilson of Polish prog.”
Rumor has it that, when the band was asked about their influences, the answer was “our emotions.” Befittingly, the album kicks off in a beautifully melancholic mood with “After,” featuring some nice tribal chants, ambient soundscapes, and dreamy guitars, setting a tone of impending doom. Well, obviously, PINK FLOYD must have been a huge influence, too. Guitarist Piotr Grudzinski had quite a unique style that reeked of emotion, but whenever a song calls for it, he can adorn his chops with some haunting and crystalline, David Gilmour-like lines – a trait which blossomed even further on the band’s next album, “Rapid Eye Movement,” released in 2007. His guitarism was technically very impressive and emotionally resonant overall, so it was a devastating loss to the music world when he passed away in 2016.
After the somewhat frenetic and oriental-sounding “Volte-Face,” the album throws its best two calling cards at us. First, “Conveiving You” is an atmospheric affair of the highest order, a ballad if you will. The beautiful piano piece, “Lazarus,” on PORCUPINE TREE‘s “Deadwing” has been dubbed as the best song MARILLION never wrote – and the same could be said about this melancholic banger. Then, the title track is a haunting triptych of neo-prog, psychedelia, and PINK FLOYD-esque atmospherics – an absolute standout track in this selection. If my memory serves me right, it was the first song that I ever heard from this bunch – and I was hooked immediately. These two songs still rank as some of the best atmospheric prog pieces I have encountered.
“Artificial Smile,” the heaviest track on the album, is placed exactly in the middle, after which the mood mellows down a bit again. So, the album flow seems to be crafted into an inverted V-shape of sorts (as opposed to the hard-mellow-hard dynamics shaped into a V). I guess this is one of the factors as to why the album sounds so coherent: the first songs build up tension nicely, up to the point of eruption in the middle, and then the rest of the songs cool things down toward the end. A somewhat clichéd approach, I’m sure, but when it works it just works wonders – and this beast surely does.
RIVERSIDE has been compared to bands such as PORCUPINE TREE, ANATHEMA, and GREEN CARNATION almost ad nauseam, but while there is some truth in these claims, these Polish prog masters seemed to have found their unique voice by their sophomore album, which was quite a feat in and of itself, to be honest. To use the worn-out adage, this band sure was (and still is) more than just the sum of its parts. Yeah, sure, “Second Life Syndrome” was not perhaps a perfect ten of an album like the 2013 affair “Shrine of New Generation Slaves” would be, at the time, it sure felt like the band went one louder after their impressive debut. This album was the second part of an album trilogy, comprised of their first three outings, so the best way to do justice to it is to listen to these three chapters, one after another, in one uninterrupted listening session.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- After
- Volte-Face
- Conceiving You
- Second Life Syndrome
- Artificial Smile
- I Turned You Down
- Reality Dream III
- Dance with the Shadow
- Before
Lineup
Mariusz Duda – vocals, bass, acoustic guitars
Piotr Grudzinski – electric guitars
Michal Lapaj – keyboards, Hammond organ, theremin, backing vocals
Piotr Kozieradzki – drums, percussion
Label
InsideOut Music / Mystic Production (Poland)
