OUT OF MYSELF

Riverside's "Out of Myself" is the debut for one of the most dynamic prog metal band over recent years. This album is heavier with more distorted metal riffs than the material they would settle into on their fourth and fifth masterpieces. Piotr Grudzinski indulges in a lot of intricate riffing and some thrashy blasts of guitar, Mariusz Duda is more aggressive on vocals on the debut, even screaming on songs like 'Loose Heart', but still maintains an overall clear melancholy texture. He is also a great bass and guitar player. The rhythms of Piotr Kozieradzki on drums is always a solid foundation for the layered musicianship, and Jacek Melnicki's keyboards generate an ambient quality, though he would be replaced later by Michael Lapaj.

The album starts with a Pink Floyd resonance on 'The Same River', a 12 minute musicscape that meanders along patiently and builds into some heavier passages. 'Out Of Myself' soon blazes with some upbeat cadence and then is followed with the contemplative vocals of Duda on 'I Believe'.

The stand out of the album is 'Reality Dream', a powerhouse song that would be played live many times over the years as a regular favourite. The band are able to display their virtuoso skill with the interplay of guitar and keys over shifting time signatures. 'Loose Heart' has an energetic riff and some fractured structures embellished by guitar and keyboard crescendos.

'Reality II' is a fast tricky instrumental with Grudzinski's excellent lead guitar work outs and some sledgehammer syncopated percussion. 'In Two Minds' is a Riverside ballad, something that they would include on every album, a reflective atmosphere with ethereal keyboards and soaring guitars. 'The Curtain Falls' is an 8 minute haunting song with a soft chime, acoustic picking and ambient keyboard textures. It locks into a Pink Floyd 'Run Like Hell' riff that shows where the band have been inspired and that is not a bad thing. The lead break by Grudzinski is wonderful, with sustain and emotional string bends. 'OK' ends this on a rather gentle song with melancholy passages of beauty.

Overall this is a great debut, which is really a beginning for the band who were daring and adventurous but became even moreso on subsequent albums. It is a worthwhile listen with some of their best compositions and a darker feel with some aggression and powerful metal riffs.