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Worship Metal Album/EP Of The Week – The Riven – Blackbird

Source // The Riven

It obviously goes without saying that heavy metal and most of its various genres is one of the greatest things in the world- nu metal and metalcore pish etc can fuck right off though. However, sometimes it’s refreshing to take a small step away from metal for just a moment or two. Of course, you still want some attitude to your music so this is where the blues rock delights of The Riven come in with their debut EP Blackbird.

Considering that this lot are a new band, it’s astonishing at how well they have gelled in such a short space of time; all four members have inspissated into one big ball of soulful, exquisitely played rock.

The five songs that make up Blackbird all have one thing in common and that is their uniform excellence, whether it’s the driving rock of opening track “Ain’t No Doctor” or the closing pulsating “One Last Time”. Whilst the whole band perform to a very high standard throughout, special credit must go to vocalist Charlotta Ekeburg who, in turn, is at times sassy and at others heartfelt and passionate. Guitarist Arnau Diaz also deserves praise for his performance with his easy-going lanquid style. Don’t let his laid back style fool you though, this dude can peel off tasty licks and bluesy solos with the best of them. Especially, on the centrepiece “Blackbird” where he really comes to the fore – without being overly flashy – and is nothing short of a beautiful piece of music and encapsulates everything this band is about.

With their debut release, The Riven have released an EP full of beautifully constructed, authentic blues rock and if you’re sick to the back teeth with the latest, lowest common denominator blandcore nonsense that’s been foisted upon you by the metal taste-makers (that’s us though right?) then The Riven are the remedy you’re looking for!

An extremely bright future beckons. 9/10

The Riven Blackbird

About Gavin O'Connor (161 Articles)
Lifelong Heavy Metal fan. First got into Quo and Leppard, when I was 9 or so I first heard Megadeth and that was me hooked

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