Over 15 years and half a dozen albums into their careers, Pennsylvania’s Rivers of Nihil – Metal Injection‘s Artist Of The Month – are removed from finished with their progy tech demise sorcery on their long-awaited self-titled report.
An amalgam of the modifications which have introduced the band to current day, Rivers of Nihil – available May 30 through Metal Blade – is tough, heavy and overwhelmingly epic in its scale and scope, a testomony to the maturation of founding members Brody Uttley and Adam Biggs, drummer Jared Klein and rhythm guitarist Andy Thomas.
Uttley sat down with Metallic Injection for a deep dive into the band’s discography, breaking down main ideas, themes and insights into every of the 5 Rivers of Nihil information.
The Acutely aware Seed Of Gentle
Yeah, I believe that report, the primary report, The Acutely aware Seed of Gentle, I believe that was sort of simply us making an attempt to determine what sort of band we wished to be. Quite a lot of the songs that ended up being on that report had elements on it that had been written earlier than Rivers of Nihil even existed. Prefer it was stuff that was written in 2007 in our previous bands and stuff. And sort of identical to piled all the pieces that we had ever written as a band collectively to give you these 10 songs which are on that report. We had solely actually finished eps up till that time, so it was like what, 10 songs, that is insane. It appeared like an insane chore to us on the time, so a variety of the stuff that is on that report, a few of it was written fairly near the time that it was recorded and that different stuff was written 5 – 6 years beforehand.
So there are songs on that report which are a lot stronger than others, for my part. Like, I believe “Rain Eater” is a robust one. That is one of many higher songs on the report, for my part. Similar factor with “Soil and Seed”. I imply, “Soil and Seed” is like the one tune from that report that we are going to nonetheless often play reside. So I believe that the primary report was actually simply an train in us determining what we wished to sound like. Did we need to be like a hyper-tech band? Did we need to be like a extra atmospheric sort of post-mealty type of demise steel band? Did we wanna be like extra like Morbid Angel sort of vein type of band? We did not know. There are such a lot of completely different influences on that report that it is just a little A.D.D at occasions, I believe.
I have never listened to it in a very long time, however to me, now, I simply sort of see it as the true experimentation part for the band. All the things was new, you understand? We simply signed with a label. We had by no means made a report, and we’re making a report with Erik Rutan. We used to look at the Cannibal Corpse DVDs and be like, man, that will be cool to love report an album with Erik sooner or later, and right here we’re doing it. It was all so new, so we actually did not know what we had been doing throughout that point. We had been simply making an attempt to determine it out. So I believe that that first report was actually simply us making an attempt to determine what we had been going to do, actually.
Monarchy
Yeah, I believe that Monarchy is like the primary report of ours that I sort of contemplate the true begin of the present model of Rivers of Nihil. Our authentic guitarist, Joh, founding member, you understand, me, Jon, Jake, Ron and Adam all began the band. Jon ended up leaving the band shortly earlier than we completed writing Monarchy, or I suppose truly in direction of the start of writing Monarchy, he ended up leaving the band and beginning Outer Heaven.
Monarchy was an actual proving stage for me as a songwriter as a result of we misplaced Jon. He wrote so much, and I wrote so much. He wrote perhaps like 4 songs on the primary report or one thing like that, and I wrote the remaining. He wrote a good quantity and dropping him, I used to be very nervous, like shit, can we nonetheless do that? And I used to be actually moving into recording, like dwelling recording on the time and studying so much about audio and stuff. That sort of coincided at an ideal time with us having to jot down a brand new report, minus a guitar participant actually.
So Monarchy is the report the place I believe I actually sort of began to search out this sound that Rivers nonetheless carries with it into the trendy age of the band. That was the primary report that I recorded guitar and bass for. I simply recorded the bass. Biggs performed the bass clearly, however did it at my dwelling studio after which blended it with Carson and Grant at Atrium Audio, however that was like the primary report that we did that was sort of like the trendy model of what we do now, as a result of we nonetheless do it that method. I report guitar and bass right here.
Then we go to Atrium Audio and do mixing, drums, and vocals with Carson and Grant. And we have been doing that ever since Monarchy. However yeah, Monarchy was the primary report the place that massive atmospheric sound that I believe is sort of synonymous with Rivers of Nihil, the massive atmospheric progressive factor, actually sort of like took form on that report.
That is the report that I contemplate to be our truest kind, like a tech demise album, you understand? It was very intentional. That was an album the place I used to be personally listening to a variety of tech demise and a variety of identical to actually heavy demise steel. And all the pieces that I used to be listening to was inspiring me. And yeah, that report is a proggy tech demise report actually, it is bought a few of like essentially the most insanely technical stuff that we have ever finished. However that sort of atmospheric, melodic progressive factor that we developed even additional on Owls actually sort of first took form on Monarchy.
