| Doors: 6.30 pm | Show: 7 pm | Tickets: 33.60 Euro + fees |

On September 28, Polish exceptional Prog Rock luminaries RIVERSIDE have released their 7th full-length Waste7and. It is the first record without Piotr Grudziński, who so suddenly passed away in 2016. His position remains unstaffed. Instead, singer and bass player Mariusz Duda took over the guitar duties in the studio, while guitarist Maciej Meller fills in live on stage. Well, I guess, you can say that Maciej is already somewhat of a permanent member these days.

However, last year, RIVERSIDE did an extended tour in memory of Piotr, which turned out to be a mind-blowing experience (live review here). I have never seen a band growing together so close after such tragedy, musically as well as personally. A band that since then spreads so much love, warmth, passion and excellent musicianship.
Now, RIVERSIDE returned to present their new album. And of course one can expect something big and exceptional. High expectations, sure, but I’m not the only one thinking that way as many shows of the tour are already sold out.

The :: Turbinenhalle 2 :: Oberhausen was in fact packed, but not sold out. The gallery remained closed due to the cameras to film the show. Seems like we can expect a new live DVD in the near future ;) Let me say that roughly 1000 fans attended the show.

:: pics :: MECHANISM ::

While Riverside toured alone last year, they now shared stage with fellow countrymen :: MECHANISM ::. I never heard of them before, to be honest and I wasn’t alone with the lack of knowledge about this band - I could see it in the faces around. It seems, MECHANISM haven’t arrived yet in Western Europe. You can hardly find information about the band. I just hope that will change in the near future. Let me mention that there is a more or less active Canadian metal band of the same name with Gene Hoglan on drums. That might create some confusion.
I of course checked them out before the show. So I learned that they have released their sophomore Entering The Invisible Light just one month ago (Oct 27). The video to Authority As The Truth immediately captivated me. So I was keen to see them performing live.
What can I say? MECHANISM are just awesome! Moreover, it was great to see how the faces of the fans around brightened up and smiles appeared with every new song MECHANISM played. The response and enthusiasm likewise increased.
However, MECHANISM kicked off with two songs from their debut Between The Words, before diving into the new record. The band delivered a 45 minutes set of complex and versatile yet somehow catchy Prog Rock on clear, powerful and differentiated sound. Great band, great music, fantastic show! Highly recommended!

Setlist: Countless Ways, Jump Into Flight, Authority As The Truth, Chemicals, The Grand Confusion

:: pics :: RIVERSIDE ::

It was interesting to see that :: RIVERSIDE :: had “No Mobiles” signs shown on the screen during the change-over. It was in fact no “rule”, rather a request to not film the show but to enjoy the show fully instead. Of course, there were incorrigible fans who did not pay attention to this request or just ignored it so that the security put every raised cell phone down.
RIVERSIDE not only have a new album out but also a new light show that was amazingly synchronized with every song. It was amazing to watch them perform under all those lights. And RIVERSIDE topped the clear sound to a brilliant performance.
Of course, the band focused on their brand new album, Waste7and, but also played quite a lot of old classics, going far back in the band’s history. Three tracks from the debut Out Of Myself were played, and one from the sophomore Second Life Syndrome. The fans reacted almost frenetic after every song, some even showed a „Love Riverside Family“ banner that was thankfully noticed by the band.
By the way, I heard many Polish words that night yet don’t know, if that were friends and family members of the bands or just far-travelled fans.
One thing the crowd once again failed at was the sing-along part. Even if that were just uhs and ahs this time. Here I would like to recommend the Burnt Reynolds school of Crippled Black Phoenix, it will do the trick with the many-voiced chorus as in Left Out for example ;)
Downright emotional it went at the acoustically played Guardian Angel. Of course, the new album deals a lot with the loss of Piotr. Songs are quieter, more melancholic this time.
Funny side note: Mariusz Duda in between told that it is the third or fourth time they are playing in Oberhausen and wanted to know how was from this “beautiful” city. Hardly any hand was raised. I think, that’s surprising. Ok, Oberhausen ain’t known to be a Prog capitol, but with the Ruhr area around I would have supposed more people from there…

Nevermind. What’s left to say? It was a fantastic concert evening with two excellent Prog Rock bands no fan of this genre should have missed anyway. To me, RIVERSIDE range on the same level as Anathema or Steven Wilson and I just wish them the same level of attention by the fans. Now, I would recommend to you to go and see them live, but since that was the second to last show of the tour, there won’t be a chance anytime soon. If you didn’t make to the shows, tough luck! But I’m sure, they will return next year… ;)

Setlist: Acid Rain, Vale Of Tears, Reality Dream I, Lament, Out Of Myself, Second Life Syndrome (First part only), Left Out, Guardian Angel, Lost (Why Should I Be Frightened By A Hat?), The Struggle For Survival, Forgotten Land, Loose Heart, Wasteland // The Night Before, O2 Panic Room, River Down Below

story & pics © Dajana & Dajana Winkel • Photography