It’s good, but could be better. Yeah, do you know the strange feeling that something is missing? And you try to find what is wrong; still all you got is that strange feeling again and again.
Shrine of New Generation Slaves, released in the beginning of 2013, by the Polish band Riverside, is an in-depth and gloomy disc.
Its subject is our society and our way of life, they talk about emptiness, social discomfort, anguish… Stuff like that. And despite the jaded theme, their lyrics are very good, especially the opening track New Generation Slave.
The instrumental part seems too dragged in some moments, and you have the sensation that you’re dealing with a powerful car, but something don’t let you push it. It’s like driving with the handbrake on. You can’t use the full potential of your high rotations.
In the other hand, maybe this dense and dragged atmosphere was purposeful. Riverside’s lyrics are focused on the lack of freedom, and it’s exactly the sensation that the instrumental gives to you.
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| Dense and dragged, as our society is? |
The disc starts with New Generation Slave, which is in my opinion the best track. Mariusz Duda uses a distorted voice, passing the idea of suffocation. The lyric walks in the same way (“I’m a free man/ But I can’t enjoy my life”). By the way, this phrase summarizes well the whole disc message.
Celebrity Touch, the third track, breaks with the Progressive Rock and shows us a Riverside heavier and harder. But almost seven minutes is too much for this music, from the middle part till the end there is nothing new or interesting. They just walk in circles.
Riverside returns to the dragged atmosphere with We Got Used to Us, a good and catching Progressive Rock ballad.
Another great moment comes with Escalator Shrine. The beginning filled with Blues gives a special touch and creates an amazing sonority. If in Celebrity Touch seven minutes was too much, Escalator Shrine has almost thirteen minutes. However, in this case every minute is useful and adds value to the song.
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| Stairway to gray... |
Well, as you can observe, Shrine of New Generation Slaves isn’t the kind of album that will make you feel happy and agitated. Everything is gray… Some parts are really dispensable; Deprived (Irretrievably Lost Imagination) is an example! The sixth track is a pain in the ass. It could be easily condensed in three or four minutes.
In the end, it’s a good work. I confess that I miss some pushed and heavier parts, in the other hand, pushing too much could kill the disc’s essence.
So, let’s keep running with the handbrakes on…
“Mama told me be good; work hard; and love Mr. God. Every Sunday I lie; trying to realize why.”
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FACTSHEET:
Artist: Riverside
Year: 2013
Album: Shrine of New Generation Slaves
Genre: Progressive Rock
Country: Poland
Members: Mariusz Duda (vocals and bass), Michał Łapaj (keyboards), Piotr Grudziński (guitar), Piotr Kozieradzki (drums).
TRACKS:
1 - New Generation Slave
2 - The Depth of Self-Delusion
3 - Celebrity Touch
4 - We Got Used to Us
5 - Feel Like Falling
6 - Deprived (Irretrievably Lost Imagination)
7 - Escalator Shrine
8 - Coda
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