Anno Domini High Definition

el CD llegó en perfectas condiciones

It'll knock you right back in your chair. The music is excellent as is the sound quality.

Riverside has been on my musical horizon ever since the issue of Second Life Syndrome. Since that time, I have acquired and enjoyed all of their recordings to date. But for some reason, the special edition of Anno Domini High Definition has proven extremely elusive at what I consider to be a reasonable price for something that is newly released. First, I pre-ordered from amazon and months later, as the price steadily increased, I was informed that they were unable to obtain it. So I was forced to obtain it from a partner at nearly double the initially advertised price. That remains a sore point, but it does not impact my review of the quality of the music within.On this album, the listener will find Riverside trending away from prog and deeper into metal. There are even a couple of tentative electric jazz excursions which add to the musical excitement. Here's what I like best: the great piano intro on Hyperactive; the intro on Driven to Destruction which to me evokes Al DiMeola's Electric Rendezvous; the driving, pounding, and very cerebral Egoist Hedonist; and the mellow beginnings of Left Out.Buyers of this special edition also get a DVD which features the band live in Amsterdam in 2008 and a folded insert that features pictures and album info. Is it worth it? Well, stateside buyers may find it to be as getting this edition may be their only chance to enjoy Riverside live. I quite enjoyed it and found that it just about justified the price I paid. The studio CD is rather short and is available at a much lower price. But if you want a longer and louder sample of the band's music, you'll either have to knuckle under and pay the price now, or risk being faced with a much higher tariff in the future.

The first thing I will say about this album is that the production quality is excellent, which for me is extremely important. Nothing irritates me more than hearing really good music that is not mixed well in the studio (not too common these days, but I have a very critical ear.) Anyway, each insturment is crystal-clear and easy to pick out, yet the individual performances gel together very nicely.The music itself is very dynamic - a good blend of aggressive, punchy passages and a few softer, atmospheric moments. As mentioned previously, this latest release from Riverside is a little heavier than what we've heard in the past from these guys, but it's not overbearingly "METAL." Many of the guitar parts are a little crunchier, with some cool sounding wah pedals and maybe a bit of phase shifting. Another new twist is the prominent use of organ sounds that really adds a little extra dimention. Each song is easy to listen to with some nice hooks and melodies, and yet it does not get boring. There are many changes in time & key signatures, and lots of interesting little details that makes you keep coming back. Many good albums need to heard several times before they can truly be appreciated. Not so with this one - it starts out good and just keeps getting better.Initially I was going to rate this album with 4 stars. But honestly, there's just not much to complain about here. If you like Riverside, or progressive rock in general you will like this album. If you're not familiar with progressive hard-rock & would like to expand your musical horizons, this album would be a good starting point.

Upon first listen this CD didn't impress me as much as Second Life Syndrome and Rapid Eye Movement but, in recent memory, I can't think of a better example of "That one REALLY grew on me!!" Now it's tied for 2nd with 2nd life, though I still think REM is their best effort to date. But this CD definitely proves one thing if nothing else, their song writing skills are growing by leaps and bounds.And it's also hard to pick a favorite at this point, I don't think I've NOT listened to the entire thing, even on my MP3 player. Though the last ones, "Left Out" and "Hybrid Times" (the long ones), pack a heck of a 1-2 punch!!At this point I think it goes without saying to get the version with the bonus DVD. Since spring me & my buddies have been complaining (on message boards and in chat rooms) about the lack of a live DVD, guess they heard us!!! :)While the DVD doesn't have my single favorite song, Cybernetic Pillow, it does have 3 of my top 5: Beyond the Eyelids, 02 Panic Room and Ultimate Trip (Rainbow Box being the fifth) so....how can I lose?!?! And, while it's only stereo, no 5.1, it sounds just fine, very well produced!If you like Riverside there is NO way you'll be disappointed, especially a month later. And if you like powerprog, progmetal, symphonic metal (whatever they're calling it this week) and want to check out Riverside, I'd say start with this because of the DVD. I still think REM is their best album.....by a hair.Now...if we could just get them to tour over here, preferably opening for someone like Porcupine Tree or Tool...I'd be a happy man!

