If you haven’t heard of Steven Wilson or Devin Townsend then there is a very good chance that you may not have heard of Mariusz Duda either.
Mariusz is from Poland and fronts a band called Riverside, a very talented progressive rock outfit also from Poland. I discovered the band while searching for new music a few years ago. If you were to ask Mariusz, he would probably say that Riverside are not a progressive rock band at all. He would perhaps prefer to say that they have a style of their own and that the progressive rock genre have embraced them as one of their own simply because their music is rock and different.
I would say that they are a rock band but they are more than that in my view; they explore different styles within the genre. Some of their songs are simply beautiful, others being harder and heavier, yet more being progressive epics of the order of 10 to 15 minutes and they have also dabbled with ambient music.
Mariusz is the singer, bass guitarist and leader of the band and main songwriter, and as well as that he has a solo project called Lunatic Soul where he can experiment with different styles of music, some of which is very interesting. He can play guitar, bass guitar and keyboards.
So far Riverside have produced eight albums one of which is slightly more experimental. All of them are absolutely brilliant and on top of that, Mariusz has produced seven Lunatic Soul albums and a purely electronic solo album that doesn’t fit into the scope of Riverside and Lunatic Soul.
I was privileged in 2018 to see Riverside live in Manchester supporting the album “Waste7and” a concept album set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland as the title suggests.
Here is a sample of the work of Mariusz Duda, both with Riverside and Lunatic Soul.
Riverside - Conceiving You – from Second Life Syndrome (2005)
When I said that Mariusz Duda can write beautiful songs, there are fewer that are better than this stunning song from Riverside’s second album. I like a few rock ballads but this one is right up near to the top.
Riverside - The Night Before – from Waste7and (2018)
Equally beautiful is The Night Before, a haunting piano driven song from the latest album by Riverside. It is particularly poignant because it is meant to represent the feeling of safety and comfort the night before something terrible happens. Another masterpiece.
Riverside - Towards the Blue Horizon – from Love, Fear and the Time Machine (2015)
This song illustrates everything I like about Riverside, starting off quite mellow and gradually developing into a grand progressive rock song, not too heavy and retaining a great melody throughout and even reminiscent of Porcupine Tree at the 5 minute mark (check it out if you are a fan of the band).
Riverside - O2 Panic Room – from Rapid Eye Movement (2007)
A slightly heavier and more disturbing song with a video to accompany it (that in fact I have only just seen for the first time). The bass guitar is prominent throughout and if you listen carefully you can hear Mariusz also using his voice as another instrument.
Riverside - Celebrity Touch – from Shrine of New Generation Slaves (2013)
This is Riverside at their most commercial – a straightforward rock song, again with a slightly disturbing video. The song is about the pitfalls of being a celebrity, desperate for attention.
Lunatic Soul – Navvie – from Through Shaded Woods (2020)
With Lunatic Soul, Mariusz experiments with different kinds of music. Here he tries his hand at folk rock with Navvie from the most recent album. Every Lunatic Soul album is different and different again from Riverside.
I believe that Mariusz’s next project will be a new Riverside album and he has indicated that it will a heavier offering, which I welcome with open arms. I am certain it will still be quite diverse and I look forward to seeing them again should when this damned pandemic finally ends.
Who here has heard of Devin Townsend? If you have read my blog before you will have seen me expressing my admiration for this talented musician and singer. Like Steven Wilson, you never know what you are going to get with Devin; his style ranges from ambient mood music all the way through to extreme metal via progressive rock. He is from Canada has been making music prolifically since the 1990s.
My first encounter with Devin Townsend was way back in 1993 when he joined Steve Vai’s eponymous band as the singer. At that time I actually saw him perform live when Vai supported Aerosmith. He was a young man with an incredible vocal range – and he still has that range today. After a stint with another favourite band of mine, The Wildhearts (when I probably saw him live again), I lost touch with him and I had absolutely no idea what he did in the intervening years. That was until 2014 when I was mooching about on You Tube and encountered a crazy song called “March of the Poozers”.
