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Riverside - Memories In My Head (EP - 2011)

#Músicaparaelencierro. Y como regalito Carlos el Mendico les presenta un tremendo EP que es casi un disco completo (32 minutos) que muchos no conocen (y no saben de lo que se pierden), media hora que se materializa en tres exquisitas canciones que quedarán grabadas como voces en tu cabeza de moog. Un disco camuflado de metal progresivo que hace su propio homenja al rock progresivo setentero y sobretodo a Pink Floyd. No se pierdan esta joyita que vale oro...

Artista: Riverside
Álbum: Memories In My Head (EP)
Año: 2011
Género: Heavy progresivo
Duración: 32:36
Nacionalidad: Polonia



Aquí tienen un adelanto de uno de sus temas tocados en vivo (ojo que el disco es en estudio)...



Cada uno de los cambios de este pequeño disco refleja la personalidad, autenticidad e increíble talento de Riverside, con toques sensibles y melancólicos o densos y pesados, pero siempre siendo Riverside.
No voy a escribir mucho en esta entrada, otro bonus para esta navidad, pero no por ello debe ser menos disfrutable... le agrego alguno videítos de estos monstruos modernos y a descorchar y brindar!



Malaventurado aquél que menosprecie el último lanzamiento de Riverside por ser un mero EP. Porque una cosa está clara: no es precisamente un mero EP. Sus 32 minutos y medio bien podrían equipararse a las duraciones tacañas de algunos álbumes de Slayer o Children of Bodom, o tampoco estarían muy lejos de los 40 minutos que, como dice Steven Wilson, suelen durar los discos clásicos. Pero aun si decidimos tomarlo como un EP, nos encontramos frente a uno de los mejores lanzamientos de los últimos años en este formato.
No me he demorado tanto en escribir esta crítica porque haya escuchado ‘Memories in My Head’ a última hora en septiembre. Desde que sonó a principios de verano en Progstreaming, el disco ha ido creciendo dentro de mí hasta convertirse casi en voces en mi cabeza. Pues esa media hora se materializa en tres exquisitas canciones, de unos diez minutos cada una. Y, entre ellas, todo está ligado, todo fluye con naturalidad, mientras los principios y los finales se funden. ¿Acaso estamos tan lejos de un ‘Thick as a Brick’ o un ‘A Passion Play’?
En ‘Goodbye Sweet Innocence’, unas ruidosas atmósferas dan paso a los teclados iniciales y a unas guitarras que acompañan su riff, carente de distorsión, con golpes de batería. Aparecen esas voces suaves tan características de Mariusz Duda y así va avanzando esta canción contenida que, sin ser lenta, mantiene la calma durante sus diez minutos. Su punto álgido está, desde luego, en los solos centrales de guitarra y teclado. El estilo, como ya comentaba el grupo, recuerda a los primeros discos de Riverside. Este EP es, por tanto, una vuelta a los orígenes antes de seguir evolucionando en su próximo álbum, pero también una forma de mantener el contacto con sus seguidores. ¡Bienvenido sea éste y todo otro contacto!
Enlazada con sintetizadores, a ritmo creciente, empieza ‘Living in the Past’ -obviamente nada que ver con Jethro Tull-, mientras la batería va solidificándose y unas guitarras melódicas nos acercan poco a poco a la melodía del tema. Aparecen esos sutiles hammonds que son habitualmente tan deliciosos en Riverside, pero los sintetizadores acaban por preceder al estribillo, en el que Mariusz Duda canta con rabia contenida unos versos que podrían interpretarse, entre otras muchas maneras, como un homenaje al progresivo setentero. La canción, como todo el EP, avanza sin prisas y se toma su tiempo para desarrollar diferentes partes, cada cual mejor que la anterior. Todo encaja a la perfección en esta segunda canción, la mejor de ‘Memories in My Head’.
Dos notas de bajo que se repiten y unas guitarras con delay dan comienzo a ‘Forgotten Land’, acolchada completamente con teclados a lo largo de toda su duración. Las voces del líder de la banda se van quebrando poco a poco hasta llegar a ese registro rasgado suyo. Pero la canción avanza luego hacia terrenos más melódicos, con bajo y batería bajo la voz de Mariusz Duda, mientras teclados y guitarras llevan al oyente a perderse en sus melodías. Finalmente todo acaba por fundirse en unos últimos minutos de sintetizadores.
Con todo, es difícil encontrarle defectos a este EP de los polacos. A la espera de su próximo álbum, Riverside nos han regalado este verano media hora de música intensa y, sobre todo, magistralmente compuesta. Que a nadie le quepa ninguna duda: han conseguido superar las expectativas tras el excelente ‘Anno Domini High Definition’, de hace un par de años. Y esto confirma, una vez más, el buen año musical que estamos viviendo. Ahora Riverside celebran su décimo aniversario, pero no hay que olvidarse de que también celebramos el 40º aniversario de ese año fantástico que fue 1971 para el progresivo. Maravillosos años… ¡ambos!
Miguel Esteban Rebagliato



