ANNO DOMINI HIGH DEFINITION

Riverside showed how well they can compose music right from the beginning in this album. Anno Domini High Definition starts off with an incredible beautiful piano intro, which led into a fairly heavy and definitely killer riff. The interest has started high, right away. I know I am going to enjoy this composition.

The vocals found in this LP are excellent. Mariusz Duda, vocalist and bassist, posses an awesome voice, which accents this music in an incredible way. It is the perfect fit to the style that is Riverside. Additionally, the vocal layer found in some sections was absolutely astounding; the sound that came forth from the layers was fantastic. Very effective, very enjoyable.

The groove I saw in this album was awesome. The driving bass in some areas was killer and held on to some headbanging grooves. The bass was a incredible addition to Anno Domini High Definition, and did a gorgeous job in saying what it needed to say. The song "Driven To Destruction" opened with one epic bass riff, and let the song open with a nice proverbial punch in the face. Additionally, the following song, "Egoist Hedonist" was able to capture the great sound of Duza's bass work harmonizing the fantastic keyboard/synth work of Michal Lapaj, towards the end of the song. This was followed by a bass underlayer, boosting the riff carried on Lapaj and guitarist Piotr Grudzinski, which had a beyond awesome feel.

While having piano and keyboards on the mind, I will take the time to note the incredible work of Lapaj throughout the album. His ability to to use the keys was astounding in Anno Domini High Definition, and he added another level of greatness to the already full sound. His work was able to lie under the main riff/layer, yet soar overtop and create some beautiful atmospheres. The keyboard stuck out, yet was able to hid in the melody. Additionally, I found myself reminded of the keyboard/organ work of Deep Purple's Jon Lord (RIP), and the awesome effect it brought to the music.

Still having the keyboard and synth on the mind, I am assuming al additional synth sounds are produced by keyboardist, Lapaj, and I would like to note the effectiveness of the very electronic sounds found in certain sections. It helps create the unique sound that is Riverside; I found I would keep trying to compare their sound to another artist, yet despite the Deep Purple remnants, I found I could not, for the most part. Some of the vocals did however make me think of Pain Of Salvation. With this unique music that is Riverside, there is an area in the song "Egoist Hedonist" that holds on to a horn sound, which was awesome and like a lot of the other areas, very effective.

This album carries an incredible intensity, especially towards the end, in the song "Hybrid Times", which held on to a beautifully dark atmosphere. This song, and this album, was able to capture some amazing instrumental intensities and show off what this band could do when given the chance. I was left in awe; the musical work is truly amazing. The gorgeously layered melodies were near perfection, and the tension was perfectly hanging about.

At this point I would like to make sure I do not forget to mention the incredible drummer, Piotr Kozieradzki. He had some amazing dynamics, and played with great finesse and ability. The kit sounded more than awesome on the recording, and he played the DW Collectors series set very well.

This album, Anno Domini High Definition, was brilliant. It was able to keep me incredibly interested throughout the entire performance, and I loved it. Despite the fact that the album could have ended maybe a little better, with such a high intensity performance, it feels it lacks something as an ending, but despite this, it is a great work of art. This is definitely music that deserves your time and attention. I look forward to more Riverside.

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