Kingcrimsonprog Second Life Syndrome is the second full-length studio album from the Polish Progressive band Riverside. It was released in 2005 and was the second part of the story in the conceptual series `Reality Dream.'

If you listen to a lot of Prog you can pick out bits here and there that remind you of King Crimson, Van Der Graff Generator, Pink Floyd etc, as well as pieces of Pendragron, IQ, Marillion and there are touches that evoke the spirit of Opeth, Tool, Porcupine Tree and even tiny bits of Dream Theater too.

The thing is though, that Riverside seamlessly blend all the classic, mid-era and modern prog styles together and though a bit of a song here or there will remind you of another band, it still sounds like Riverside as opposed to that band and therein lies the band's greatest strength and truest appeal.

Riverside go a long way towards summarising everything that's good about the sound of progressive music without leaning too heavily on any one influence and without being too old fashioned for the fans who normally only like modern music or too metallic for the fans who can't normally stand metal.

As a Riverside album, Second Life Syndrome is a masterpiece. It is a masterfully executed and top quality example of how intelligent and interesting music can be without having to get so dense and impenetrable that its no-longer enjoyable, or oversimplify so much that it no-longer has anything to say. As to where it sits in the band's discography, stylistically this second album injects a few more metal moments into the band's sound when compared with their debut, but the song writing is a little grander and less condensed than on their third album. It sums up the band's signature sound really rather well and the standard of both song writing and musicianship is simply wonderful.

Mariusz Duda's voice and singing style is fantastically evocative here and manages to convey a great deal of emotion and information without really conforming to how a lead singer for this sort of music might usually sound. Tracks like `Volte-Face,' `Conceiving You' and the Title Track show off both his key, bass and vocal skills and how much ground the band can cover while never letting a song feel whacky or like a disparate collection of unrelated parts.

Overall; this is an immensely enjoyable record that I enjoy a great deal and which I'd whole-heartedly recommend to any fan of this sort of music. There is a brilliant sense of flow and a lot of variety, and crucially no song feels unnecessary or out of place. Comment

Kingcrimsonprog 2007's Rapid Eye Movement was the third full-length studio album by the Polish Progressive band Riverside, and served as the story conclusion to their concept-trilogy "Reality Dream."

Musically, Riverside play a mixture of 1970s influenced Progressive Rock sounds, a little touch of Neo-prog and a lot of more modern Prog Metal sounds. If you've heard them before you can hear touches of things like Tool, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Pain of Salvation etc as well as the obvious Pink Floyd influence, but crucially all delivered in a fresh and original way. There's a distinctive Riverside sound all of its own, that more evokes the spirit of those acts than sounds like a rip-off or a medley of covers.

In terms of quality, the band are absolutely top notch and a coming out with some of the most enjoyable music available right now. This album is a fantastic addition to anybody's collection. It's the kind of grower that you keep getting more and more out of on repeat listens and should more than satisfy anyone who's curious about the band.

Admittedly, stylistically a few people may be disappointed by the album, but equally many fans will be pleased. You see, the band experimented with adding a bit more of a Metal influence on their previous album "Second Life Syndrome" and "Rapid Eye Movement" takes that idea even further, which may scare off some of the fans who absolutely hate all things Metal, but equally will please fans with a more Metal background.

As well as incorporating Metal, the band try their hand at a few shorter and more succinct songs, such as `O2 Panic Room,' `Rainbow Box' and `Cybernetic Pillow' which on the one hand sound like they may have felt out of place on the band's debut, but absolutely fit within the context of this record. You still have Marisusz's superb melancholic vocal stylings, songs still feel intriguing and atmospheric and there's still plenty of Hammond and Keys so it all feels firmly anchored in the Riverside tradition.

Regardless of style however, the production job, performances, lyrical content and overall levels of creativity and power are up to the same remarkable standard of the band's excellent back catalogue and as long as you don't hate Metal outright, or only want 12 minute Floyd-influenced tracks (although don't worry they're still here too, check out `Ultimate Trip') and nothing else, then this should really grow on you. If you hear anything negative about the album, its probably more to do with people's personal tolerance-levels of Metal or expectations of another "Out Of Myself" than to do with the quality of the record.

