Rapid Eye Movement

Rapid Eye Movement is the third, the last, and easily the most controversial part of the Reality Dream trilogy. Accused of everything from repetitivity to too many unnecessary changes (sometimes both at once), it divided the fanbase much more than any other Riverside release. The reason is possibly rather simple: the optimistic songs are gone, the music is far more difficult to get into, and the light and touch of optimism that appeared throughout the previous albums is no longer here, except for a few short moments. Second Life Syndrome balanced the trilogy, being in between the first and third part in every way, Out of Myself was calm, melodic and dreamy. This is its opposite, the last piece of the image – the darkest, the most mysterious and difficult one. The line between dream and reality becomes completely blurred. Rapid Eye Movement shows the person from Second Life Syndrome who apparently failed in his attempt in repairing his mistakes, no matter what exactly the failure was. As the result, the album is extremely introverted, mysterious and dark, focused entirely of the state of mind of one person, and a state which isn't exactly pleasant. We're going through a journey which is an attempt at keeping sanity in a way, which is why we can't even be sure what is real, and what's just a creation of his mind. The lyrics are incredibly thought-provoking, take time to understand, and are the most amazing lyrics of the trilogy.

For this reason, the band took a rather risky approach: the thing that had almost defined the first two parts of the trilogy has been greatly reduced, giving more room for other ideas. Obviously, I'm talking about the melodic guitar solos from the previous albums, which were leading most songs or at least sections of songs. I'm a great fan of Piotr Grudziński's soloing, but the less melodic approach on REM works perfectly – this time, the songs are far more riff-oriented, and there's more place for other instruments: keyboards have a more dominating role, no longer just supporting the rest, three songs are led by an acoustic guitar, and finally, there's the bass, which has also gained a lot of importance. Mariusz Duda is an amazing bassist, and his performance on REM is brilliant in every way. There's little to none guitar-doubling here, the bass is perfectly audible throughout the whole album, and there's lots of really good bass lines – sometimes it takes the lead, working pretty much like a rhythm guitar. This doesn't mean, though, that the lead guitar is less important, as the riffs here are excellent, and the solos on the album are absolutely top notch. There's also lots of far more subtle guitar effects, adding a lot to the sound, especially at quieter moments. An interesting thing is that despite the fact that all three Reality Dream albums were recorded in the same studio and produced with the help of the same people, Rapid Eye Movement sounds definitely the best of the three. The quieter moments have gained more depth and space, with lots of audible details, and nothing blends together, which had been a problem at a few points of the previous two. On the other hand, the heavier moments sound better than ever, the heavy riffs have a lot of punch and force, sounding clean and with every instrument distinguishable from each other, but also a bit raw. The sound is also deeper, especially the bass has gained a lot.

There was some “out of prog” experimentation on Second Life Syndrome already, but nothing even close to these proportions. There are at least three songs which fall into this category entirely, and lots of moments and ideas spread throughout the entire album (the opinions I've heard about this album being “too similar to the previous ones” are one of the world's greatest mysteries for me). Through the Other Side is the first one of them, remaining the calmest song in the band's discography, with a style different than any other Riverside composition, led entirely by a quiet acoustic guitar, with a simple percussion entering over time, and with nearly whispered vocals. The second one is easily the catchiest song on the album (I'd even risk saying “of their entire discography”), called Rainbow Box, with a chorus that's going to stick in your mind immediately, but still managing to be full of atmosphere in less than four minutes – what makes it unusual, though, is the almost classic rock influence which, surprisingly, works perfectly. The third and the greatest experiment is a song called Schizophrenic Prayer, which is full of insecurity since the first note, with a rather discomforting acoustic guitar sound, and absolutely incredible experiments with voice, ranging from truly schizophrenic whispers to extremely complex vocal harmonies. This is the best example of Mariusz Duda's “wordless singing” style, where he uses his voice like an instrument. Used before, on REM it was absolutely mastered and brought to perfection, appearing many times throughout the album and giving it a style incomparable with anything. It can be everything – silent, normal or dramatic, whichever is needed. This, of course, doesn't mean “standard” vocals were left out... Quite the opposite, they're probably even better than before. Although it's important that this time the more aggressive vocal style is nearly gone – it's the clean singing that absolutely dominates the album, sometimes quieter, sometimes lowered to a whisper. The whispers are also one of the most incredible things here, as they're capable of creating an incredible atmosphere, and even if absolutely calm, they can really make you feel uncomfortable... Mariusz uses his voice here in every way possible, with an incredible feeling and emotion, and it's one of the most important things making this album remarkable.

