Riverside (band)

Riverside
Riverside in 2023.
Background information
Origin	Warsaw, Poland
Genres	Progressive rock, progressive metal
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Inside Out, Mystic Production
Spinoffs	Hate, Lunatic Soul, Meller Gołyźniak Duda
Members	Mariusz Duda Piotr Kozieradzki Michał Łapaj Maciej Meller
Past members	Jacek Melnicki Piotr Grudziński (died 2016)
Website	Riversideband.pl

Riverside are a Polish progressive rock band from Warsaw. They were founded in 2001 by friends Mariusz Duda, Piotr Grudziński, Piotr Kozieradzki and Jacek Melnicki, who shared a love for progressive rock and heavy metal, although Duda, the main lyricist and composer of the band, was originally a fan of electronic, ambient, experimental music, like Radiohead, Massive Attack, Dead Can Dance, Tangerine Dream, Peter Gabriel,^[1] and later on, prog rock like Pink Floyd, Rush, Tool, Marillion, as well as thrash metal.^[2] Riverside can be described as a blend of atmospheric rock and metal elements, resulting in a sound similar to that of Porcupine Tree, and Pain of Salvation.^[2]

History

Beginnings and Out of Myself

One day near the turn of the millennium, during a short drive, Piotr Kozieradzki played Marillion in his car for Piotr Grudziński. While drummer Piotr 'Mitloff' Kozieradzki had played in two death metal bands, Dominion and Hate, and Piotr Grudziński had played guitar in a metal band, Unnamed, they both shared a deep affection for progressive rock. They were already friends with producer and keyboardist Jacek Melnicki who also owned his own studio. The three decided to experiment with progressive music but they needed a bass player to complete the lineup. Mariusz Duda, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist from the band Xanadu, agreed to attend a rehearsal in late fall of 2001 at the request of Jacek. Reactions to this first meeting between the four experienced instrumentalists were extremely positive.

After a few rehearsals, the members realized that they were involved in something special and deeply satisfying. Once a few compositions were completed, Mariusz attempted to sing in his own language, singing that was probably similar to the vocalizations in their future track "The Curtain Falls", although all future vocals and lyrics were to be written in English. Thus Mariusz began to take on the role of vocalist, as well as that of the bass player. In October 2002, about a year after their formation, the band performed a pair of shows in Warsaw. After the distribution of about 500 copies of their demo, the band performed at a small club in Warsaw once again in early 2003. As the band continued to write more material for an album release, there grew a dissonance between keyboardist Jacek and the other members of Riverside. Jacek wished to continue with his studio pursuits, so during the latter part of 2003, he split from the group.

The rest of the band was left to mix their first album, which was to be entitled Out of Myself. It was released in Poland in late 2003. The success of the album in Poland and the live shows that the band performed led to a release of the album on American record label Laser's Edge in September 2004, this time with cover art from Travis Smith, painter for bands such as Opeth, Katatonia, Anathema, and Devin Townsend. The album Out of Myself has won best debut in many magazines and websites such as Metal Hammer and Belgium Prog-Nose.

Voices in My Head and Second Life Syndrome

Following their 2003 debut Out of Myself and the success that followed in 2004, the band began working on an EP entitled Voices in My Head which was at first a release exclusive to Poland through the label Mystic Production. The quartet from Poland performed their first foreign gig at the Progpower festival in the Dutch city of Baarlo. The band were taken in by major prog label Inside Out, releasing Second Life Syndrome in late October 2005. The album was a success, expanding the scope of the band's reach even further than Out of Myself. The album holds a formidable spot as number 62 on Prog Archives top 100 prog albums as well as the number one rated album of 2005.^[3] In 2006, Voices in My Head, the EP originally released in Poland only, was re-released under the InsideOut label, now revamped with the inclusion of three high quality live tracks off the Out of Myself album. In addition, the band played their first overseas show at NEARfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on 24 June 2006. Soon after, the band would begin writing for its third album and final instalment in the Reality Dream Series.^[4]

Rapid Eye Movement and Lunatic Soul

In October 2007, the band released the album Rapid Eye Movement, once again under the InsideOut label. The European release had the standard nine tracks but the American release saw two versions of the album. One was a single CD with the nine tracks from the album, plus three tracks from their 02 Panic Room Single. This single CD was also exclusive to Mystic Production and therefore mostly unavailable to oversea fans. The other version contained 2 CDs, the first with the nine album tracks and the second disc containing the three songs from the single as well as two new, more atmospheric, compositions. Before the release, the band toured in support for Dream Theater on the European leg of their tour, exposing them to even more potential fans. Mariusz Duda released the self-titled debut album from his new project Lunatic Soul by Kscope on 13 October 2008.^[5]

