02 PANIC ROOM

It's great to get some new RIVERSIDE material, specifically three new songs with the fourth song being a re-mix of the title track.This is enough to keep me satisfied until their new album ("Rapid Eye Movement") is released in October. Travis Smith as usual did an incredible job with the art work.

"02 Panic Room" opens with a good beat as the guitar comes in followed by heavy riffs. The vocals here are a highlight on this Ep as Mr.Duda's warm vocals are in fine form. The other two songs are instrumentals so I savour his singing here and on the re-mix later.There is a nice calm before 2 1/2 minutes followed a minute later by a beautiful guitar solo. Riffs to end the song. This song is classic RIVERSIDE, with the warm guitar tone and vocals to match with some heaviness thrown in. Thankfully this will be on "Rapid Eye Movement". The two other songs will not be on that album though. "Lucid Dream IV" is an uptempo instrumental that reminds me of Satriani until it gets heavy.The organ is a nice touch as well. Some nice heaviness 3 minutes in.

"Back To The River" is spacey with lots of atmosphere to open as the instruments then come in subtley. This is such a laid back,dreamy tune. The guitar is inviting after 2 minutes as the sound slowly builds. The organ is very Wright-like which is a clue to what's coming as they play a section from "Shine On You Crazy Diamond-Part 1" 4 1/2 minutes in. That is so cool ! Even if this PINK FLOYD tribute wasn't there this would be my favourite song on this Ep. "02 Panic Room (Remix)" is quite good but I prefer the original. This one doesn't have the riffs or heaviness, plus there are vocals speaking words on and off throughout.

I recommend this highly just for "Back To The River" alone.