RIVERS OF NIHIL – RIVERS OF NIHIL

(Andy Synn presents his thoughts on Rivers of Nihil‘s upcoming self-titled album, out 30 May.)

With Rivers of Nihil stating that their upcoming fifth album – which we’ll get to shortly – would involve a synthesis of ideas and elements from all four of their previous records (plus some new ones born from some significant line-up changes) I felt it might make sense to start this review off with a quick round-up of where I stand in relation to their discography so far.

Their underrated debut album, The Conscious Seed of Light, still holds a special place in my heart for the way it introduced me to the band and their nascent blend of rigid, biomechanical riffage and fluid, melodic embellishments, while the heavier, hookier, and more tightly-structured Monarchy remains, in my opinion at least, the most focussed and consistent release of their career (so far, anyway).

And while I understand the love a lot of people have for Where Owls Know My Name – which, with its proggier and more accessible vibes, was where a lot of fans fell in love with the band – to me it remains something of a mixed bag (half “killer”, half “filler”) with the more ambitious and even more progressive (not to mention divisive) approach of The Work representing a much bolder and more successful creative step in my opinion (even if a couple of tracks still didn’t quite “fit” with the overall flow of the album).

So, with that in mind, here’s what I think of their eponymous fifth album, which comes out next week.

Now, it’s undeniably a bold choice to self-title a record when you’re already firmly established as a band, and while it’s obviously been done before – the big Extol comeback, which this album certainly shares a certain spiritual kinship with, being a prime example – it’s still a potentially contentious decision (especially in light of the major roster changes the group went through after The Work) as it suggests that this version of the band, more than any of the others, should be considered the definitive one going forwards.

And yet, as fraught with controversy as this decision is, the evidence presented here makes a very strong case all the same, with massive early highlights like “The Sub-Orbital Blues”, “Criminals” and “Despair Church” (with the first two – the former a prodigious Prog-Death powerhouse which picks up pretty much where The Work left off, only with tighter, tauter sense of songwriting and structure, the latter recalling the heaviness and intensity of the group’s earlier years but with an extra layer of moody, atmospheric depth – having been subtly spruced up since they were first released as stand-alone singles) setting a very high bar indeed.

Sure, there’s bound to be some fans unwilling to embrace the new dynamic – which now features an almost Mastodon-esque triple-vocal approach, with bassist Adam Biggs handling the majority of the growls and new guitarist Andy Thomas – whose instantly recognisable voice inevitably introduces a certain sonic sensibility reminiscent of his old band, Black Crown Initiate (especially during stunning mid-album stand-out “House of Light”) – taking on the increasingly prominent clean singing role, while drummer Jared Klein steps up to add an extra dose of harmony and/or harshness to tracks like the moodily melodic “Water & Time” and the punishingly aggressive “Evidence” – but chances are for every listener this album loses it will gain two or three more.

Is it entirely perfect? Well, perfection is an ultimately unachievable goal – though that doesn’t mean we should stop striving for it – so I’d have to say no, but the only real misstep, in my estimation, is the decision to close with “Rivers of Nihil” (from the album Rivers of Nihil by the band Rivers of Nihil… see, I know the meme) as while it’s not a bad song (even if it probably needed another minute or so to reach its full potential) it ultimately reads as somewhat anticlimactic, sitting as it does in the shadow of phenomenal penultimate track “The Logical End” (whose visceral, emotional intensity really does feel like… well… the logical end of the record).

As you may have gathered though, in spite of this minor bit of (hopefully) constructive criticism, this is a truly fantastic album (and I haven’t even touched on how shockingly aggressive the band get – especially during the likes of “Dustman” and “American Death” – or the various ways in which the increasingly melodic, dynamic, and atmospheric structure of each song reminds me of a more focussed version of Devin Townsend‘s gargantuan, genre-splicing Deconstruction opus) which fully deserves and lives up to all the hype surrounding it.

And while some may quibble over what the album’s title represents – some may see it as a rejection of their previous works, though personally I feel like this is a record in open and direct conversation with everything that’s come before it – the truth is that what we have here is nothing less than the beginning of a whole new era for the band… as well as a whole new chance for a new generation of listeners to get onboard before the current of this particular river gets too strong to resist!