SECOND LIFE SYNDROME

Representing the minority of people who favor Riverside's debut album over their sophomore release 'Second Life Syndrome', I must say that their second studio outing is an unnecessarily drab album that is way too derivative of its predecessor, quite one-dimensional compared to 'Out of Myself' which bolstered a fine balance between heavy and mellow, and with significantly less memorable moments and highlights, in opposition to the general opinion that this is the band's strongest offering. Not to mention the hideous album cover - perhaps reflective of the music and the overall feel of 'Second Life Syndrome'. The Polish proggers followed up their lovely debut album with a record that strongly draws upon the same influences, this time however with a much stronger inclination for a heavier sound, abandoning their more experimental and even psychedelic aspirations, glimpses of which could have occasionally been caught on 'Out of Myself'.

And in an attempt to craft a more rough-sounding album, Riverside had apparently focused on a more guitar-driven riff-based writing, as opposed to the more organic sounds of their debut album, resulting in a less-thrilling experience. The 15-minute title track is arguably the highlight of the album, a fine presentation of the various aspects of Riverside's music, when they successfully integrate their melodic choruses into the dense nature of their often-drab songs. 'Volte-Face' is another good example of how their heavier inclinations may lead to pleasant results, together with the shorter track 'Conceiving You', reminiscent of the band's previous album. Nevertheless, there are many uninteresting moments here (examples would include the opening and closing tracks, 'Artificial Smile', 'I Turned You Down', and 'Dance with the Shadow'), as the band tends to drift away from their focused songwriting into a more technical style of play that does not complement the songs but instead makes up for a much colder delivery. As good as the album is, it has a more monotonous presentation, derivative of the sound of the band's debut album, as mentioned previously and definitely colder and more contrived in execution. Even if the main Riverside ingredients are present, the album is less atmospheric, less organic, or in a word, good but nothing more.