Rapid Eye Movement by Riverside

Rapid Eye Movement by the great Riverside, from 2007.

I've already talked about this band, one of my favorite progressive metal bands, in posts dedicated to their two previous masterpieces: Out of Myself, from 2003, and, above all, one of the absolute masterpieces of progressive rock and metal, Second Life Syndrome, from 2005.

This album isn't strictly (or rather, completely) progressive metal, perhaps for this reason it's unfairly (in my opinion) considered inferior to the others. I really like it for this very reason, for its specificity: the album also embraces typical space rock sounds and is more acoustic than previous works.

The album is divided into two parts: the first, Fearless, and the second, Fearland. The first part is more decisive and impactful, in my opinion.

The acoustic parts in Through the Other Side and Embryonic, atmospheric and ambient tracks, are beautiful.

There are some very strong tracks, however, like "Parasomnia," a dark, disturbing, and captivating track, and "Cybernetic Pillow," which is pure progressive metal with a great riff, an almost hypnotic song featuring Piotr's great guitar playing that at times has an oriental feel.

"Ultimate Trip" also has a typically progressive metal sound and mood, with great keyboards in evidence and once again fantastic guitar work, with a psychedelic central section that develops until the album closes.

I absolutely recommend this excellent album to anyone new to Riverside; it's an album easier to digest than the others, with its fusion of ambient, space sounds, hard rock riffs, and excellent progressive metal.

Tracks
- Part One - Fearless:
1. Beyond The Eyelids (7:56)
2. Rainbow Box (3:37)
3. 02 Panic Room (5:29)
4. Schizophrenic Prayer (4:21)
5. Parasomnia (8:10)
- Part Two - Fearland:
6. Through The Other Side (4:06)
7. Embryonic (4:10)
8. Cybernetic Pillow (4:46)
9. Ultimate Trip (13:13)
Running Time: 55:52

The Lineup
- Mariusz Duda - vocals, bass, acoustic guitar
- Piotr Grudzinski - electric guitar
- Michal Lapaj - keyboards, Hammond, theremin, backing vocals
- Piotr Kozieradzki - drums, percussion
Featuring:
- Artur Szolc - percussion (1, 4, 2.1)
- Robert Srzednicki - keyboards and guitar (2.3)