Anno Domini High Definition and Memories in My Head

Riverside performing in 2011

The quartet's next album was "Anno Domini High Definition".^[6] Mariusz Duda had the following to say about the album on 27 January 2009:

"We have gone from Warsaw, we have changed the studio and the producer. We care deeply about creating a coherent record and that is why most probably there are only going to be five songs on it. The material will be energetic, multifarious, and - I hope so - very good for live performances. It will be a story about liquid modernity, life in a constant hurry, stress and anxiety about the future. A picture of our times in 1920 x 1080 definition."

The record was released in Poland by Mystic Production on June 15th, 2009. Anno Domini High Definition became the best selling album in Poland during its second week on the charts, following a debut at sixth place.:^[7] The album was released on July 6th in the rest of Europe and on July 28th in North America. The band has tracked their recording process with the blog and website annodomininihighdefinition.com (which is no longer a registered domain).

The limited edition of Anno Domini HD is a two-disc set. The second disc is a DVD that contains a seven-song video production. The show was taped at the Paradiso Theater in Amsterdam.

An EP entitled Memories in My Head was released in 2011.

Shrine of New Generation Slaves

In January 2013, Riverside released their fifth album, Shrine of New Generation Slaves.^[8]

Love, Fear and the Time Machine, Eye of the Soundscape and the death of Piotr Grudziński

The sixth album, Love, Fear and the Time Machine, was released at the beginning of September 2015 and obtained higher peak sales outside Poland than their previous albums.^[9]

On 21 February 2016, guitarist Piotr Grudziński died.^[10] He had attended a Winery Dogs concert in Warsaw the night before.^[11] It was revealed on 4 March that he had died of a pulmonary embolism. Riverside announced the cancellation of scheduled tour dates.^[12] On 10 March 2016, Riverside announced that a new album, a compilation of ambient and instrumental pieces of Riverside, was in progress.^[13] On 21 August, the album was announced to be titled Eye of the Soundscape, and was released 21 October.^[14]

On 23 September, Riverside announced that they would not immediately replace Piotr Grudziński, and would instead continue as a trio.^[15] Mariusz Duda will play the guitars on the albums, and session members will play guitars live. On 22 February 2017, it was officially announced that guitar player Maciej Meller (Quidam, Meller Gołyźniak Duda) would join the band as a touring member.

Wasteland

On 28 September 2018, Riverside released their seventh album, and their first without Grudziński, Wasteland. The album was recorded as a trio with Duda on vocals, bass and rhythm guitar parts, Kozieradzki on drums and Łapaj on keyboards and hammond, plus some guest musicians.

The subject of the album was to be the post-apocalyptic world, or rather the stories of people trying to survive in the world after a catastrophe. It was an obvious reference to the situation of Riverside, who had been struggling to survive for two years after an unexpected tragedy. The style is heavier than the predecessor, that there is black metal riffs, slower paces, and the melodies would take on a Slavic flavor. Mariusz also talked about the influence of road movies and westerns, as well as games from the Fallout series, which fit well with the post-apo world and would help define the stylistic layer and mood of the album.^[16]

On 3 February 2020, Riverside announced that Maciej Meller had joined the band in an official capacity and would be involved in the writing sessions for their eighth album.^[17]

ID.Entity

On 20 January 2023, Riverside released their eighth studio album ID.Entity. It is the first album to feature guitarist Maciej Meller as fulltime band member. Most of 2023 the band spent in concert tour, promoting the new album. Three singles from the album, "Friend or Foe", "Self-Aware" and "I'm Done with You" were accompanied by official music videos, published on YouTube.