Si quieren saber que opina la gente de todo el mundo, acá les dejo algunos otros comentarios de esta potente y contundente belleza hecha sonido.




I own all of Riverside's albums and it has been a while between listens but it was an absolute pleasure to return to their inimitable style on this new EP. Immediately the Riverside sound is there on 'Goodbye Sweet Innocence', with a squealing feedback sound over a throbbing drone. It is pitch dark and atmospheric, gaining volume and power until the drones fade and a backwards guitar is heard. Finally a clean guitar breaks in and feedback slashes across the sound, allowing room for the quiet vocals of Mariusz Duda. The lyrics are based around the trials of life, the regrets of the past, and the changes we experience; "stuck in the crossroads of time". The lead break of Piotr Grudziński is delightful. The violin sound section is effective, and the strong keyboard solo, making this one of the most atmospheric of Riverside's repertoire. A great start.
Next is 'Living In The Past', not a Jethro Tull cover, but a very well structured song about what we leave behind as we move through life's difficulties and overcome them. The effects of keyboard swirls adds an ethereal quality. The guitar solo at the beginning is beautiful, haunting and passionate. The blasts of organ and guitar complement one another, and there is a very Pink Floyd like vibe to this. The vocals are fresh with lyrics that are memorable; "cancel all light, I'm not going to live like everyone, and I don't care if the signs are over, my future is living in the past." The little riff in the next section sounds Arabian. Eventually the song bursts into a heavy distortion and lengthy instrumental break that pounds along with sensational keyboards. Another terrific song highlighted by an inventive structure and very bold instrumentation.
Lastly, 'Forgotten Land' begins with minimal bass pulses, echoes of high pitched guitar, pounding drums come in, then the vocals; "there was a kingdom here a city full of lights". The lyrics focus on the ancient days of a lost civilisation where gods were believed, the Greek mythology perhaps, they "Call themselves gods above everything and everyone" and then the song talks about how the people build monuments to their deities, "faster and faster, higher and higher, great temples of gold glitter in the sun, the gods assured of themselves never lost their pride." The track builds gradually into some powerful soundscapes of emotionally moving guitar and vocals. "How quickly they die! How quickly they turn into dust," is sung with venom and is a phrase that is memorable on this song. The instrumental section that follows is absolutely mesmerising, chilling effects and ambient keyboard motifs and guitar swells.
On this new EP, Mariusz Duda is very good on vocals, at times aggressive and then passive and melancholy. His bass and acoustic guitar work is well executed. Piotr Grudziński has a chance to shine on some incredible lead breaks. Piotr Kozieradzki is an accomplished drummer who knows when to crash down and when to hold back on gentle hi hat work. The real treasure of the musicscape is Michał Łapaj who is a wizard on keyboards.
If this is a sign of the next Riverside album, we are in for a real treat. This is a sensational EP, it grows on you with every listen, and every track is offering amazing high quality progressive metal.
Scott Tuffnell


