Year: 2021
Total Time: 64:26
Label: Metal Blade
And that’s how winter arrived. The last part of the RIVERS OF NIHIL’s seasons suite is completed by their new album “The Work”. And if there were any doubts about what season this new release represents, a simple look at Dan Seagrave’s wonderful cover is enough to answer any questions.
So, what does “The Work” have in store for us? If you had listened carefully 2018’s “Where Owls Know My Name”, I believe you’d be able to guess the path that the band has followed. If not, then quite simply we are dealing with the most ambitious album from this Pennsylvania group.
From the first track “The Tower” I think you understand that you are not going to hear the RIVERS OF NIHIL that you were used to. A piano welcomes us melancholically as soft clean vocals begin to narrate the story. From those first two minutes, the album’s prog direction is very obvious. The saxophone returns and an electric outburst will soon follow with Jake Dieffenbach’s harsh vocals reminding me of a refined Piotr (VADER).
There are only two full on heavy tracks! “Dreaming Black Clockwork” reminiscent of the MESHUGGAH era of A LIFE ONCE LOST with the saxophone bringing in a little bit of the experimental KING CRIMSON, and “More?” a more classic RON song with blast beats, proggy bass, Djent breakdowns but also several (unfortunately) generic riffs.
In the rest of the album, we will meet a piano ballad ala DEVIN TOWNSEND in “Wait”, groovy Nu Metal with electronic elements ala MUSHROOMHEAD as well as the newer KORN and ARCHITECTS in “Focus” while in “Maybe One Day” the Americans show their love for melancholic acoustic ballads in the style of RIVERSIDE and PORCUPINE TREE.
The most interesting tracks in my opinion are the ones where the band experiments to the fullest, such as “Clean” where we meet GOJIRA’s groovy Prog Metal, 70s travelling Prog Rock keys, melodic guitar solo and a finale with blast beats and Deathcore breakdown.
The best song of the album in my opinion – and the direction I would like them to continue in the future – is “The Void From Which No Sound Escapes”. A fairly atmospheric composition with brave use of keys and influences from GOJIRA of recent years, which is elevated by its beautiful chorus as well as from the excellent solos on guitar and saxophone.
The album will close with the fourth Terrestria song which this time is called “Terrestria IV: The Work”. An impressive composition that combines all the elements of RIVERS OF NIHIL. While it starts misleadingly with atmospheric Prog and saxophone, it will very quickly turn into attack mode with an emphasis on speed and alternating from Deathcore to Technical Death Metal, a little MESHUGGAH of course as well as a little Avant Garde Metal ala DOG FASHION DISCO!
As I mentioned earlier, “The Work” is the band’s most ambitious work. After three releases in the field of technical/Progressive Death Metal, RIVERS OF NIHIL drastically change their sound and focus more on the atmosphere than on the technique. The significant increase of the clean vocals and the reduction of fast songs creates a “softer” result which I think will disappoint the many fans of the band who loved it for its aggressive character. While there is a lot of diversity on the record, it lacks cohesion – at times it feels like listening to a collection of songs from different bands! In addition, many of the aggressive riffs are quite formulaic and don’t offer much. I hope the next album will have a more solid character and a clearer sonic approach.
Rating: 6.5/10
Editor: Dimitris Benetatos
Related Link: RIVERS OF NIHIL – Official Page
