Riverside Second Life Syndrome

2005, After the release of their debut album "Out Of Myself" in the autumn of 2004, Riverside suddenly found themselves in the fast lane. An original mixture of atmospheric new art rock and dark metal with touches of Porcupine Tree, Opeth and also Anathema, the band was received incredibly well by the media. A month later the quartet from Poland performed their first foreign gig at the Progpower festival in the Dutch city of Baarlo. They left audiences completely floored, and sold out of all CD stocks. Finally, InsideOut Music took the bait. Off to a seriously promising start, it raises the question; can the band maintain this level of high expectation? "Second Life Syndrome" is the extremely positive answer.
"Second Life Syndrome" has all the elements that fans of powerful and demanding (art) rock desire - ranging from dark atmospherics with slightly psychedelic guitar solos ("After", "Reality Dream III"), powerful rhythms ("Volte-Face"), sparse minor key melodies ("Conceiving You") and sumptuous waves of sound ("Artificial Smile"). Keyboardist Michal Tapaj who replaced Jacek Melnicki after the recording of the first album, has enhanced the band's overall sound in a very noticeable way with more sophisticated keyboard parts and the use of Hammond and piano sounds. With "Second Life Syndrome", Riverside have not only maintained the standard they set with their debut album but have gone a step further in establishing themselves as an important new force on the scene.