Without question this is the best RIVERSIDE release I have heard. To commemorate their 10 years in existance the band released this almost 33 minute EP of three songs.The tracks do blend into one another making this feel like one long ride. And what a ride it is ! I knew something was up when I saw the picture of the band in the liner notes. I've never seen these guys smiling before, but here they are looking happy in this warehouse that would other-wise be quite dark except the sun is streaming through the windows up high in the roof and on the sides.Why is this so meaningful ? I kept thinking of it during the first track as we get this dark atmosphere early but then the light shines through in such an uplifting manner that it causes emotion.That dark / light contrast is what this album is all about just like that picture.Travis Smith did the cover art and as usual he did a great job. I have to believe that Mr.Duda's solo project had to have some impact on the direction they took here.This is more in the style of the debut (which was my favourite album from them until now) but even better.
"Goodbye Sweet Innocence" is the best track i've ever heard from this band. Atmosphere galore to start then we hear some guitar after 2 1/2 minutes coming out of the darkness. Reserved vocals are next followed by drums. My God talk about feeling transformed by what comes in after 3 1/2 minutes. So beautiful before 5 1/2 minutes. It's turning heavier before 7 minutes and we get some huge bass lines too.The atmosphere is back before 10 1/2 minutes as it blends into "Living In The Past" .Drums join in and I must say that this is so freaking good ! Bass and guitar are next then vocals before 2 1/2 minutes. It gets fairly intense then it settles back before 4 1/2 minutes.Love the guitar that follows.It kicks back in before 6 minutes.The organ before 6 1/2 minutes is killer. Amazing sound after 10 1/2 minutes. It settles to end it then it blends into "Forgotten Land". A beat comes out of the atmosphere then guitar expressions followed by chunky bass. Nice.Vocals are next and they do get passionate before 4 minutes.Some great sounding guitar here too.The organ comes in when the vocals stop. Atmosphere after 7 1/2 minutes. Electronics then arrives as the spacey waves continue.
Congrats to the band on 10 years and thankyou for the many great albums over the years, especially this one.
John Davie


Since the very start in 2003 I am a fan of this band. Their debut 'Out Of Myself' absolutely amazed me. Over the course of several albums they surely have refined the sound, especially the keyboards and Duda's vocals which are way more variable today. Probably I'm a bit nostalgic, but I always liked to come back to the early spirit though ... and this EP bears something of it I would say, don't ask me why - perhaps it is only because they provide their distinctive mixture of heavy art rock and prog metal again on 'Memories In My Head'.
Goodbye Sweet Innocence they promise .. and probably the cosmic intro is meant which they deliver. What follows IS innocent mellow though, somewhat balladesque, until they turn into some heavier and tricky moments lately. Living In The Past starts with a nice relaxed groove but also shows a heavier, agressive execution furthermore, including headbanging qualities. Rather tricky again due to several twists and turns. Forgotten Land does not fall back while beautifullly variating from ethereal moments to agressive outbreaks.
Memories in your head are following voices in your head. There is nothing considerably new to state from a stylistical point of view in my opinion, but this surely are three thrilling new songs from RIVERSIDE, featuring compositional brilliance. Once more matchless is Piotr Grudzinski's sensitive and clean guitar work, an important trademark of course. Michal Lapaj is certainly successful in the meanwhile in putting in his notable impact. By all means an excellent addition to your collection, my dear prog lover.
Uwe Zickel

When bands release lengthy EPs between albums they generally fall into one of two categories. There are the fan appeasing, profile maintaining exercises in self derivation, and then there are the 'toe dipping', damage limitating experimental releases that hint at a possible new direction.
Memories in My Head certainly falls into the latter category. The sound is easily recognisable as Riverside, but quite a departure from the magnificent 'Anno Domini High Definition'. For me it falls somewhere between 'Out of Myself' and Mariusz Duda's 'Lunatic Soul' side project.
It does take a while to appreciate, but once hooked I find it a truly addictive listening experience. A perfect blend of atmosphere and intrigue, all three tracks are excellent, but my stand out favourite has got to be the enigmatic Forgotten Land.
The Verdict: Memories in My Head might only scrape past the half-hour mark, but I still consider it to be an important addition to any Riverside collection.
Starhammer