Absolutely brilliant album from Riverside. These guys along with Porcupine Tree were the new dominant prog/hard rock bands in the 2000's. Superior musicianship and great lyrics were the hallmark of this band. I am using the past tense because of the untimely death of Piotr Grudzinski the band's phenomenal guitar player, a huge loss. This album shows off all the members of the band but being a guitar guy I loved what Piotr was doing on all their recordings. Mariusz Duda is a tremendous bassist and vocalist and Piotr Kozierdzki is great on drums, likewise Michal Lapaj is super on keys. As I stated superior musicianship. These guys could beat practically any competition. Their last recording is lot less prog/hard rock instead they've gone to a "soundscape" sound, not replacing Piotr. Hopefully they can get past their grief and locate a new guitarist. Big shoes to fill for sure. I'll give this album an A+++, pretty much what I would give most of their other work. This special edition gives us a DVD of a 2008 show, gravey. RIP Piotr.

Riverside just don't do poor albums and ADHD maintains the high standard. Less atmospheric and introspective than the amazing Dream Trilogy and less derivative than Shrine of New Generation Slaves (all 5 star albums) this one betrays metal roots with some heavy duty guitar riffery. However there are lots of trademark brooding layers with keyboard, funky bass and excellent drumming that maintain the intensity of the music throughout. And Grudzinski reminds us what a fine soloist he was. Tragic loss. Duda's songs are well crafted and his distinctive vocals excellent and the album builds from the catchy opening 5 minute track the final 5th track clocking in at over 11 minutes of proggy bliss by this brilliant Polish band. Then there's a bonus DVD of a superb live performance - 7 tracks from a 2008 Amsterdam gig. Buy it, it's a no-brainer.

Excellent Prog Rock CD from Riverside - as usual - with the added bonus of a 40 minute Live DVD recorded at Tilburg, Nertherlands. We already had a copy of the basic CD but spotted this and thought the DVD, despite its short running time, would be worth having - which it is. Now if only they'd release a Blu-ray of the Wasteland tour and re-release the Reality Dream Live DVD!Update Jan 2020 - Riverside have re-released the Reality Dream DVD which is currently available from the band's fan club website. You do not need to join the fan club to buy a copy although members get a small discount. Update March 2021 - Wasteland live Bluray also released via the fanclub.

Anno Domini High Definition is the fourth full-length studio album by the Polish Progressive Metal band Riverside. It was released in 2009 and is their first full length-album that isn't part of the conceptual series `Reality Dream.' The album consists of five tracks, arranged from shortest to longest, beginning with a five-minute track and ending on an almost twelve-minute one. It went gold in Poland and was surrounded by a considerable hype and expectation around the time of its release.The album moves a little outside the band's established sound (even the style of artwork is a different from the band's established tradition) and the music is a little funkier, more bass driven and a little more Deep Purple influenced than any of their other releases. There is less of a focus on texture and more of a focus on musicianship. The songs are still slow building, proggy and diverse in a way, but this is a notably different way than on their earlier albums.The fourth track `Left Out' for example is a slow and brooding key driven song that brings to mind Led Zeppelin's `No Quarter' as much as it does the softer sides of Camel, Pink Floyd, Opeth and the likes at the beginning at least, until of course it kicks into a metal section at the four minute mark, but then again even that is overlaid with Deep Purple sounding keys. By the nine-minute mark the songs sounds equal parts Tool and Dream Theater, while also having a sort of Pink Floyd's `One Of These Days' or `Sheep' feel to it. These sonic references are only loosely reminiscent though, not actual sound-alikes. All the music sounds like Riverside to one degree or another, which is part of the album's strength.It is difficult to really pick a favourite song or album highlight when you consider that there are only five songs and they are all great and that they are paradoxically similar in their diversity. They all mix metal moments with prog sounds, are instrumentally impressive, cover a lot of different moods each and all feature the same vocal style. Some tracks add Saxophone or Theremin and some feature less vocals than the others, but everything is of the same high quality, with about the same level of immediacy and about the same level of experimentation.Everyone's personal opinion is different though, and of course each and every one of them is as valid as the next. Some fans who liked the band since their early days feel that the record is too much of a departure from their established sound and some people who came to the band for the first time with this album also believe that it doesn't live up to the hype. Personally, I like the album an awful lot.Overall, Anno Domini High Definition is a superb album of diverse and musically impressive material that keeps me interested from beginning to end and I would strongly recommend it if you usually like this sort of thing.*** If you can get it for a similar price, try and get the version which comes with the Live In Amsterdam 2008 DVD.This is a professionally filmed 40-minute show consisting of seven tracks from the band's earlier works. The tracklisting is: 1. Volte-Face 2. I Turned You Down 3. Reality Dream III 4. Beyond The Eyelids 5. Conceiving You 6. Ultimate Trip (shortened) 7. O2 Panic Room .They band are tight, focused and play on a good stage production (lights, camera movement and screens) to small but very an appreciative audience. It's a very enjoyable extra, especially if you are a new fan. ***