Members

Current Mariusz Duda – lead vocals, bass, acoustic guitar (2001–present); guitars (2016–2020) Piotr Kozieradzki – drums, percussion (2001–present) Michał Łapaj – keyboards, backing vocals (2003–present) Maciej Meller – guitars (2020–present; touring member 2017–2020) Former Piotr Grudziński – guitars (2001–2016; died 2016) Jacek Melnicki – keyboards (2001–2003)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions								Certifications (sales thresholds)
		POL [18]	BEL (FL) [19]	BEL (WA) [19]	FIN [20]	GER [21]	NLD [22]	SWI [23]	UK [24]
Out of Myself	Released: 15 December 2003 Label: Laser's Edge, Mystic Production Formats: CD, LP, DD[25]	—	—	—	—	13[A]	—	—	—
Second Life Syndrome	Released: 31 October 2005 Label: InsideOut, Mystic Production Formats: CD, LP, DD[26]	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Rapid Eye Movement	Released: 24 September 2007 Label: InsideOut, Mystic Production Formats: CD, LP, DD[27]	2	—	—	—	—	73	—	—
Anno Domini High Definition	Released: 19 June 2009 Label: InsideOut, Mystic Production Formats: CD, CD+DVD, LP, DD[28]	1	—	—	—	94	58	—	—	POL: Gold[29]
Shrine of New Generation Slaves	Released: 18 January 2013 Label: InsideOut, Mystic Production Formats: CD, LP, DD[30]	2	130	109	41	33	28	51	—	POL: Gold[31]
Love, Fear and the Time Machine	Released: 4 September 2015 Label: InsideOut, Mystic Production Formats: CD, LP, DD	2	73	51	25	18	4	31	67	POL: Gold[32]
Wasteland	Released: 28 September 2018[33] Label: InsideOut, Mystic Production Formats: CD, LP, DD	1	111	79	23	13	28	30	83	POL: Gold[34]
ID.Entity[35]	Released: 20 January 2023 Label: InsideOut, Mystic Production Formats: CD, LP, DD	2	125	87	14 [36]	4	9	6	89
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Notes:

1. peaked in 2021

Compilation albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		POL [37]	BEL (FL) [19]	BEL (WA) [19]	GER [38]	NLD [39]	SWI [23]
Reality Dream Trilogy	Released: 5 September 2011 Label: Mystic Production Format: 6 CD	—	—	—	—	—	—
Eye of the Soundscape[40]	Released: 21 October 2016 Label: InsideOutMusic Format: CD, LP, DD	4	122	112	69	60	92
Riverside 20 – The Shorts & the Longs	Released: 19 November 2021 Label: InsideOutMusic Format: DD, 4 CD	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Video albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		FIN [41]
Reality Dream	Released: 14 December 2009 Label: ProgTeam Format: DVD	8

Live albums

Title	Album details
Reality Dream	Released: 26 November 2008 Label: InsideOut/Mystic Production Formats: 2 CD, 2 LP
Lost 'n' Found – Live in Tilburg	Released: 20 April 2017 Label: Self-released Formats: 2 CD, 3 LP, 2 CD+DVD
Wasteland Tour 2018–2020	Released: 1 December 2020 Label: Vintage Vinyl Formats: 2 CD+DVD+BD
Live ID	Released: 24 January 2025 Label: Inside Out Music Formats:

EPs

Title	Details
Voices in My Head	Released: 7 March 2005 Label: Rock Serwis Formats: CD, digital download[42]
Memories in My Head	Released: 20 June 2011 Label: ProgTeam Formats: CD, LP, digital download[43]
Acoustic Session[44]	Released: 29 November 2019 Label: Inside Out Music Formats: LP, digital download

Singles

Year	Title	Certifications (sales thresholds)	Album
2003	"Loose Heart"[45]		Out of Myself
2005	"Conceiving You"[46]		Second Life Syndrome
2007	"02 Panic Room"[47]	POL: Gold[48]	Rapid Eye Movement
2008	"Schizophrenic Prayer"[49]
2013	"Celebrity Touch"[50]		Shrine of New Generation Slaves
2016	"Shine/Time Travellers"[51]		Eye of the Soundscape Love, Fear and the Time Machine
2018	"Vale of Tears"		Wasteland
	"River Down Below"
	"Lament"
2021	"Story of My Dream"		Riverside 20 – The Shorts & the Longs
2022	"I'm Done with You"		ID.Entity
	"Self-Aware"
2023	"Friend or Foe?"

