Rivers of Nihil are a band that has never been scared to experiment between different metal subgenres. Even though they are considered a progressive death metal band, they often blur the lines between progressive metal, death metal, and on their self-titled album, jazz and blues as well. This combination of different music genres creates a music experience unlike anything else in music currently. With Rivers of Nihil, the four-piece have completely changed what progressive metal sounds like, as the different genres explored throughout the album is a concept only this band could pull off, making this record, which has been in the works for quite a few years now, a must listen experience.
The album kicks off with a track that was originally released as a single in June 2023. ‘The Sub-Orbital Blues’ introduces the listener to the iconic prog-like sound Rivers of Nihil are known for, but with an epic, atmospheric chorus. This song, like many others on this record, highlights the drums, as at times they are incredibly fast-paced and at times like in the guitar solo they slow down to perfectly support what goes on in the background. This song also introduces the saxophone, which becomes a prominent figure on the album. This gives the track and some of the others later on in the record a bluesy, jazzy feel which just shows how creative this band is when it comes to their songwriting.
‘Despair Church’ is when the creativity truly goes up a whole other level. Being the longest song on Rivers of Nihil, the prog elements the band are known for arrive in the spotlight. The opening riff is a very doom and black metal like riff, it is very atmospheric yet simple. The chorus is incredibly cinematic and is performed to perfection by one of the newer additions to the band, Andy Thomas who is a highlight throughout these 10 tracks. The bridge on this song before the solo includes a choir which adds another level of ambient noise to the guttural vocals as the guitar solo kicks in, which segues into the final chorus.
The following duo of songs are both the songs that were released to the build up to the album release earlier in the year. Both ‘Water & Time’ and ‘House of Light’ are similar in terms of how they are structured. They both have fantastic, cinematic choruses once again delivered to perfection by Thomas, they also showcase the saxophone throughout and have incredible guitar solos, and they do all this using different dynamics, as in some moments on these two tracks are much more peaceful than others, especially in both intros and outros, as well as in the ‘House of Light’ bridge.
‘House of Light’ particularly may have the chorus of the year so far. Once it kicks in, it sounds more than massive, and the matching drum-work to the vocals takes it to another dimension, as the blast beats add so much to the feel of the melody. The use of the saxophone in this particular song gives it a real jazz feel to it, which is different to the way it is used at times on other tracks in the album. The real highlight to this track is the final chorus, as just like the first chorus, it explodes into the melody but as the first round of the last chorus ends, harsh vocals get added as the chorus gets repeated one last time, before the intro returns as the outro, this time with the full band playing it, making this song a mandatory listen no matter what genre of music you like.
‘American Death’ starts with a rhythmic, in your face type of riff before the harsh vocals kick in to follow along the riff. The pre chorus is much heavier than most on the record, but the chorus itself is impressively the catchiest, poppiest sounding chorus on Rivers of Nihil. Even though reading this it may seem like this is a really straight forward song, which it is, some elements here shine as the drum work by Jared Klein is top notch and the guitar solo is very rhythmic as the drums revolve around the solo.
Overall, the musicality throughout this album is unbelievable, not only is the music itself extremely technical, but each band member also does vocals as well, which is shocking to believe upon listening to Rivers of Nihil due to the musical prowess on display throughout this listening experience. There is also quite a bit of variety on the album as even though the longer songs are much more cinematic and grandiose, the shorter ones are much more fast paced and at times, heavier. This guarantees that throughout the record there will be something for everyone here.
To conclude, these 10 tracks are musically some of the best I have heard this year. The songs are epic and feel humongous for the most part. The shorter songs are slightly less enjoyable but the choruses on songs such as ‘House of Light’ and ‘American Death’ are some of the more creative I have heard this year. This proves that Rivers of Nihil as a band are not only still relevant, but despite the lineup changes throughout the years, sound bigger and better than ever before.
Rivers of Nihil: Rivers of Nihil – Out 30 May 2025 (Metal Blade Records)
of Nihil – Water & Time (Official Video)
