Label : Irond Records
Review by Tony Cannella
From Russia, Riverain play technical, Melodic Death Metal. Actually their approach is quite interesting. The music seems to have more in common with symphonic power metal, but it is the extreme Angela Gossow type vocals provided by Anastasia Ligotskaya that will undoubtedly land Riverain in the Death Metal category. A shame really, since it is their ability to work several different styles that really makes them such an appealing musical entity. On their debut full-length “Overstepping the Verge…” Riverain offers the listener and impressive 11-song, 60-minute ride that is anything but boring. First of all, the overall sound on “Overstepping the Verge…” is huge and at times quite epic. The intro “Falling Asleep” begins with a narration that leads us into the authoritative “The Dream”. Just a great opener that sees the band grabbing the listener’s attention immediately behind an immense wall of Guitars and the brutal vocals of Anastasia. “Breaking Test” begins with a nice (dare I say beautiful?) piano intro before the technicality of the band kicks in and transforms in a heavy straight forward metal track. On the 7-minute “Madman”, the vocals are provided by Liisa Lagoun, her style is more of a clean female approach. You can’t say enough about the musicianship provided on the songs. The contrast between the mix of styles and Anastasia’s extreme vocals are very well done and unique among a lot of today’s metal. The band are obviously influenced by wide arrange of styles and they are not afraid to show them. The final track “Spirits of the Forest” is just 8-minutes worth of pure bombast that happily evolves into an all out jam at the end. The outro, “The Dream Ends” brings things around full circle and completes the journey. “Overstepping the Verge…” is quite a huge achievement for this Russian band and an excellent introduction to the metal world at large.
Rating – 90/100
Tracklist
- Falling Asleep… (Intro)
- The Dream
- Breaking Test
- Heart of Steel
- Wizard
- Tears Shed in the Sand
- Madman
- K-129 (Instrumental)
- Look Me in the Eyes
- Spirits of the Forest
- The Dream Ends (Outro)
Line Up
- Anastasia Ligotskaya – Vocals
- Daniel Seriy – Guitar, Keyboards
- Maxim Efimov – Bass
- Alexander Khoroshevsky – Drums
Links