I know that it has been quite awhile since I have written a review and I firmly believe that there is no better album to get me back to the swing of things than this release. I don't say that because it will be difficult to review or that it is easy to pick apart, but rather that it is very easy to praise. I can assure you that when I compile my album of the year list at the end of this year, this album will surely find its way on there. I am sure that all of those close to me are tired of hearing about this album, but I am nowhere near tired of listening to it.
I first discovered Rivers of Nihil back in 2015 with their release Monarchy. I quickly fell in love with that album, with "Sand Baptism" being one of my favorite songs of that year. I then stumbled on to their first album, The Conscious Seed of Light, released in 2013, which I did not like nearly as much as Monarchy but still liked nonetheless. I had always appreciated the band, but more of with occasional listening rather than true obsession. Little did I know, in 2015, that the band I discovered because of a silly video with a man in a sun costume would release one of the greatest progressive death metal albums of the decade. I became extremely excited for this release upon listening to the first single released from this album "The Silent Life". My excitement was furthered by "A Home", the next single released and one of my favorite songs off of the album.
Where Owls Know My Name is a journey. It is an entire listening experience and I would highly recommend setting aside time in your day to enjoy this album. Starting with the clean, soft intro track "Cancer/Moonspeak", I was intrigued. This track contains clean vocals, a first for Rivers, a bass track and keyboards. This track, like most intro tracks, is rather unimportant. The next song up is "The Silent Life", which starts off with a unique, almost dissonant guitar riff and exceptional bass work. This quickly transitions into the main riff for the album, which will get stuck in your head worse than "Poker Face" would have back in 2009. Thank you Brody Uttley and Jonathan Topore for bringing this riff into existence. Lead vocalist Jake Dieffenbach's unique death growls come in, with the song progressing to a bridge next. Around the three minute mark, however, this song takes a turn that many tech-death bands do not bother to take- a slow mid-section with a saxophone solo that blends so seamlessly one forgets they are listening to tech-death at all. This mid-section takes you to a different realm, then you are brought back to reality at around the four minute and twenty second mark, where the guitar solo flawlessly transitions into an extremely heavy, blaring section. More saxophone is played, this time with this grindy, heavy riffing, but then the song is brought full circle, with the main riff being brought back.
The progression in this song alone illustrates the complexity of this band. Its transitions, progression, and overall flow are flawlessly executed. Should I even bother doing a track by track, if this song represents what this band has to offer so well? Yes, because this album has so much more to offer. The next song, "A Home" contains a less progressive, stand-out structure, but is much more catchy. The chorus of this song is extremely catchy, a statement often not said about any sort of death metal, especially not tech-death. This song contains clean vocals by bassist Adam Biggs - who also provides backing death growls in the chorus - in the bridge of the song. The bass work on this song is exceptional, as well as the drumming by new drummer Jared Klein, who is absolutely insane behind the kit. This is especially noticeable during the chorus of the song.
The next song on the album is "Old Nothing", which definitely has the band showing that these clean vocals and saxophones do not necessarily mean that they are getting any softer. This song contains some of the best guitar work on the album and guitar tones that remind me of Fallujah on their most recent album, Dreamless.
One time I read that Rivers of Nihil were like a more technical Fallujah, but did not come anywhere close to the level of atmosphere that Fallujah contained on their albums. I hope whoever wrote that comment (on a YouTube video many years ago) listens to the next song on Where Owls Know My Name, "Subtle Change (Including the Forest of Transition and Dissatisfaction Dance)" and then tries to keep the same opinion. This song contains incredible atmosphere, especially with the section that could be considered the chorus. This song also contains an interesting, two retro-inspired organ solos, two guitar solos (the second of which is incredible), and another saxophone solo. This is one of my favorite songs on the album and has a lot to offer, but actually contains the only problem I have with the entire album. Around the two minute and thirty five second mark, when the keyboard solo erupts into the first guitar solo, the guitar tone is harsh and unappealing in comparison to the smooth keyboard solo previously heard. Otherwise, this song is flawless and features an excellent section that is reminiscent of black metal in its midsection, particularly Emperor, with the hyper-saturated keyboards. This section is much appreciated, coming from the fact that I am a massive Emperor fan. All of that being said, this is certainly the most multi-faceted song on the album and undoubtedly Rivers' most ambitious.
Next up is the instrumental interlude "Terrestria III: Wither", which sounds like it could come right out of a video game soundtrack, particularly the most recent Doom. On every album, Rivers has an instrumental "Terrestria" track, each with its own subtitle. "Terrestria III" contains industrial influences, with the use of strings and a guitar solo. To be honest, the members of Rivers of Nihil could make an entire side project out of industrial-influenced instrumental music like this and I would fully support it. Hell, I would fund the production of the album if need be.
After this interlude is "Hollow", which is by far the most straightforward song on this album and the most like Rivers of Nihil's past material. Next is "Death is Real", which I believe is certainly the best display of the quality of production of this album. Listening to the intro of this song in my car blew me away, almost literally. It is consisted of loud, massive guitars playing single chords in a linear fashion, but perhaps best displays the excellent production of this album. The guitars sound so powerful on this song, the bass is prominent and a key player, and the vocals are monstrous. Near the end of the song is a tapping bass solo with some synths that is incredibly pleasing to the ears.
Next is the title track, which is like a combination of "A Home" and "The Silent Life", but still a standout track (aren't they all?) nonetheless. This is followed by the outro to the album, "Capricorn/Agoratopia", a wonderful track that does exactly what a final song should do, wrap all of the sounds up in a wrapping paper and light them on fire. It's a fitting ending, as the song slows down with some saxophone for the final minute and a half or so.
The production on this album, as previously mentioned, is phenomenal. The guitars are percussive and direct, the bass is beautiful, and the drumming is organic. This is one of the best produced albums I have ever heard, and certainly Rivers of Nihil's best produced (and perhaps best in general) album to date. Apart from the brief hiccup previously mentioned, I cannot think of a point where this album falters. There are no weak transitions, no moments where the vocals are too low in the mix, no moments where I feel the bass is left out. I am utterly blown away by how well this album is produced, as it sets a standard for future album releases within the genre that now must be up-kept. The dynamic range of this album is less than some, but still sufficiently impressive. To be honest, a greater dynamic range would not make me enjoy this album any more. The atmosphere on this album is spectacular, especially among other death metal bands. The use of saxophone is not overbearing and is welcome, especially with one of my favorite released from last year, White Ward's Futility Report containing saxophone in almost every song and the band containing a full-time saxophonist.
The subtle intricacies of this album, such as the use of keyboards or synths in some places, or clean lead guitar notes played in others, is really what puts this band on another level for me. Whenever bands include these sorts of elements, I go crazy for it. The guitars on this album are so layered, so flawless, and so expertly calculated that is has me concerned that they will not be able to top it in the future.
I sure hope they do.
I am giving this album a 10/10. with the brief hiccup I mentioned truly not being considerable in my final opinion of the album. This album is a modern classic. A true game-changer for progressive music, a sign that metal is a constantly evolving genre that will hopefully never become stagnant. This album has a little bit of everything, from organs to saxophones to violins to blaring downtuned guitars and growling, this is a diverse masterpiece.
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