The first part of this 33-minute spacious chunk of prog, "Goodbye," unfurls itself in waves of ambient electric guitar sounds drenched in spacious reverb, accented by mystical synthesizer plinks. During this, the sound builds to a peak as the droning beat turns into synthesizer laced with B3 organ, whirling in like an unbidden but pleasant memory, making a dreamscape. Mariusz Duda's bass guitar signals the beginning of the formal composition.
"I am covered in dust lying next to you, waiting for my judgment day," brings in the first lyrics and gives us an idea of where this is headed. The full band comes together shortly after to bring in a blissful passage of slowly-moving synths reminiscent of "I Believe," from the band's first album, "Out of Myself." The band adds more instrumentation and vocal harmonies in future recollections of this passage, compounding the feeling. I'd almost believe that Steven Wilson had a hand in the making of this song, as it fits right in with "Stupid Dream" era Porcupine Tree songs.
The band deftly handles several well-paced verses and passages before diverging to keyboard and guitar solos over bass and pizzicato strings. Fans of Rush, Arjen Lucassen, and Richard Barbieri will get their fill here without dropping off the deep end of noodling. The band closes out by elaborating on a melody established earlier on for the third time and flows into the next piece, "Living in The Past."
The drums here build for about a minute over a steady one-note synth line with atmospheric programming all around. A somber guitar solo leads into a dual melody played on synth and guitar, much like on "The Same River," from "Out of Myself." This song will flow much like "Second Life Syndrome," with more very strong memorable melodies and vocal harmonies within a big sonic soundscape. An angrily longing chorus sums up the feeling of this song -- "I don't care if those times are over, I am not gonna live like everyone. I don't care if those times are over, my future is living in the past." Duda even puts a little fire behind his voice for this.
The instrumental passage following this is very B3-intensive before giving way to an eerie break in the intensity. Slowly, the vocals are showered with reverb, much like the moment in the oft-overlooked film, "The Rules of Attraction," where Harry Nilsson's version of "Without You" is progressively drenched in reverb as a girl slits her wrists. The feeling of this Riverside passage is much the same as the girl committing suicide -- this person is unwilling to move on with life. More coordinated instrumentation moves the song forward to the most energetic passage and leads into the final piece, "Forgotten Land."
This final piece connects the tone of the later Riverside albums with the compositional skill of the early albums for a well-constructed and beautiful melodic experience. At halfway through the piece, the band develops a melody that could very well work as the defining musical passage in a film, much like Hans Zimmer's "Time" immediately identifies the movie, "Inception." After a few listens, it's nearly impossible to get out of your brain. The experience of the entire album is well-paced and feels satisfyingly long despite being only half an hour. Not a minute of the album feels like its dragging or drifting away from the point.
Few albums can bring a listener to their knees and back up again in half an hour, but "Memories In My Head" does just that. Not to mention, the production is top-notch in established Riverside style, with the band producing it itself. Admittedly, not everyone's going to like that the band pushed a more rock style rather than metal this time around, but shift happens in progressive music.
metalunderground.com

Riverside's Memories in my head in only an EP with three songs totaling little more than 30 minutes. But it feels like a complete album. A wholesome artistic statement, what to me is a definition of an album, as opposed to, you know, a bunch of songs. Here Riverside show their atmospheric side. Songs feature lots of feedback, fade-outs, hypnotic bass lines and melancholic singing. But songs also have a rocking core, usually around 4-5 minutes, quite hummable, too.
If you are a fan of their more metallic previous album, ADHD, you might think that Riverside has gone the opposite direction. But don't despair, their follow-up, Shrine of New Generation Slaves, is a balance between the two approaches.
Ruben