Despite all the quiet moments, Rapid Eye Movement has plenty of heavy moments one of them is the opener of the album, Beyond The Eyelids, which is one of the greatest highlights, and also one of the band's heaviest songs, starting with a whirlwind of heavy, powerful riffs, and only becoming more melancholic in the second half. It's a perfectly written progressive metal song, which shows the band's amazing skill at creating heavy, yet still atmospheric songs. Another very good heavier song is the album's single – 02 Panic Room, which is the only song that has “saved” the more melodic lead guitar style from the previous albums, but otherwise is quite different, with heavier riffs in between and more focus on rhythm. The album version also contains a short composition titled simply “...”, which is an amazing, emotional piece with just piano and vocals. Cybernetic Pillow is also a heavier song, and with more emphasis on guitar, switching a lot between heavy and melodic, and proves really addictive over time, as it's one of the more “prog” songs in here, but still very accessible. Finally, there are only two songs that are somewhat similar to the previous albums, and both have a reason for that. The first one is called Parasomnia, and it's obviously a continuation of Dance with the Shadow from SLS, being its exact opposite (Dance with the Shadow was about forgetting the past... this time it's trying to bring it back again), and with plenty of references. However, the song works perfectly on its own and it's also one of the heaviest tracks here. The other one is its exact opposite, called Embryonic, as the theme and feeling is much closer to Out of Myself – it's on the level of the best songs from the debut album, and is a great moment of relax on an otherwise dark album.

However, just like on Second Life Syndrome, there's a song that manages to rise above everything else, even though we're dealing with an album nearing perfection. This time it's the closing track, called Ultimate Trip, closing the entire Reality Dream trilogy. The most complex composition on the album, it starts with a more melodic, lighter first part, with a quite addictive main riff, clearly bringing us to the end of the story. However, it's a bit like an extended, even if great, intro, as the real thing begins with the second part, after a short and brilliant instrumental section. The second part is one of the darkest moments of the trilogy, switching between very quiet parts with whispered vocals and subtle guitar and keyboard sounds, and a heavy, almost doom metal riff combined with dramatic, powerful vocals. The amount of emotion, atmosphere and feeling created in these four minutes of music is absolutely stunning and incomparable to anything else, and is probably the most incredible thing the band has ever done. It then passes into part three which is much more dreamy, and feels absolutely detached from reality. And afterwards, we hear the same radio as the one that started Out of Myself.

And this is the ending of the trilogy, and the album which is actually the closest to the title “Reality Dream”, indeed hanging between dream and reality. The most difficult and the most challenging, yet also the deepest and the most rewarding of the three, just an inch away from total perfection. It's also a dark and haunting, yet still beautiful piece of art; even through all these shadows and darkness, a ray of light appears. Riverside has created three albums closely tied together, yet still entirely different, with a wide range of feelings, emotions and musical styles encompassed within. Starting a band's career with such a huge, challenging work is unusual, and Riverside have managed not only to not fail it, but have succeeded entirely. After this album, I had no doubts about the future of this band. But there's also no doubt that the trilogy will live forever... or at least for a very long time.

For a few years now, Riverside have dwelled on the periphery of ‘progressive’ music, denied the relative success of acts like Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree or even Opeth, for that matter. If you’re familiar with their first two albums, you’ll know that they take some elements from the above bands as well as from more ambient bands like Anathema, toss them in a blender and end up coming out with a sound that’s still very much their own.

If I had to single out one key sound of the band, it’d be singer Mariusz Duda’s voice and the dynamics of how it works against the backdrop of their music. Most of the time, he uses a soothing tone that brings to mind Mikael Akerfeldt’s clean vocals. Every so often, however, this rasp comes in from nowhere and clobbers you. The fact that it’s not harsh enough to qualify as growling adds an interesting element to the sound. With other bands that manage clean singing and growls, like Opeth, Orphaned Land and Swallow the Sun, the disparity between the two is usually so violent that it’s natural at first to assume that the vocals are by two different people altogether. Whereas, with Riverside, they’re clearly two facets of the same singer, especially the parts where he ramps it up bit by bit till it crosses all the way across from Mr. Rogers to Lucifer.