I absolutely loved it and I recognized the name. I did some research and was absolutely astounded to discover that he had a huge back catalogue, a lot of which is now nestling in my CD collection.
As I said, he has been prolific, producing some incredible albums with incredible songs. I was stunned to find that he is a fan of Enya too – which given some of his music, his outstanding. He can sing powerfully but tunefully on ambient songs, almost operatically, powerfully with a colossal rock voice and he can scream effortlessly like the most menacing rock God. He has incorporated layers of music in a classic “wall of sound” no matter what the style is, including, lately, orchestras and choirs.
He can also play a mean guitar and has a sense of humour that is quite catching, especially when you see him live.
There is just so much music to choose from, so I shall try to show all of his styles, starting with the more ambient material.
Fly – from Ghost (2011)
Ghost is a very calm and atmospheric album, full of soothing songs that you can relax to, if you want to chill or simply ponder the meaning of existence. This is the first song on the album.
Divine – from Epicloud (2012)
Here is a lovely little ballad called Divine, another one that shows the softer side of Devin Townsend. When you hear the remaining songs in this collection you may wonder how this is the same artist.
Why? – from Empath (2019)
Why? Is an incredible song that sounds like it belongs in a musical. In my opinion, it shows off Devin’s normal (non-screaming) vocal range perfectly. It’s almost operatic in places with an accompanying orchestra and, really, not like nothing else he has done. Brilliant nonetheless, with a quirky and funny animated video too. What’s not to like?
Stormbending – from Transendence (2016)
I like great full sounding rock and this is a great example of what I like to think of as an epic progressive rock song, bursting with powerful guitar, potent drums and keyboard wizardry. The song is also accompanied by an impressive and ambitious video.
Addicted! – from Addicted! (2009)
Addicted! Is my favourite album by Devin. It is mostly heavy metal with a couple of more accessible rock songs too, and if I am in the mood for something that I can whip out my air guitar too, I sometimes choose the title track. Here it is in its full glory performed live.
Namaste – from Physicist (2000)
Do you want get faster and heavier? Did you think that was possible? Here is Namaste. I think it answers the question.
And can he be more extreme? Yes he can – perhaps a little too extreme even for me. If you are curious check out the band Strapping Young Lad that he was in. Somebody I know likened it to listening to a set of bricks in a washing machine.
Actually, with Devin, I’ve seen a couple of You Tube videos with vocal coaches analysing his vocal range and technique and almost all of them are impressed by the way he shifts from ranges and screams effortlessly.
If you like what you have heard – or just even some of it – check him out.
I think it’s time to return to writing proper blog posts and I will start with a couple of self-indulgent missives that will hopefully introduce you to a couple of contemporary musical heroes of mine. Over the years there have been lots of heroes, most of whom you will have heard of. I want to talk about the more obscure ones.
I’m going to start with a man who has been labelled the most famous musical star you have never heard of, a man who has managed to get Elton John to appear on his new album due out on 29th January.
I have talked about him before and dedicated an entire post to his former band, Porcupine Tree, that he disbanded in 2009. As well as Porcupine Tree he has been involved in other musical projects over the years, including the bands Blackfield and No-Man, However, I am going to concentrate on his so solo work that he began in earnest after the demise of Porcupine Tree.
So who is Steven Wilson?
He is a multi-instrumentalist and singer from the town of Hemel Hempstead in the south of England and has had a career in music since the late 1980’s in various guises.
The style of music is broadly progressive pop and progressive rock and his influences range from Donna Summer to Pink Floyd, via Kate Bush and David Bowie. His latest album, released on Friday, will be more of a pop album in the style of early 1980’s electronic music with some dance thrown in; quite a bold move in my opinion.