Memories In My Head is a 3 piece EP by the Polish band Riverside, this is a short one yet very complicated and loaded with a lot of a kind of new sound which at least I never heard before.
This great EP starts with some kind of a strange sound of a fan or something like this with some spooky haunted voices at the background, it is the beginning of a piece named " Goodbye Sweet Innocent " it gets you into a very psychedelic and dreamy atmosphere which is created by a lot of strange alien-like sound effects, an acoustic guitar enters with some sounds at the background, the guitar continues playing the same riff over and over as a clean vocal enters, a vocal that matches the song perfectly, like a kiss from an angel. The drums enter with some ride cymbal and then continues to a really interesting yet simple drumming rythm that is played over and over along to some vocal and guitar, the chorus enters then fades into a melancholic acoustic guitar picking of the main riff, which you can already recognise now, then you can hear how the song gets back to the verse and then enters the chorus again, so that the song got no special structure. After all of that it enters to a loud bass line along to some organ kind of music that plays something that matches the bass line perfectly. An aggressive new guitar riff enters along to the organ and creates a really melancholic, dark atmosphere. the lyrics of this piece are a full new theme to talk about, the way that all the lyrics are crafted into one piece without any places that seem too strange, and even if there are some places like that, it is a "good strange", the lyrics are contributing to the dark, dreamy atmosphere of this song.
The next piece is "Living In The Past" ( No, we are talking about Riverside not about Jethro Tull here) , is a very well thought song with a calculated build which blends in from the first track of the album to a new atmosphere even though it reminds of the first one. The song enters a pure gold melancholic guitar solo that starts with some volume swells, this solo includes a very little amount of guitar notes but it is really well calculated, and reminds sometimes of David Gilmour's guitar solos that are very full with emotion and feelings, with maybe less technical stuff but the emotional parts include more theory and guitar knowledge, you feel that the guitarist of Riverside really knows his guitar very well and fingers the right frets in the right time to create a very emotional delight sound. The vocals enter after the solo with some organ, bass, and more instuments, the vocals here are a little more vibrating and aggressive. The song enters to a kind of chorus with some breaks and guitar+organ riffs which enter an egyptian scale interesting fills after some dreamy singing of the vocalist. A sudden break gets us to a more quiet part of the song, along with some clean beautiful vocal. Another guitar solo came, this time it is a little less prolonged than the first guitar solo and it includes a little less emotion in my opinion but it is a very powerful solo that continues the song atmosphere, the song enters a more aggressive part that you can hear by the vocals that are now more throaty, it enters a very interesting guitar+organ+drum section, and then an organ solo begins, it reminds me a lot of 70's hard rock organ sound. it is a song that the instruments are very bold in and it creates a very dreamy and quiet atmosphere, that sometimes evolves into something fantastic that we never heard before, like clean and dreamy vocal along with some very heavy guitar riffs and a fast and dark drumming that blasts your heart.
"Forgotten Land" is the name of the next track in this stunning EP, begins with some bass pulses of the same note over and over and quiet but haunting high pitched guitar sounds, the drums enter suddenly then the vocal comes, the vocal in this part reminds a little of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson's singing style because it is vibrating bravely. the song build into one craft work of a lot of landscapes, different ones, with a sometimes quiet, but sometimes aggressive parts of the song. There are some phrases in the song that are really catchy because you can hear the vocalist, like, screaming the phrase into the microphone with a lot of emotion, those phrases include "faster and faster, higher and higher, great temples of gold glitter in the sun" or "How quickly they die! How quickly they turn into dust" those were some really sudden and a surprising moments. I think that the lyrics are talking about the ancient greek mythology and empire. A little after that, the song enters an instrumental part with some guitar, bass, drums and more this is a very interesting part, and it includes a lot of soft guitar volume swells or bends and more special guitar effects that really can give only good to the song atmosphere, the organ enters with some riff that is played over and over with some changing sound that gives a kind of psychedelic atmosphere, then fades slowly into the end of this brilliant EP.
That was the first time Iv'e ever listened to Riverside and I am very surprised, this EP gave me goosebumps when I heard it and I had to listen to it once more just to be sure about what I wrote in this review and to be surprised once again. I usually like the progressive metal sub-genre less that the progressive rock sub-genre but this EP was a really warm welcome to Riverside's sophisticated and interesting sound, one more step into the prog world. I might even consider buying the EP because it was really one of the best new things that iv'e listened to on the past few months, I recommend listening to this piece without doing anything else at the time, and just listen and think, like you should do with every high quality progressive piece. You can get easily used to the dark melancholic atmosphere in this album but can be a little depressive because it makes you think a lot after you finish listening to this, so please be aware.
FenderX

2011 marked the 10th year of existence for the Polish progressive metal outfit Riverside, and they celebrated with a "Jubilee year" tour of Europe, the release of the 6-cd Reality Dream box set (combining the first three albums with additional material), and with the promise of a new album. Early in the year they also released this three-song EP of new music, presented as a reflective wind-up of their first decade.
Clocking in at a shade under 33 minutes, the music on Memories in My Head is evocative of the Reality Dream material, full of the vast, cinematic soundscape that is the signature of this foursome. It is lushly atmospheric, driven by Piotr Grudziński's hallmark melodic winding guitar themes, and Mariusz Duda's powerful, leading bass and fine vocals. The previous studio release Anno Domini High Definition had introduced a harder edge to the band's music, but Memories in My Head looks back to the more expansive, less metal-driven sound of their origins.
The three tracks--"Goodbye Sweet Innocence", "Living in the Past", and "Forgotten Land"--merge seamlessly into each other musically, and the first two tracks at least are also united by a lyric thematic arc: a combination of nostalgia for the past and a desire to break from it/eyes to the future, evoked by Duda's characteristically introspective lyrics: "Life happened to us," he sings, "we are not the same/but we've managed to survive". Indeed.
However, the EP does suffer from a bit of a lapse: the third song, "Forgotten Land", doesn't quite fit lyrically, breaking the continuity set by the first two. It was used as the soundtrack on a video promo for the PC/console game The Witcher 2 (and perhaps was written for that purpose). It is a fine song, but it is clearly the odd man out. Nevertheless, Memories in My Head is an excellent release, an outstanding introduction to the band if you have never heard them, and a welcome snippet of new material for established fans.
I want to end with an observation. Having listened to the entire available output of Riverside/Lunatic Soul (some 9 albums/EPs altogether so far), it occurs to me that these guys are the most remarkably consistent bunch that I have ever encountered, over more years of collecting and listening to music than I care to remember. All their albums are of exceptional quality, hovering around the 4 to 5-star mark--but that's not the point. The point is this--there is not one single track, across all the combined group/solo releases, that I am indifferent to, or would choose to skip over. Not one. No other artist in my experience, and certainly not in my collection, has managed to accomplish that trick. And the more I think about it the more astonishing a feat it becomes--not one mediocre track. Either Mariusz Duda produces so much material he has the luxury of choice, or he is one hell of a songwriter. This is a man--and a band--not to be ignored.
ergaster