Overall; the album is probably the heaviest, and most succinct of any of Riverside's output to date but still fits in perfectly with their overall sound. Its well made, well written and masterfully performed, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the band or the style of music in general.

Kingcrimsonprog 2011's Memories In My Head EP by the Polish Progressive band Riverside is a three-track installment of new material released to commemorate the band's ten-year anniversary.

Stylistically, its probably their least Metal sounding effort since their debut, and it drops a lot of the Deep Purple colour from ADHD, so much so that some people have called it a return to the sound of their debut. The material is fairly slow building, understated and spacey. It isn't the most exciting or dynamic material that the band have ever produced, but it's a nice little half-hour addition to the band's overall catalogue for fans who just want a bit more Riverside.

Even though the band have released better and more interesting music than this, Memories In My Head is by no means a poor effort. It's a grower, and may take a few listens to get the most out of. Its slightly more atmospheric, restrained and reflective than the last few albums but there's certainly some interesting music on offer if you give it a chance.

Overall, this isn't an absolutely essential purchase and I wouldn't recommend that it be the first Riverside release you pick up (go for a full-length studio album instead) but if you're a big fan its definitely worth picking up.

Kingcrimsonprog Voices In My Head is an early EP by the fantastic Polish Progressive Band Riverside, which has been released a few times. If you get the more recent versions, there are usually a music video for 'Acronym Love' and three live tracks of songs from their debut album, Out Of Myself, included in addition to the five studio tracks which make up the EP.

Despite the time of the EP's release, its lyrics do not form a part of the Reality Dream concept trilogy that is formed from the bands first three full-length studio albums.

Stylistically, for the most part, the music is pretty direct, a bit less complex and a bit shorter than the average Riverside song, but of a remarkably high quality. It is less Metal sounding than the Material which the band would release afterwards.

The EP starts off with a beautiful acoustic number called `Us,' and carries on in the somber mood with the slow, piano lead number `Acronym Love' which is a melancholic track with some absolutely superb Floyd-esque lead guitar.

`Dna Ts. Rednum or F. Raf' comes in at over seven minutes as the longest track on this EP, it's a moody and atmospheric number with a sort of hypnotic building feel and an electronic sounding drumbeat mixed into the music not too disimilarly to how their single '02 Panic Room' did.

`The Time I Was Daydreaming' comes next, which is another nice soft number with acoustic guitars and a sort of Porcupine Tree feel. Mariusz's voice is especially impressive on this track. Its my personal favourite on the EP and as good as anything on their Studio albums. Even if you don't pick up the EP I'd recommend you at least try out this track.

The EP closes out (excluding any bonus tracks) with `Stuck Between' which is sort of like a combination of all the moods that have been displayed so far. It's the sort of thing that would actually fit on commercial daytime radio, but which is beautiful and impressive anyway, sort of like the more recent Anathema albums.

Overall; Voices In My Head is a brief, but interesting and enjoyable addition to any Riverside fan's collection. There is a lot going on in the music, Michal Lapaj's keyboard and piano work is on full display and it shows an extra dimension to the band, and as a whole the EP doesn't feel low quality or unnecessary. If you like the band already, then give this a shot if you can find it for a fair price.

Kingcrimsonprog Shrine Of New Generation Slaves, from 2013, is the fifth full-length studio album by the superb Polish Progressive band Riverside.

If you haven’t heard Riverside yet, but are a fan of Prog, Neo-Prog or Prog Metal and especially if you are a fan of bands like Pink Floyd, Marillion, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Pain Of Salvation, Tool and Karnivool, then you really ought to at least check them out. They blend familiar sounds from many types and eras of progressive music into a distinctive and fresh sound all of their own, and manage to write great songs in the process.