References

1. "BACKGROUND MAGAZINE Interview Mariusz Duda (Riverside, Lunatic Soul)". Backgroundmagazine.nl. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
2. "Band". Riversideband.pl. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016.
3. "Progarchives top 100 albums". Progarchives.com. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
4. "RAPID EYE MOVEMENT, REALITY DREAM". Riversideband.pl.
5. "Kscope present Lunatic Soul". Kscopemusic.com. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
6. "Riverside – Nieoficjalna strona zespołu muzycznego". Archived from the original on 21 June 2009.
7. [1] Archived 27 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
8. "Riverside - Shrine of New Generation Slaves". Riversideband.pl. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
9. "Riverside - Riverside are entering the studio to record their sixth album "Love, Fear and the Time Machine"". Riversideband.pl. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
10. "RIVERSIDE Guitarist PIOTR GRUDZINSKI Dead At 40". Blabbermouth.net. 21 February 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
11. "Mike Portnoy on Twitter: "Just received the shocking news that Riverside guitarist Piotr Grudzinski passed away after attending last nights Winery Dogs show in Warsaw"". Twitter. 21 February 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
12. "Riverside - Chcielibyśmy bardzo serdecznie podziękować w..." Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
13. "Riverside - I wrote "Towards the Blue Horizon" in honour..." Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2016 – via Facebook.
14. ""Eye of the Soundscape" - new Riverside album!". Riverside.pl. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
15. Munro, Scott (23 September 2016). "Riverside to continue as trio". Prog Magazine. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
16. "Riverside - Wasteland story". Riversideband.pl.
17. Ewing, Jerry (3 February 2020). "Riverside announce they're a quartet again". Loudersound. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
18. Peak chart positions in Poland:
    • Second Life Syndrome: "OLiS – sales for the period 24.10.2005 – 06.11.2005". ZPAV. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
    • Rapid Eye Movement: "OLiS – sales for the period 24.09.2007 – 30.09.2007". ZPAV. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
    • Anno Domini High Definition: "OLiS – sales for the period 15.06.2009 – 21.06.2009". ZPAV. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
    • Shrine of New Generation Slaves: "OLiS – sales for the period 21.01.2013 – 27.01.2013". ZPAV. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
    • Love, Fear and the Time Machine: "OLiS – sales for the period 04.09.2015 – 10.09.2015". ZPAV. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
    • Wasteland: "OLiS – sales for the period 28.09.2018 – 04.10.2018". ZPAV. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
    • ID.Entity: "OLiS – sales for the period 20.01.2023 – 26.01.2023". ZPAV. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
19. "Riverside - Shrine Of New Generation Slaves". ultratop.be. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
20. "Finnish charts portal". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
21. "Discographie von Riverside". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
22. "Dutch Charts". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
23. "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
24. "Riverside | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
25. "Out of Myself by Riverside on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
26. "Second Life Syndrome by Riverside on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
27. "Rapid Eye Movement by Riverside on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
28. "Anno Domini High Definition - EP by Riverside on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
29. "Albums certified Gold in 2011". Bestsellery.zpav.pl. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
30. "Shrine of New Generation Slaves by Riverside on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
31. "Albums certified Gold in 2013". Bestsellery.zpav.pl. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
32. "Facebook". Facebook.com. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
33. "Riverside - Wasteland". Riversideband.pl.
34. "Riverside - Dzisiaj przemiĹ'y wieczĂłr - zĹ'ota pĹ'yta za..." Facebook.com. 20 November 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
35. "Riverside to release new studio album "ID.Entity" on January 20th 2023". Grande Rock. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
36. "Albumit 4/2023" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
37. Peak chart positions in Poland:
    • Eye of the Soundscape: "OLiS – sales for the period 21.10.2016 – 27.10.2016". ZPAV. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
38. "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche". musicline.de. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
39. "Dutch Charts". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
40. "INSIDE OUT MUSIC - Riverside: : 5.1 mix edition of "Love, Fear and the Time Machine" out now + "Eye of the Soundscape" release announced".
41. "Musiikkituottajat - Tilastot - Suomen virallinen lista - Musiikki DVD:t". Ifpi.fi. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
42. "Voices In My Head by Riverside on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
43. "Memories In My Head by Riverside on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
44. "FINALE OF OUR 'WASTELAND ADVENTURE'". Riversideband.pl.
45. "Riverside - Loose Heart". Riversideband.pl. 6 March 2004. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
46. "Riverside - Conceiving You". Riversideband.pl. 1 October 2005. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
47. "Riverside - 02 Panic Room". Riversideband.pl. 10 June 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
48. "Albums and singles certified Gold in 2008". Bestsellery.zpav.pl. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
49. "Riverside - Schizophrenic Prayer". Riversideband.pl. 17 March 2008.
50. "Celebrity Touch - Single by Riverside on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
51. "RIVERSIDE - Shine". Riversideband.pl.

External links

• Official website
• Riverside at AllMusic
• Riverside discography at Discogs