Released: June 2009 (Poland); July 2009 (Europe and RoW)
Tracklist
- Hyperactive
- Driven to Destruction
- Egoist Hedonist
- Left Out
- Hybrid Times
And then there were four….
Mariusz Duda, when interviewed, often likes to draw attention to a couple of things: that Riverside has a recognizably distinctive sound, and the band does not like to remain stylistically static. These facts are abundantly clear nowadays, but I warrant that even after three albums, the second point was not so obvious. The Trilogy introduced an unmistakable Riverside-ish musical Gestalt, one that essentially defined them and even though there were some differences from album to album (especially in regard to how heavy they became), there really was a unity of sound that likely has helped pigeonhole them in the “progressive” category from which it is proving difficult for the guys to extract themselves (in fact, anyone who has paid any attention at all to interviews and comments over the past couple of years will realize that being styled “progressive metal” is somewhat of a Duda bugbear).
Anno Domini High Definition (ADHD), their fourth album (with its four-word title and double-entendre acronym) was the first album where this desire for stylistic change became undeniably manifest. And what a change it was. It must have seemed as if they were not just abandoning their lush progressive roots, but dropkicking them into the next solar system. The guys took their sumptuous atmospheric sound and slammed it head on into a heavy metal wall; they embraced it so enthusiastically one might even suspect they were eager for a change. The keyboard sound acquired a much harder edge. The guitars are dense and raunchy and full of relentless energy, the bass punchy and riff-heavy, taking the lead like it had never done before. Piotr Kozieradzki must have been in drum heaven on this one, with his extensive death metal background. No acoustic guitar, no ballads, no real soft pieces except the start of “Left Out”. For all that, Duda’s first point stands: There is no doubt we are listening to Riverside—their distinctive core remains untouched.
The album is a departure in more than music. It looks very different: designed (as all the albums have been) by Travis Smith, but with a glaringly bright red cover instead of the more subdued, darker tones he is noted for. And it was not recorded at Serakos Studio by the Szredniccys, but elsewhere, by others. Taken all together the message is clear: Pay Heed, Things Have Changed.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that ADHD may well be the band’s most polarizing album. There are those who didn’t know what to make of the sudden swerve away from the great sweeping soundscapes of the Trilogy and towards sheer headbanging metalness, and for whom this album sees little play; on the other hand I know of folks who aren’t necessarily fans, but when they do play a Riverside album, this is the one they reach for. And then there are the fans (I among them) that ended up embracing the album completely and unreservedly. It did take me a while to come around to it, but if the criteria of consistency, energy, performance, song writing skill, lyric chops etc. mean anything at all, this album surpasses all the rest of the discography in almost all categories. Whatever the case, it sure as hell worked. The result is a mighty, in-your-face, relentlessly kick-ass chordfest that set the band’s bar high enough they have not yet managed to surpass it. In short: this album is astonishingly good.
If Inspiration had been largely somnolent for REM, she awoke with a vengeance for ADHD. “Hyperactive” begins the album with a simple introductory piano theme and then kicks into high gear; from there and through the rest of the tracks the album really never lets up. All the songs demonstrate the band’s complete mastery over intricate and shifting song structures but in metal mode this time, and all of them are blazingly powerful and compelling. However there are a couple of clear standouts.
“Driven to Destruction” begins with a massively iconic opening bass line, upon which the buzzing guitar riffs, dense keys and drums build relentlessly into a monster, chugging track. Duda punctuates his deceptively soft vocals with barks, growls and distortion, and Mitloff drums like he is having the time of his life. This song is as heavy as all fuck.
But the real revelation, the mightiest track on the album, and perhaps the only one that can rival “Second Life Syndrome” as the greatest song the band has ever produced, is the extraordinary “Left Out”. It just might be the perfect Riverside song, the acme of their collective achievement. Every single element works exactly as it should, and where it has the edge over “Second Life Syndrome” is in the lyrics, some of the finest Duda has yet penned. This massive epic is a musical and emotional tour de force, and a structural marvel: it begins here and eleven minutes later ends up way over there, and you have no idea how that happened…but it sure is an exciting ride.
As it turns out, ADHD was the first album in a new trilogy, a set of albums whose lyric themes continue to address Duda’s intense interest in being human and coping in a complex, ever-changing, often distressingly impersonal world, but from a more sociological, less psychological perspective. ADHD may also represent some of the most mature, smartest, and directly incisive lyric-writing he has done for Riverside, with the possible exception of the Memories in My Head EP.
To my mind this is the Riverside album where everything coalesced: ambition, superb performances, intricate and astonishing song writing, beautifully evocative lyrics, all built on a rock-solid foundation of sheer exhilaration. At a shade over 44 minutes in length, it is their shortest studio album to date, but this length (very probably a deliberate result of Duda’s continuing fascination with number games – note the four word title) may well have worked in its favour. There is not a wasted note or riff or idea on this album. It is heavy and tight, monstrously hard and joyful; I’m sure I could quibble about details here and there, but you know, they really are not worth mentioning.
