Poland’s premier prog act, RIVERSIDE, used to traverse a somewhat similar path to that of British post-proggers PORCUPINE TREE, especially in their early stages, circa “Second Life Syndrome” (2005) and “Rapid Eye Movement” (2007). So, it is rather intriguing that RIVERSIDE‘s frontman Mariusz Duda kicked off his side project LUNATIC SOUL around the same time that PORCUPINE TREE‘s primus motor Steven Wilson started his solo career in 2008 – a sign of the times, perhaps? The most striking similarities end there, though; rather than engaging in a conceptual provocation of sorts by blending progressive elements with increasingly outlandish, mainstream pop, Duda has opted for something far more eccentric – that is, mixing Eastern European folk music, which is basically prog with lots of ethnic flourishes, cinematic soundscapes, and electronic influences. Each installment in the project’s haunting back catalog of is slightly different in terms of sound and mood: the first couple of albums followed a rather dark, yet atmospheric and emotionally poignant trajectory with all sorts of folk leanings, and then, 2014’s brilliant “Walking on a Flashlight Beam” brought Duda‘s progressive leanings front and center, while 2017’s “Fractured” was a tad more electronic affair altogether. Released on October 31st, 2025, via KScope, LUNATIC SOUL‘s eighth studio album is yet another highly cinematic affair, consolidating these different shades into a cohesive whole and subtly harkening back to the early sound with the folk knob turned up a notch. This new endeavor is a double album, so there’s a caveat: 90 minutes is quite a lot of music to unpack in this day and age, but to give credit where it is due, this selection of fourteen songs feels way shorter than it actually is. So, Duda must have done a lot of things right.
The title track opens the album with a synth ostinato that sounds almost like a click track for a prog song. Little by little, new layers are introduced, and the guitar motif, in particular, resonates thick with the Eastern European folk vibe. I guess it stems from the hook in the riff, which twists your sense of the song’s meter immediately. So, even though the song is quite repetitive throughout its 7 minutes, this subtle mindfuck keeps things interesting all the time. This folksy epic was released as a single ahead of the album, and it sure got my hopes up for this treat. So, does this endeavor live up to the hype? Let’s see…
After a few spins, it becomes clear that the hypnotic title track does not even rank among the most salient tracks, regardless of how good it is. First, because I happen to have a fetish for Middle Eastern flavors in music, the synth-driven and sax-adorned “Loop of Fate” and the beefy riffs in “Monsters” hit a home run right off the bat. There are all sorts of belly-danceable twists and turns in other tracks, too, but these two throw in the most delicious Middle Eastern melodies. Yeah, Phrygian mode and its derivatives are by far the best bottled jinns to let loose when you want to evoke some flying-carpet vibes – and here, Duda masterfully implements these modes without sounding too clichéd.
Then, there are a couple of poignant ballads that really get under your skin – in a good way. You see, I’m not even into ballads very much. First up, “Good Memories Don’t Want to Die” is an acoustic ballad that sounds more like an intimate articulation of our subconscious dreamscapes. The song’s minimalist, yet poignant atmosphere is very close to the slow-burning melancholy of THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA‘s 2007 album “Ma Fleur.” The same thing could be said about the other one, entitled “Torn in Two.” The combination of piano, strings, and human voice is very powerful in the right hands; some would even go as far as to claim that the magnitude of music’s transformative power is comparable to psychedelics, and songs such as these might just make you feel inclined to agree. “Parallels” is not necessarily a ballad, but its minimalist, somewhat Ludovico Einaudi-like atmosphere is in line with these ballads, so I guess you could consider it to be one, as well. The odd one out, in this respect, is the song entitled “Confession” – it is a slow-building, cinematic affair like these, but I cannot help thinking it could have slipped into any of those mid-1990s alternative/post-grunge albums if you just replaced Duda‘s vocals with a voice with more whiskey-induced gravitas. Still, it does not stick out like a sore thumb in this selection.
The three standout tracks in this selection resonate quite thickly with the air of vintage RIVERSIDE, I think. “The Prophecy” is a slowly evolving sonic journey into the afterlife, and I reckon it is the closest thing you could have to early RIVERSIDE if they had collaborated with Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, just like U2 did on their landmark “Joshua Tree” album in the 1980s. Then, “Mind Obscured, Heart Eclipsed” is another poignantly cinematic journey into somewhat similar sonic terrain. Lastly, “Hands Made of Lead” opens the floodgates to pummelling melancholy, with some spirited saxophone work to boot, courtesy of Marcin Odyniec. The guitar riffs pack quite a lot of punch, so I’m sure this very song will elicit great affection from RIVERSIDE fans.
As I said in the opening paragraph, the folk vibes are particularly strong in this selection. They are all over the place, sometimes subtly adorning the melodic lines, and sometimes jumping at you with full force, like in the septuple-meter riffs in “Ardour.” That said, the synth-driven “Game Called Life” borrows quite a lot from the Eastern European folk-music pool, as well, but it does it in a tad more devious manner, much like the proggy epic in quintuple meter, “Self in Distorted Glass,” which also has European folk writ large all over it.
In conclusion, it is no small feat that LUNATIC SOUL‘s gargantuan offering avoids the usual pitfalls of double albums. Could it have been shorter, still? Yeah, sure, but none of the songs overstay their welcome, either. You know the music is good when it makes you feel as if half of your heart is crushed while the other half is on fire. Once again, Mariusz Duda has crafted a kaleidoscope of sounds that makes you look forward to re-listening to it for inspiration while it’s still playing.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- The World Under Unsun
- Loop of Fate
- Good Memories Don’t Want to Die
- Monsters
- The Prophecy
- Mind Obscured, Heart Eclipsed
- Torn in Two
- Hands Made of Lead
- Ardour
- Game Called Life
- Confession
- Parallels
- Self in Distorted Glass
- The New End
Lineup
Mariusz Duda – vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, piano, keyboards, programming
Wawrzyniec Drumowicz – drums
Marcin Odyniec – saxophone
Mateusz Owczarek – soundscapes
Label
KScope / Mystic Production