To call Shrine Of The New Generation Slaves a departure from the band’s established sound may be a little bit of an overstatement, but its certainly no repeat of anything they’ve done before either. Don’t get me wrong, the band are still playing creative, interesting and thoughtful progressive music that is accessible but with a bit of depth, and that owes as much to the 1970s as it does to both the 80s and modern Prog and Prog Metal bands like they always do, but the mood of the record is very different.

Its a lot brighter, bouncier and almost happy sounding, which is not something you would usually associate with the band, save perhaps 2009’s ADHD album. Its definitely closer in spirit to ADHD than it is to 2011’s Memories In My Head EP, but then again its really not all that sonically similar to ADHD either when you get right down to it.

It feels like the band just want to mix it up a little and avoid becoming stale. The main riff from the lead single ‘Celebrity Touch’ for example sounds more like something from a stoner rock band, or perhaps even Coverdale era Deep Purple.

The title track; after a powerful intro reminiscent of the band’s Second Life Syndrome material, is a similarly fun and 70s sounding track. There are really heavy bits punctuating it, but the track is primarily constructed from fun bendy riffs and playful keyboards.

‘Feel Like Falling’ has an off-beat and synthetic tinge to it that is very reminiscent of the 1980s. Its fun, but fun in a completely different way. ‘Deprived’ by contrast is moody, hypnotic and jazzy sounding.

Then there’s the twelve-minute ‘Escalator Shine’, which at first sounds like a modern reimagining of Gentle Giant’s ‘In The Glass House’ doing a tour of different moods before it goes off on various tangents. At points, its the closest the band have ever come to sounding like Jethro Tull in a strange, small way but other sections are drenched in keys that remind you of Animals era Pink Floyd, then theirs fast bits that go a little Dream Theater-esque, vocal styles the band haven’t tried before and it even kicks off into big groove at one point.

The record ends on an acoustic number, which the band have done before, but this one has a much brighter, sweeter and more positive sound than any they’ve written in the past.

If you love the band’s early stuff already, don’t be scared off by reports of a drastic shift in sound and style. Its not so much a band reinventing themselves but rather the same bad in a different mood. They undeniably do try new things but their core sound is still detectable. There are still lots of proggy moments, bits that calm down into spacey moods and Mariusz’s distinctive voice and bass sound still anchor’s it to the band’s core sound.

Regardless of style, the quality of the material is superb. Its brilliant, genuinely fresh and exciting progressive music that isn’t too basic, or indeed too dense. There’s a mixture of acoustic, electric and electronic components, brilliant clear vocals conveying a mixture of emotions, additional instrumentation in small non-novelty bursts. Everything is tastefully woven together and it flows well as an album. You get small twinges of everything the band have done before and new ground as well. Really, you couldn’t ask for more.

I’m not sure if this would make a great first Riverside album for a new fan or not, its certainly pretty accessible and very enjoyable indeed, but at the same time perhaps try it in addition to one of their other studio albums as well just to be safe.

For existing fans, give it a try. It is a very good and enjoyable record indeed. As long as the stylistic shift doesn’t put you off, the incredible quality of the music should convince you. The only real flaw anyone could level against it is that the experimentation results in less cohesion than Riverside albums usually offer, but that’ really down to personal taste.

Personally, I love this record. It delivers enough heaviness, enough subtleness and enough fun little touches here and there to draw me in. It balances enough of what I already liked and enough surprises to really captivate me as a fan and I haven’t been able to take it off repeat since I first heard it.

*** If you can, and if its reasonably priced, try and get yourself the special edition of the record. It contains a second disc with two bonus instrumental tracks called ‘Night Session’ parts one and two, which collectively come in at around twenty-two minutes. They’re in a completely different style than the album itself, but are a great addition. ***

**Oh, and if you found this review by search engine, when you discover it again on Amazon it is me posting it. It hasn’t been copied and pasted off here by a stranger, I post my reviews on Amazon as ‘Gentlegiantprog “Kingcrimsonprog.”’ So please don’t unhelpful-vote it because you thought it was stolen from me.**