THE RIVEN - Self Titled
The Sign Records
File this one under the tagline; it's not extreme metal but I like it and know something about it. Way back in the mid 1990s, yeah I know the dark ages, there was a important movement within the underground punk rock scene. You had bands who wanted to bring back the rock to punk rock. Along with that came bands who injected plenty of good o'l hard rock and soul sounds which made for some cool energetic music. Another aspect was when bands would have a female vocalist who had a soulful and bluesy sound that hearkened back to the famed female vocalists of the 60's. In the 90s some of my fave bands producing this style of music were the BOTSWANAS, the BELLRAYS and THE DTs. And I'm just naming a few.
Fast forward to the here and now where we have THE RIVEN a four piece act hailing from Stockholm, Sweden. No surprise there since for decades now the Swedes have been taking a pure Americana form of rock music, retro-fitting it and then handing it back to us here in the states. Hey kudos to them because here in America nobody gives a shit about this type of music anymore as far as a popularity standpoint. Sure there are some fans but the best a band like this could do here in the states is get some free drinks from the bar after their set in some dive club. I listen to this release and hear plenty of material which in another point in time could've been on the AOR radio. Unfortunately what gets played on modern day radio is repetitive classic rock, utter garbage TV talent show inspired pop and rap music.
Now as I step down from my soapbox let me explain what is so cool about the band and this their self titled debut full length. First off you have a balanced mix of mid tempo blues based rockers as well as some soulful ballads. And then as in their song "Finnish Woods" you get a bit of both. What makes a music style like this click is when the guitars, bass, drums all are distinct and clear in the mix. That allows the vocals to become almost an instrument in themselves. Guitarist Arnau Diaz, bassist Max Ternebring and drummer Olof Axegard, you guys nail it.
Which brings us to vocalist Totta Ekebergh. Whether she's up front forcefully rocking out on songs like "The Serpent", "Edge of Time" and "Shadow Man". Or drawing the listener in with a soulful, sultry voice on cuts like the bluesy "Far Beyond" or the Janis Joplin styled "I Remember". The bottom line is that she is amazing to sit back and hear. But of course without a great band of musicians with some cool bass lines, fantastic leads and perfect drum work it would be different. Thankfully that's not the case. There's something to admire in every song on here. So hey I know I'm bias but seriously in my not so humble opinion this is one of the best releases you will hear in 2019. That's if you have that wide range of rock music appreciation. By the way if you like this, and frankly who wouldn't, then check out this band's early EP.
http://thesignrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheRivenMusic
https://theriven.bandcamp.com/album/the-riven
https://theriven.bandcamp.com/album/blackbird
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