For those new to Riverside, they're a Polish progressive rock band with mostly laid-back Pink Floyd-like influences. They get heavy when they need to, pick the best moment to chill, even freak out sometimes; the timing is impeccable and everything flows brilliantly. They also really know how to use electronica well.Their main strength is to hook you with repeated rhythms and melodies, and then suddenly go somewhere different which makes you go "Oooooo!" Once familiar with the music, I find myself thinking "yes, here it comes, coming up now... ooooooo". Words can't describe how good this band is. Like other reviewers I prefer them to Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree but to be fair they are different even if they get lumped in to that category.You'll have to make up your own mind regarding singer Mariusz Duda. Some say he has an obvious Polish accent, some say he sounds English. Whichever, he fits in very well with the music, being able to sing well at all volumes. I think he sings with a slight accent but that in no way detracts.ADHD is their fourth album. I didn't want to rush in to a review as Riverside albums take a while to sink in, so I've left it a couple of weeks and many many listens. Compared to the first three CDs this sounds like an EP of left-over songs which don't contribute to a greater whole. It's only 45 minutes and like another reviewer it feels like there should be one more track. It's certainly not as good as the mental-illness trilogy of the first three albums.To me it sounds as if they decided to re-invent themselves and then half-way through decided against it. After some half-hearted attempts at metal and thrash on the first couple of tracks, the CD settles down to what we fans have grown used to. The opening track is a low point for the band; apart from the piano intro which starts the CD off well, it is mostly below their standard. But ADHD is still brilliant, it's still all prog, and it still deserves five stars.

Riverside are probably much more suited for those who come from Progressive Rock background than Metal.Their fourth studio album is the first that I've come across, and the more I listen to it the more I'm hooked. Simply great. Their first (OUT OF MYSELF) and second (SECOND LIFE SYNDROME) are also great albums, with the third (RAPID EYE MOVEMENT) very slightly weaker. I still think ADHD is their best so far.Even though they're from Poland, they sing in English and usually in "normal" voice with only a few high-pitched moments and with no apparent foreign accent which sometimes is a deterrent with non-English bands.Lot's of moods and moving from light to heavy but always highly melodic and complex.I think that classifying them or comparing them to other bands doesn't serve them good, as they really have a unique sound, so I won't, however, in order to give you some direction if you haven't heard them yet - I'll just say that my usual taste in Prog is quite "conservative", meaning : Symphonic,Italian,Folk,Heavy,Canterbury and so on and much less the Metal related sub genres.After ordering I discovered there's a version that comes with a Live DVD so consider ordering that one instead if you're about to order.Overall great 21st century Prog.