A pleasant surprise (and a possible indication of the future of Riverside).
When this wonderful band will release a new album? Because after what I heard on his album Anno Domini High Definition and now Memories In My Head I yearn for more news. Mariusz Duda (bass and vocals), Piotr Grudzinski (guitar), Peter Kozieradzki (drums) and Michał Łapaj (keyboards, Hammond organ and theremin) hit once again in this strange, but pleasant combination of progressive metal, psychedelic rock and atmospheric music.
Following in the footsteps of ADHD they continue to develop their new sound. but make no mistake: this is not a typical progressive metal album. In fact "metal" is the minimum that is here, from time to time heavy guitars arise for remind us the "true essence" of MiH , but the atmosphere created by the keyboards, the dynamics between the instruments and the long instrumental pasagens are a clear indication that Riverside is moving in a different direction.
The most interesting is the way the songs are presented: they have a clear connection, although this does not indicate that the album is one song, because the three songs each have their identity. I'm really divided, because no one is better than another, but all I can say about some tickets available here: keyboards of Łapaj remain the strong point, as the opening of Living in the Past (this guy is a worthy competitor to Jordan Rudess to the rank of best progressive metal keyboardist!) and Duda´s bass provides incredible moments, especially in a particular section in Goodbye Sweet Innocence and the opening of the Forgotten Land. There isn´t a weak moment on this EP, and I'm really surprised!
5 stars for one of the highlights of 2011!
Vinícius Oliveira Rocha

Well, with their first album they shocked me, with their second one they conquired me, with the third one they just seemed to be human, then with their fourth album they became the best modern progressive metal band. Ah, by the way in the meantime I forgot Voices in my head EP, not like their album but I don't know why I just keep listening and listening to it (maybe another well produced work?!). Then I bought the memories in my head EP and I simply fell in love with it. If this is a prelude to their new album, well GUYS hurry up!!!!!!!! I can't wait for it!!! They simply are the best progressive metal band in circulation. Their historcal revivals have disappeared: Dream Theater, pain of salvation, ecc.. Buy this EP you riverside fans you won't be disappointed...
Vittorio Delmedico

Riverside, no doubt is now very mature.
First albums had an interest concept of prog metal but not very creative.
I really think nowadays Riverside is not a prog metal project but a experimental post metal prog rock act with touches of the psychedelic space rock of Pink Floyd.
Very good melodies in this EP .
In their last ADHD Riverside showed a change of course ,with very good more EPM to space rock songs.
So if in ADHD this band started their consolidation ,in MIMH we can say(in my opinion) Riverside is consolidated,is mature and is one of the best EPM (with hard prog rock and space rock elements too) bands of these times.
So good news for prog rock lovers this EP.
Robert Sargent

What an album. I can't seem to get enough of this lately. Saw them on tour and picked up this EP there. Incredible- these guys are getting better and better. The songs are tasteful and I particularly like Michal Lapaj's keyboard work. A great mix of discretion and power when needed, and the sounds are quite organic. After reading the lyrics, the songs even mean more to me. Intelligent and a little dark, but not too dark. Very recommended. The only downside is I want more. A 3 song EP got me perked and curious. Riverside is going to go a long way. This is their 10th anniversery let's hope for at least 10 more.
Andrew Stenzel



Lista de Temas:
1. Goodbye Sweet Innocence
2. Living in The Past
3. Forgotten Land

Alineación:
- Mariusz Duda / vocal, bass, acoustic guitar
- Piotr Grudziński / guitars
- Piotr Kozieradzki / drums
- Michał Łapaj / keyboards, hammond organs, theremin