Now, with the older albums, after the first few listens, I always found myself gravitating towards certain ‘love at first listen’ singles like Conceiving You, I Believe, Loose Heart and Second Life Syndrome. The others were largely ignored outside the occasions I resolved to listen to the entire album without pause. Being an album-oriented wanker by default, this counted as one of the reasons that I couldn’t bump up Riverside along with their illustrious influences. Another was that the whole experience just happened to be bogged down by some pretty average guitar playing. As a support instrument, it’s fine, but you know that a guitarist can rarely be relied on to shy away from the spotlight, and when that light hits, the bubble that the rest of the sound has crafted tends to burst. Listen to the solo on Conceiving You for an example. All the more a shame, since great axework is usually the first thing that sells me on an album.

Rapid Eye Movement marks a change, however. For one, at first listen, I liked everything but nothing in particular. While I could tell one song from another, there wasn’t any one that I wanted to go back and play individually. Instead, I just played the whole album over again, which as anybody knows is accompanied with a choir of angels singing “Rock on, bitch!” Another change is that Piotr Grudziński seems to have taken a few pages from the Steven Wilson book of guitar playing and is mostly sticking to his strengths. Basically, there’s only one solo to speak of and even that’s understated and low-key; I’m usually not a fan of this minimalist philosophy when it comes to guitar wankery, but in this case, it helps the music immensely.

The sound moves from prog complexity to mid-tempo grooves to lush acoustic passages, never once throwing you off balance. It also helps that the production is a lot better this time around, and finally does justice to the ideas that these guys have. Duda’s voice is also getting even better, nailing the mellow parts and the aggression, though used sparingly, still packs a punch. The rest of the band is also totally on the ball, and it always feels more like a team effort than a bunch of guys grandstanding. Granted, that’s always been a trait of Riverside, but in this album, the gears move that much smoother.

Summing it up, this is a bright spark in what has already been a spectacular year for great music. You owe it to yourself to check it out.

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I had high hopes for this release. After putting out two godly full-lengths and a five-star single since the band’s inception in 2001, Riverside has quickly become one of my most cherished groups. Naturally, it’d be impossible to follow up such a smash hit like Second Life Syndrome, but once 02 Panic Room was released, I had confidence they could meet up to the standards their fans had set for them. Yet, after a flawless career, the final piece of Riverside’s album trilogy is riddled with just that — flaws.

In an ironic twist of fate, what bogs Rapid Eye Movement down the most is the vocalist, one of the things that made Riverside really stand out on previous records. Mariusz Duda is indisputably one of the best recent singers in prog, if not the best. James LaBrie and Daniel Gildenlow have nothing on Duda’s cool, crisp waterfall-esque voice. The problem here is he simply doesn’t know when to stop — of the 55 minutes of REM, he is silent fewer than ten. The haunting instrumental passages Grudziński and Lapaj are known for producing so perfectly on previous records are almost completely absent on REM.

The first major Riverside release without a “Dream Number” instrumental, Rapid Eye Movement feels like the least inspired of all of Riverside’s material, including the Voices in My Head EP. Most of the album lacks the ambient atmospheric side of the band, and simply follows the standard verse-chorus format that has plagued rock music since its creation. “Rainbow Box” and “Through the Other Side” are examples of this, and even the longer tracks lack originality. In fact, not half of the songs on REM contain any diversity or volume dynamics, direly essential aspects of any band that calls themselves progressive rock. The neat things Riverside did with time signatures on SLS (most of the album is in odd time, but it’s hardly noticeable unless you’re listening for it) are also missing.

While the album is, for the most part, no more than a heaping disappointment, there are highlights. “02 Panic Room” is still the eargasmic trance it was on the single (though the added minute and a half do absolutely nothing for the song), and the bookending tracks do have some real substance in them (which is good, as they make up a third of the disc by themselves). A newcomer to Riverside may be able to enjoy this release a bit better than past fans, for expectations will skew anybody’s opinion of an album the first few listens (a fate Arcturus’ Sideshow Symphonies similarly suffered). But overall, Rapid Eye Movement is a black mark on Riverside’s relatively young career.