Style: oriental/folk (clean/mixed vocals)
Review by: Sam
Country: Egypt
Release date: 31-12-2018
NOTE: This album was originally included in the December 2018 issue of The Progressive Subway
Now this is a pleasant surprise. Just when I thought December couldn’t be more dull, at the literal last day of the year these fellas from Egypt put out a record that’s worth coming back to. The best way to describe this band would be as a combination of Orphaned Land and Dan Swano’s Nightingale project. It has the former’s oriental touches and incorporation of the occasional harsh vocals and the latter’s style of metal, which has a very 90s feeling.
The production lends itself to this too. Riverwood clearly took account of their technical and financial limitations when making this and instead went for a more old-school organic approach. The guitars aren’t as heavy as modern metal, yet they’re produced with a sharp edge and subtle weight which makes up for it instead. And for the oriental side of the music it all sounds incredibly warm. From the guitar tone to the vocals to the synth work it feels like a soft, silky blanket enveloping you with its warmth. And of course for the bread and butter of good production, all the instruments can be clearly heard in the mix (yes, that includes the bass).
Now for the music. For one it’s just super pretty. The oriental stylings and warm tone of everything gives it an incredibly nice atmosphere. It doesn’t matter what’s happening in the music, the magical atmosphere is never lost. I already mentioned the guitar tone, but the playing is also lovely. They can riff well, know how to build the atmosphere with clever melodies and warm, weighty chords and the soloing is very delicate and elegant. Also the keyboards provide magic with a blend of oriental music and more Traditional Progressive Metal stylings. It’s safe to say this is just a very good performance all around.
I also really like their songwriting. It’s not super progressive music à la Dream Theater or Haken, but they instead opt for an approach which could better be likened to Nightingale, Vanden Plas or Threshold, but then with the addition of atmospheric Folk passages. They incorporate plenty of Prog, but reserve it mainly for driving the song forward instead of transitioning every thirty seconds. They’re not afraid to stick to a simple 4/4 beat if the song demands it for example. Every song has a solid basis of ideas to carry it forward. And if all else fails, there’s always the majestic atmosphere to get lost in. I found myself completely enveloped by this band’s sound.
There are some complaints though. While the music is very pretty, it definitely lacks some punch. The difference with, say Orphaned Land’s Mabool album is pretty staggering in terms of power and memorability. Some more hard riffs, powerful, sharp vocal hooks and high tempo metal could do wonders. The production also definitely could still use some work. The guitars tend to get lost a bit in the mix and the drums could use some more oomph. Finally the songs could use some trimming.
So overall this record is definitely a good one. While it lacks some punch and immediate staying power, it makes up for it by just being insanely pretty. This is an album that grew heavily on me with repeated listens. I had almost all but written off December as Dullcember, but it turns out that at the very end of the year these fellas from Egypt manage to surprise me with some great music.
Recommended tracks: Nightfall Overture, Möt ditt öde, Fairytale
Recommended for fans of: Orphaned Land, Nightingale, Threshold
Final verdict: 8/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Label: zz – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook
Riverwood is:
– Mahmoud Nader (vocals, guitars)
– Seif Elsokkary (guitars)
– Mark Medhat (drums)
– Ahmed Shokry (bass)
– Omar Salem (keyboard)
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