Comments

  1. Genial, muchísimas gracias, no sabia de este EP.

    ReplyDelete

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Y para empezar la semana siempre vamos con algo bueno ¿Y qué decir de esto que ahora nos trae El Mago Alberto?, tenemos uno de los disco claves del Rey Carmesí con temas inéditos, y me copio de uno de los comentarios de esta entrada: "El último gran álbum de los mejores King Crimson, los de la década de los ’70, veía la luz en aquel Noviembre de 1974. "Red" nacía proyectando su propia sombra densa, vestida de elementos de su sinfónico pasado, de un oscuro y rauco jazz y del naciente heavy metal, marcado este último por las distorsionadas guitarras y sus pétreos riffs, que dieron una visión un tanto peculiar de aquel primogénito del Hard Rock desde el especial prisma de Robert Fripp. (...) Este álbum sin duda marcó un antes y un después en la carrera de la banda, pues tras 7 años de silencio después de "Red", la banda volvió entrados los ’80 con otra onda completamente distinta, otra visión y concepción de su sonido, sonando también interesantes y originales, pe

Bill Bruford - The Best of Bill Bruford The Winterfold & Summerfold Years (2024)

Empezamos la semana con la nueva versión del "Red" de King Crimson, seguimos luego con Bill Bruford´s Earthworks y parece que seguimos en la misma onda porque ahora presentamos, gracias al Mago Alberto, algo recién salido del horno: "The Best of Bill Bruford The Winterfold & Summerfold Years", que no otra cosa que una retrospectiva completa que cubre amplias franjas del trabajo del legendario baterista, desde su homónima banda de jazz-rock hasta la encarnación final de su célebre banda de jazz Earthworks, un conjunto de tres discos que está lleno de numerosas colaboraciones; su compañero de Yes Patrick Moraz, el pianista holandés Michiel Borstlap, Luis Conte, Chad Wackerman y Ralph Towner, entre otros. Artista: Bill Bruford Álbum: The Best of Bill Bruford The Winterfold & Summerfold Years Año: 2024 Género: Jazz Rock /  Fusion Referencia: Link a Discogs, Bandcamp, Youtube, Wikipedia, Progarchives o lo que sea. Nacionalidad: Inglaterra Ante

Alejandro Matos - Carnaval De Las Víctimas (2024)

Tras el impresionante "La Potestad" en el 2015, y casi diez años después llega el nuevo y  magnífico álbum del multiinstrumentista Alejandro Matos "Carnaval De Las Victimas", otro trabajo de primer nivel que para constatarlo se puede ver simplemente el lugar que ocupa en Progarchives, dentro de los mejores discos del este año 2024 a nivel mundial, y con eso ya nos damos una idea de la valía de este nuestro trabajo, donde Alejandro Matos se ocupa de todos los instrumentos salvo la batería, conformando un trabajo oscuro, cinematográfico, elegante y ambicioso, y toda una reflexión sobre los tiempos que corren, en base a buenos riffs y melodías cautivadoras, hasta su bucólica y triste belleza. Un trabajo que llevó tres largos años, que cursa su travesía desde un medio tiempo en casi toda su extensión y se escucha como un oscuro regalo de los dioses... o de los demonios, uno vaya a saber, pero que definitivamente tenemos que recomendar al selecto público cabezón. Ide

El Ritual - El Ritual (1971)

Quizás aquellos que no estén muy familiarizados con el rock mexicano se sorprendan de la calidad y amplitud de bandas que han surgido en aquel país, y aún hoy siguen surgiendo. El Ritual es de esas bandas que quizás jamás tendrán el respeto que tienen bandas como Caifanes, jamás tendrán el marketing de Mana o la popularidad de Café Tacuba, sin embargo esta olvidada banda pudo con un solo álbum plasmar una autenticidad que pocos logran, no por nada es considerada como una de las mejores bandas en la historia del rock mexicano. Provenientes de Tijuana, aparecieron en el ámbito musical a finales de los años 60’s, en un momento en que se vivía la "revolución ideológica" tanto en México como en el mundo en general. Estas series de cambios se extendieron más allá de lo social y llegaron al arte, que era el principal medio de expresión que tenían los jóvenes. Si hacemos el paralelismo con lo que pasaba en Argentina podríamos mencionar, por ejemplo, a La Cofradía, entre otros muchos

King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic 50th Anniversary Edition Elemental Mixes (1973 - 2023)

