Riverside - Second Life Syndrome review
| Band: | Riverside |
| Album: | Second Life Syndrome |
| Style: | Progressive metal |
| Release date: | October 31, 2005 |
| Guest review by: | dark awakening |
01. After
02. Volte-Face
03. Conceiving You
04. Second Life Syndrome
1 - From Hand To Mouth
2 - Secret Exhibition
3 - Vicious Ritual
05. Artificial Smile
06. I Turned You Down
07. Reality Dream III
08. Dance With The Shadow
09. Before
I got into this band a few time ago; I was immediately caught by some reviews of this album that showed high valuations of this work called "Second Life Syndrome" talking about it as the new progressive rock/metal album to beat. I immediately wanted to listen to the work of this polish band. The artwork and the lyrical themes are really progressive, as usual they speak about inner struggles, relationships and all is perfectly integrated with the songs and the catchy atmospheres created by this band that counts on a single guitarist, a singer/bassist, a great drummer and a skilled keyboardist.
From the first notes we can recognize influences coming from the American progressive scene (Dream Theater, Shadow Gallery) and a great inspiration from Tool. A slow introduction called "After" brings us into Volte-Face; with great guitar riffs, catchy atmospheres, a kind of jazz drumming and a really wonderful voice Riverside built this song and the entire album. Follows "Conceiving You", which is a gorgeous ballad that starts with a catchy piano theme and goes into more and more higher guitar and vocals accompanying: I personally love this song. Then comes the masterpiece: the titletrack. All in this song is really fantastic, for fifteen minutes the listener never loses interest; we can also find at the end a riff strongly influenced by Dream Theater perfectly led by the excellent gìuitarist. Another new thing that these guys put in the album is the presence of typical hard-rock riffs as in the introduction of "Artificial Smile". The other songs are great too and the conclusive "Before" has been perfectly chosen to be the last; 'cause of its atmosphere and a really progressive guitar work: it manages to blow the listener's mind away for the last time. Finally I confirm the validity of this work; it's a great album, something new and really amazing; an union of hard rock, jazz, progressive and avant-garde metal. You should absolutely try it.
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 23
Visited by: 232 users
| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835  |
I really love this album, its one of the best albums I've ever heard and this is a very special band for me. Riverside is really a perfect band for me, only comparable to Anathema and Porcupine Tree when it comes to what they make me feel. On that note, and because music is about feelings for me, I would give it a perfect 10.
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| Mizer84 Account deleted |
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| Introspekrieg Totemic Lust Elite Posts: 2749  |
After watching this video I ordered the album immediately. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi4xriyG3sE
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| addiction Posts: 277  |
amazing album! at this moment i especially like "Artificial Smile" and "Volte-Face"!!! highly recommended imo...
---- alive in the superunknown
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| ms68 Posts: 260  |
They are just theif and they shouldn't be in ms top 100. u can find a lot of riffs and melodies in this album has been stolen from dream theater. and their vocal copies vincent cavangh's works.
---- The more you eat, the more you shit No matter what you eat, it all turns to shit
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
Written by ms68 on 04.03.2009 at 18:19 really? Could you give an example?
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
Written by ms68 on 04.03.2009 at 18:19 really? Could you give an example?
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| ms68 Posts: 260 |
Written by BloodTears on 04.03.2009 at 18:48 for example Volte-Face
---- The more you eat, the more you shit No matter what you eat, it all turns to shit
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| ms68 Posts: 260 |
But don't misunderstood. i don't said they are bad. they are very good but repetitive
---- The more you eat, the more you shit No matter what you eat, it all turns to shit
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
Written by ms68 on 04.03.2009 at 18:56 I respect your opinion whatever it is. So you say volta-face is a rip-off of whom?
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| ms68 Posts: 260 |
Written by BloodTears on 04.03.2009 at 21:32 dream theater. but they are not bad, even Volte-Face is fuckin good song and i listened to it 4 times this day. but they are not new and i think top 100 is for albums with new qualities. kind of avant garde
---- The more you eat, the more you shit No matter what you eat, it all turns to shit
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
Written by ms68 on 04.03.2009 at 21:50 I think they are quite peculiar in their sound as a band. So, I must disagree with you 
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| ms68 Posts: 260 |
Written by BloodTears on 05.03.2009 at 10:37 u can:) but i still say they are good and i'm not disagree with u. i just found riffs similar to dream theater and vocal similar to vincent cavanagh
---- The more you eat, the more you shit No matter what you eat, it all turns to shit
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| JohnDoe Account deleted |
JohnDoe
Account deleted Written by ms68 on 04.03.2009 at 18:19 Stolen riffs and melodies from Dream Theater??!! You'd better have some arguments with your opinions honestly. I might agree if you say "influences", but NOT stealing. I also disagree the vocalist is copying Vincent Cavanaugh (hope I spelled his name right, or I'll fix it later). Riverside has a littlle bit of Anathema influences, and maybe a little bit of Porcupine Tree. But let's stop dissecting so much, we'll spoil any enjoyment whatsoever and Riverside frankly deserves the attention.
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| advent Posts: 268  |
Good album indeed....their best songwriting was in this album as i hear ever changing melodies in their song. but 4 me they are just rock band..miss heaviness in this album.
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| Maxx666 Meshuggahian Posts: 376  |
I see Riverside as a perfect progressive band that mixes influences from various schools but never gets stuck into one particular style, which is the reason i love this band. Out of Myself was simply mindblowing and then this masterpiece came and changed the perception. An equally brilliant album this is. Its just a great piece of art...!!!
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| K✞ulu Seeker of Truth Posts: 2573  |
Written by Maxx666 on 09.08.2012 at 07:14 I read your comment and realized that Riverside must be the most original prog band out there. They just don't sound like anyone else. There is a very unique combination of atmosphere and aggression, guitar style and songwriting that is truly original.
---- Savor what you feel and what you see Things that may not seem important now But may be tomorrow R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner Satan was a Backstreet Boy
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| Maxx666 Meshuggahian Posts: 376 |
Written by K✞ulu on 10.08.2012 at 23:53 Exactly, they strive very hard to maintain their originality and it seems to work pretty well. Even there's a lot of degree of variation in their albums. Each sounds unique in its own right.
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099  |
Yes Riverside are unique enough to have earned themselves a position as a point of comparison people use to describe the sound of other bands. That's a level of recognition not many bands can ascend to.
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| Strawberry Posts: 12 |
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| musclassia Staff Posts: 7631  |
Finally decided this is the best Riverside album today - all three long songs are fantastic, especially Dance With My Shadow, and I Turned You Down and Conceiving You are just gorgeous. Phenomenal album
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| BlankFile Posts: 705 |
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| metalriff Posts: 152 |
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