Riverside - Shrine Of New Generation Slaves (Album Review)
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Written by Ben Bland
Riverside have always been a rather curious band. Never quite living up to the huge potential they demonstrated on their first two records, as a band they are perhaps representative of a modern progressive rock scene that struggles with risk-taking. Certainly Riverside are a talented group of players and songwriters, but by the time that 2009’s 'Anno Domini High Definition' rolled around you could be forgiven for thinking that the band had used up all the tricks in their narrow rock/metal arsenal.
'Shrine of New Generation Slaves' sadly offers nothing new to the formula but, as one might expect, it does see Riverside deliver a solid record. The aforementioned 'Anno Domini High Definition' suffered from a clumsy, and at times completely unnecessary, metallic edge, something this record almost completely removes from the equation. The opener, 'New Generation Slave', is a pleasing, if obvious, homage to the guitar play of classic prog acts like King Crimson, with the quartet displaying in spades the dynamic interplay that has made their releases consistently entertaining, at least, over the years. The lyrical content is sadly closer to the realm of complete balderdash than anything else, but then prog rock was never about the words was it?
This is a predominantly soft, vintage sounding record, and the album highlight is thus the touching piano led ballad 'We Got Used to Us'. In contrast to the most modern rock aping track on the record, the banal 'Celebrity Touch', this is a track that actually sees a real connection made between band and audience. Frontman Mariusz Duda has always had an excellent voice and his subtle strains of disappointment make lyrics that would seem clumsy in other hands sound genuinely affecting. 'Deprived (Irretrievably Lost Imagination)' meanwhile is the best outright ‘prog’ song on the album, with the band gelling with the same distinct precision as in the finest moments of their discography to date.
As a whole, although 'Shrine of New Generation Slaves' is not the most original record you will hear this year, it is one worthy of at least a cursory listen for fans of more classically minded rock. The homage like style that the band employ is sprinkled with enough modern touches (albeit more in the production department than the songwriting one) to make it at least a vaguely contemporary entry into the progressive rock canon. Riverside may not be world beaters but they clearly care about what they do, and this record is an apt demonstration of why the modern prog world would be a lot worse off without them.
'Shrine of New Generation Slaves' is out now via Inside Out. Riverside tour the UK in March.
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'Shrine of New Generation Slaves' sadly offers nothing new to the formula but, as one might expect, it does see Riverside deliver a solid record. The aforementioned 'Anno Domini High Definition' suffered from a clumsy, and at times completely unnecessary, metallic edge, something this record almost completely removes from the equation. The opener, 'New Generation Slave', is a pleasing, if obvious, homage to the guitar play of classic prog acts like King Crimson, with the quartet displaying in spades the dynamic interplay that has made their releases consistently entertaining, at least, over the years. The lyrical content is sadly closer to the realm of complete balderdash than anything else, but then prog rock was never about the words was it?
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