Polish progressive metallers Riverside have announced that guitarist Maciej Meller is now a full-time member of the band. The guitarist has been performing live with them for the last three years, following the death of Piotr Grudziński in 2016.

Band statement: "Dear friends, this is an incredibly important moment in the history of our band. From the beginning of February 2020, Riverside are officially not a trio any more, we are a quartet! It is with incredible joy that we would like to announce that the fourth official member of the band is...

"Well, you can't have expected anyone else? He's been with us for over three years. He let us recover from the tragic loss we have all experienced, he helped us survive and become, from year to year, a better and better live band. He has been our friend and our brother. We are welcoming him in our midst with great joy, in which we hope you will also share!

"Ladies and gentlemen, on the guitars in Riverside: Maciej Meller! Being a good guitarist and loving music is one thing, but being able to fit in with your personality, incredible modesty and humility, that's an incredibly important thing in our band. Maciej meets all the criteria and we are truly happy that he wants to continue our journey with us.

"We still remember. And we still go back to the moment when, after we lost Piotr, in 2016, the massive amount of your support made us continue as Riverside. We were not ready to invite anyone to our family at that time. Wasteland had to be recorded as a trio. We simply had to cope with the loss on our own.

"Now, it's high time for Riverside to have a guitarist in the line-up again, not only during live shows but also in the studio, when working on new material. So we are really pleased to let you know that after coming back from the final, spring edition of the Wasteland Tour 2020, together with Maciek, in the new line-up, we will start working on the eighth album. The upcoming spring concerts will have a different character, a different tone, and Riverside will sound mightier than ever before. We would really like to see you there!

"Last but not least - Piotr Grudziński will always be in our hearts, we all still love him and we will never forget him. But we have to move on. We are on a journey, they are waiting for us. There is more to create in this life, more to see, more to know, more to save. We hope that you will decide to stay with us again and that you will let us help one another through all of this. We are here with you and for you.
Riverside"

Source:	riversideband.pl
Band profile:	Riverside