Para ir cerrando la semana vamos con uno de los clásicos experimental de todos los tiempos, pero presentado de un modo nuevo gracias al Mago Alberto que se zarpa nuevamente para quemarla las válvulas a más de un cabezón, mientras que a algunos más les funde algunas lamparitas. Hablo de un álbum que rompió nuestra percepción del mundo de la música, donde Fripp, Bruford, Wetton, Cross y Muir crean un disco bisagra en la historia del Rey Carmesí, pero ahora en otra versión distinta a la que conocés, y sobre ello nos dice el Mago: "Una nueva edicion de Larks Tongues in Aspic commemorando los 50 años de la salida de esta enorme obra, y así como sucedió con RED nos encontramos con un nuevo lanzamiento con nuevas versiones y mezclas, esta vez a cargo de David Singleton, van a poder disfrutar también de versiones alternativas del mismo álbum. Cuando se lanzo este disco King Crimson rompió con todos los moldes existentes hasta el momento, la instrumentación era exquisita y la grabación era

The Alan Parsons Project - Pyramid (Super Edtion Deluxe) (2024)

Otro gran aporte del Mago Alberto, se trata del tercer álbum de Alan Parsons Project, pero ahora reeditado en este 2024. "Pyramid" fue un álbum conceptual centrado en las pirámides de Giza, que se grabó en los estudios Abbey Road con una variedad de vocalistas y músicos un conjunto de 4 CD que incluyen una nueva remasterización del álbum por Miles Showell y 67 temas adicionales, 54 de ellos inéditos, incluidas tomas descartadas de sesiones de estudio y demos de Eric Woolfson o "Songwriting Diaries", como se las conoce. Y lo presentamos basándonos en un comentario que nos dejó hace tiempo nuestro amigo El Canario, que como siempre se disfruta mucho. Que lo disfruten, tanto al texto como a esta nueva versión de este clásico. Artista:  The Alan Parsons Project Álbum:  Pyramid (edición remasterizada y ampliada, 2008) Año: 1978 - 2024 Género:  rock progresivo, rock sinfónico Duración: 1:03:40 Nacionalidad:  inglesa De todo lo que he escuchado de Alan Par

Solaris - Martian Chronicles III: I Or A.I. (2024)

Comenzamos la semana con más de 80 minutos del mejor progresivo sinfónico nuevamente de la mano de los húngaros Solaris, en otro capítulo de su ya famoso "Martian Chronicles", y en otro de los mejores discos del 2024, algo recién salido del horno que nos presenta el Mago Alberto. Todo un festín de buena música, desafiante, melódica, potente, con toda la pasta que estos tipos vienen imprimiendo a su música desde hace décadas, "Martian Chronicles III" se compone de largas suites, una marca registrada de Solaris que nunca ha dejado de lado, creando una obra maestra de la música actual que no podemos dejar de recomendarles encarecidamente. Artista: Solaris Álbum: Martian Chronicles III: I Or A.I. Año: 2024 Género: Rock sinfonico Duración: 41:37 + 39:43 Referencia: Discogs Nacionalidad: Hungría Recordamos que el primer "Martian Chronicles" apareció como su álbum debut en 1984 y causó sensación de inmediato, tanto que todavía se lo menciona

Charly García - La Lógica del Escorpión (2024)

Y ya que nos estamos yendo a la mierda, nos vamos a la mierda bien y presentamos lo último de Charly, en otro gran aporte de LightbulbSun. Y no será el mejor disco de Charly, ya no tiene la misma chispa de siempre, su lírica no es la misma, pero es un disco de un sobreviviente, y ese sobreviviente es nada más y nada menos que Charly. No daré mucha vuelta a esto, otra entrada cortita y al pie, como para adentrarse a lo último de un genio que marcó una etapa. Esto es lo que queda... lanzado hoy mismo, se suma a las sorpresas de Tony Levin y del Tío Franky, porque a ellos se les suma ahora el abuelo jodón de Charly, quien lanza esto en compañía de David Lebón, Pedro Aznar, Fito Páez, Fernando Kabusacki, Fernando Samalea y muchos otros, entre ellos nuestro querido Spinetta que presenta su aporte desde el más allá. Artista: Charly García Álbum: La Lógica del Escorpión Año: 2024 Género: Rock Referencia: Rollingstone Nacionalidad: Argentina Como comentario, solamente dejar

Ideario del arte y política cabezona

Ideario del arte y política cabezona


"La desobediencia civil es el derecho imprescriptible de todo ciudadano. No puede renunciar a ella sin dejar de ser un hombre".

Gandhi, Tous les hommes sont frères, Gallimard, 1969, p. 235.