CKA2, Wroclaw, Poland14th October 2018
Riverside, Walfad, Spiral - “Wasteland Tour” 2018
On 14th of October, in the music centre CKA2, there was a concert of RIVERSIDE. It was one of many planned within the “Wasteland Tour” 2018 and it promotes the newest release of the band, entitled ‘Wasteland’. There are still 21 concerts scheduled e.g. in Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, UK and the US. As supporting bands we could see SPIRAL and WALFAD. The first, general impression was that it was pure magic. The beauty of profound vocals and the power of incredible music plus the amazing spectacle of lights - on Sunday evening in Wroclaw the reality had to step aside and let the enchantment lead the way.
Spiral
SPIRAL is a Polish band from Rzeszow - they perform the music being a mix of progressive rock and trip hop tinted with harsh punk. They’ve been active since 2004; currently they promote their newest album, entitled ‘Bullets’. https://www.facebook.com/Spiralmusicband
Music & Performance
What the project presented in Wroclaw was a highly dynamic show. It explored the beauty of pure, clear and intensive vocals with the melodic line that combined both energetic notes and mysterious, a bit mystical traces. Altogether it gave an interesting effect. The big advantage of the show was the vocalist’s charisma and the overall cohesion the artists presented on stage.
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 8
Light: 4
Total: 6.5 / 10
Walfad
WALFAD, is short, is a flow of extremely diverse guitar sounds, scenic energy and great focus on the sonic part of the performance. The band comes from Poland (Wodzisław Śląski), their recent release is an album ‘Colloids’ (out in October 2018). https://www.facebook.com/walfadband
Music & Performance
The progressive Rock the band played worked very nicely with the visual and light frame for the show and it created a changeable cold-hot impression. The switches from subtle, highly intensive guitar passages to sharp, dynamic ones would not let the listeners’ attention slip for even a while. Guitar duels, visible emotional engagement of the artists in the performance they create during the show and musical diversity swinging from rock to blues or even some slightly country-ish notes made it a very good, versatile concert.
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 7 / 10
Riverside
Warm-up served by the above-mentioned bands, however good it might have been, could not change the fact the evening was totally appropriated by RIVERSIDE. My first thought just after the concert was that if some rebellious angels were ever to play in a rock band, they would definitely choose RIVERSIDE to play and sing in - such good company they would find there. Unique music, incomparable to anything I have ever heard, a perfect combination of Progressive Metal, Rock and ballad subtlety, amazing atmosphere and most beautiful leading vocal, introduce the listener to the soundscape that will remain in one’s memory for long. The concert in Wroclaw was not an exception in this respect. RIVERSIDE was formed in 2001 - since then the artists released eight albums (the most acclaimed one was ‘Second Life Syndrome’ of 2005) including the recent one of October 2018, ‘Wasteland’. https://riversideband.pl/
Music & Performance
When I was listening to the said album, just after its release, and then as a refresher before the concert in Wroclaw, I had an impression the music it contains sounds like cutting fog, gossamer and lace with a sharp, iron sword. The combination of subtlety, incredible, original vocal and the power of metal guitars and drums is a real trap for a listener’s heart and ears. Still, the concert is so much more - fantastic atmosphere build up not only by means of the music itself but also the theatre of lights - either pulsating and cold, or warms and velvety, hiding the artists in a cosy darkness. Add to it a great communication with the audience - the venue (CKA2) was packed to the full and the reactions of the people gathered in were more than enthusiastic. It was also thanks to the charismatic way Mariusz Duda - the RIVERSIDE frontman - applies while on stage.
What I’m most fascinated about in RIVERSIDE music is the masterful fusion of contrasting sounds - the song that starts with the heart-touching, intensive, emotional intro, passes to a strong, metal hit to gently fall into harmonious, gentle passages. The richness of both sounds and impressions that the sounds create and evoke, the reminiscences or images they bring into your mind are extremely inspiring. They fill you with an urge to dig in the sonic and textual layers to discover their source, to see what more the Chinese box they are still contains. Sometimes you will sense the echoes of something old, ancient even, sometimes emotional reckoning and sometimes just pure metal energy. RIVERSIDE is not only an intellectual challenge - above all its pure sensual pleasure of enjoying the professional skill mastery, talent, the personal idea of musical self-expression and performance perfection. It was great to have a chance to take part in such a perfection and an outburst of energy. Thank you!
Setlist
01. Acid Rain
02. Vale of Tears
03. Reality Dream I
04. Lament
05. Out of Myself
06. Second Life Syndrome (first part only)
07. Left Out
08. Guardian Angel
09. Lost (Why Should I Be Frightened By A Hat?)
10. The Struggle for Survival
11. Forgotten Land
12. Loose Heart
13. Wasteland
---
14. The Night Before
15. Panic Room
16. River Down Below
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 10
Light: 10
Total: 10 / 10
The following tour dates
OCT 16 Miasto Ogrodów w/ Spiral, WALFAD Tuesday, 7:00PM Katowice, Poland
OCT 17 Magnetofon w/ Spiral, WALFAD Wednesday, 7:00PM Lodz, Poland Sold Out
OCT18 Od Nowa w/ Spiral, WALFAD Thursday, 7:00PM Torun, Poland
OCT 20 Studiow/ Spiral, WALFAD Saturday, 7:00PM Cracow, Poland
OCT 21 Hala Kołow/ Spiral, WALFAD Sunday, 7:00PM Warszawa, Poland
OCT30 Kesselhaus Tuesday, 7:00PM Berlin, Germany
OCT 31 Club Manufaktur Wednesday, 8:00PM Schorndorf, Germany
NOV 03 Lav Saturday, 7:00PM Lisbon, Portugal
NOV 04 Sala Mon Live Sunday, 7:30PM Madrid, Spain
NOV 05 Salamandra Sala 1 Monday, 7:30PM Mollet De Peralada, Spain
NOV 06 CENTRE CULTUREL OECUMENIQUE Tuesday, 7:30PM Villeurbanne, France
NOV 07 La Machine du Moulin RougeWednesday, 7:00PMParis, France
NOV 09 Manchester Academy 2 Friday, 7:30PM Manchester, United Kingdom
NOV10 Electric Ballroom Saturday, 6:00PM London, United Kingdom
NOV 11 De Casino Sunday, 7:45PM Sint-gillis-waas, Belgium
NOV 12 TivoliVredenburg Monday, 8:30PM Utrecht, Netherlands
NOV 14 Markthalle Wednesday, 7:00PM Hamburg, Germany
NOV15 Turbinenhalle 2 Thursday, 7:00PM Oberhausen, Germany
NOV16 Konzertfabrik Z7 & Mini Z7 Friday, 8:00PM Pratteln, Switzerland
NOV17 Gloomaar Festival Saturday, 7:00PM Neunkirchen, Germany
FEB 04 Cruise to the Edgew/ Marbin Monday, 7:00PMTampa, FL
All pictures by Karo Kratochwil
Comments powered by CComment