I have been a fan ever since I discovered Porcupine Tree on Spotify about ten years ago – just as Steven Wilson was about to release his first solo album. I love Porcupine Tree and I greeted his solo work with a little trepidation because he used it to free himself of the shackles of being a band. Porcupine Tree had adopted a heavier style and with his solo work it was a good opportunity for him to experiment. And I have loved his solo work perhaps more than Porcupine Tree, the musical styles being far more varied over the years.
So far, he has released five solo albums, one mini-album and his sixth is about to hit the shops.
The album “Hand. Cannot. Erase”, Steven’s fourth album, is a true masterpiece and is right up there as one of my favourite albums of all time. I have only seen him once and it was the tour associated with that album, which he played in its entirety in one of the best gigs I have seen.
When he’s touring, Steven has a band with him, but he is very talented musically. He can play guitar, piano, keyboards and sing and, judging by his newest album, he is fine with electronic instruments too.
One of the reasons I love him is because he has a great ear for a melody and his style is such that you never know what you are going to get, for example, rock, pop or even jazz.
Here is a sample from his albums so far and hopefully you will see what I mean.
Harmony Korine – from Insurgentes (2009)
Insurgentes is an album full of wonderful songs and in places is a little bit spacey in places, which is something I love. To me, it seems like he was trying to find a new sound after Porcupine Tree. However, as you will see, no two albums by Steven Wilson are the same.
Deform to Form a Star – from Grace for Drowning (2011)
Steven’s second solo album is a bigger affair, with a variety of styles and is more experimental than Insurgentes with elements of jazz. I have to say that I am not a huge fan of jazz, so as good as this album is, I prefer his first. He stayed with his progressive style with a monster of a track called “Raider II” which is a cool 23 minutes long. Don’t worry, the song I have chosen is not that one – it is much better in my opinion.
Drive Home – from The Raven That Refused to Sing (and Other Stories) (2013)
The third album holds a special place in my heart. I played it to death when I was away from home on several business trips to Oman. I listened to it a lot on the long plane journey and when I was alone in in my hotel room in the evening after dinner. There are still elements of jazz in one of the songs but I can forgive that because the remaining songs are amazing. The theme to the album is ghost stories and each one tells its own tale. When I look at my iTunes playlist, the song below is top of the pile. The reason? It is a hauntingly beautiful song and the guitar solo at the end (around five minutes into the song) and courtesy of Guthrie Govan is breath-taking.
Routine – from Hand. Cannot. Erase (2015)
Hand. Cannot. Erase. is my favourite Steven Wilson album, a concept album based on the true story of a woman who died in her apartment in London and nobody missed her for two years. A truly sad story. In my opinion this album made a lot of people aware of his existence and I was lucky enough to see him live in Manchester – a truly great concert. The song I have chosen is Routine which is a very sad song, illustrated by the equally sad video. I hope you like it.
Permanating – from To the Bone (2017)
In an almost complete shift, for his fifth album, Steven Wilson drifted into the realm of pop music. I wouldn’t say that it was completely pop but the influences were there. The theme of the album is truth but that is largely irrelevant. There are a couple of good rock tracks on there but songs like Permanating have made some of his fans think again about his music. Steven Wilson described it as his “Abba moment” and I don’t mind because we all like a little bit of Abba. In fact, commercially this is his most successful album, racing almost to the top of the charts (it reached number 3 in the UK) and earned him an interview on BBC 1 Breakfast, something that he probably thought would never happen.
Personal Shopper – from The Future Bites (2021)
So where does Steven Wilson go next? The answer is electronic dance, with a macabre undertone. The new album The Future Bites is out this week – and of course I will add it to my collection. He has managed to acquire the services of none other than Sir Elton John for the first single – all about the love and perils of shopping. Elton John doesn’t sing – he speaks. I think some die-hard fans may question where Steven Wilson is heading musically with his new release but having heard a couple of the songs already, it does appeal to me (though I have to admit I would prefer something a little more rock oriented). See what you think of the rather macabre video.
I have a ticket to see him in Manchester again in September this year (virus permitting). I really hope things are back to normal by then.