So yeah, I contemplate Monarchy like the primary actual full from starting to finish album that was like a whole thought, you understand? Trigger we wrote all of that materials in a 12 months’s time, whereas like on the primary report, that report was written over like 5 – 6 years. So Monarchy was like mainly one full thought, and the primary time that we had ever finished one thing like that. So I sort of contemplate that the true begin of issues for us as a band, a minimum of so far as issues being related to the trendy period of the band.
The place Owls Know My Identify
Yeah, nicely, I can solely converse for myself, however so far as the music goes, I believe I had an actual sort of paradigm shift in between Monarchy and Owls. I began listening to much more prog, like I bought actually, actually into Steven Wilson‘s album Hand. Can’t. Erase and that album like blew my fucking thoughts. Like I keep in mind that album got here out shortly after we completed recording Monarchy, I believe and like once I heard that album, I listened to it time and again, and I used to be identical to, man. There’s a lot stuff on this report that I want I had recognized about once we had been writing Monarchy, as a result of we hadn’t even launched Monarchy at that time but, and that report for some purpose simply blew my thoughts so laborious.
I do not know, it simply sort of broke my mind open, and it like switched me from largely being like a demise steel man. I imply, I listened to prog my entire life, however not in an enormous, big method. I like Pink Floyd and King Crimson and Rush and Sure, and stuff. However I by no means actually dove deep. And for no matter purpose, that one Steven Wilson report was like, whoa, so we might do no matter we wished on a report. We might have a 260 beats per minute atmospheric demise steel tune subsequent to a like synth wave tune with a Miles Davis-esque trumpet solo subsequent to acoustic ballads. The entire prog mind-set, actually doing no matter you need. I do know it appears foolish to love not have thought like, oh, like I can simply do no matter I would like.
With the title monitor on Owls specifically, I bear in mind once I was writing that tune, I had like the entire intro of that tune up till when it will get heavy, the primary refrain, I had that entire intro and I believe I wrote, I used to be enjoying round with like a delay pedal or one thing. And I used to be making an attempt to jot down like a post-rock tune, one thing that you’d hear Explosions within the Sky or This Will Destroy You or Caspian or some band like that. I used to be simply making an attempt to do one thing like that, and I assumed there isn’t any method that Rivers would ever use this. That is method too fairly after which as soon as as soon as I got here up with that refrain, I used to be like oh shit.
That was an actual massive second of realization for us as a band and for me as a songwriter as a result of that is one of many first songs that we ever wrote that like did not have any blast beats in it, I do know that sounds hilarious. The working title for that tune was “No Blast Beats” as a result of it was the primary tune that we ever wrote with no blast beats in it and we thought like man they’re gonna hate this, we’re simply gonna get shit on so laborious, they’re gonna assume that we suck and and it ended up being like the largest tune we have ever launched.
That entire album is such a wierd factor to me as a result of as soon as we put it out it simply sort of occurred and abruptly individuals cared concerning the band and abruptly we had been promoting reveals out and stuff. It is identical to we completely didn’t anticipate any of that as a result of we simply thought we’re making a report that we did not actually give a shit what anybody thought, which I suppose is sort of like a very good factor to do. We completely simply did not take note of any expectations from ourselves or from anybody. And we’re identical to, let’s simply do regardless of the hell we wish. And we did. And it labored for some purpose. And ever since then, yeah, that was sort of the report that like tipped most individuals off to who we had been.
The Work
It is an album that might have solely been written when it was written. I imply, most of it was written throughout COVID, like throughout lockdowns and stuff. Had sort of like infinite time to work on this report, which I am assuming a part of the rationale why it ended up being such an infinite and lengthy album was simply because we simply had a lot time to identical to tweak stuff and hold writing and all these items. However actually, I believe once we noticed how Owls went, I used to be saying how once we wrote Owls we sort of simply ignored individuals’s expectations fully and simply did it for ourselves, completely. We checked out that and we had been like, nicely, let’s do this once more and take it even additional in a special path, you understand?
We sort of checked out moments on Owls, the stranger moments on Owls, like say like “Terrestria III: Wither”, for instance, or just like the nearer “Capricorn/Agoratopia” on Owls. A number of the deeper cuts on the report, and we wished to discover these sounds just a little extra. The Work, to me a minimum of, it is not an industrial album, industrial steel album, however it simply has this type of total industrial sheen to it, and I believe a variety of that was due to, like I mentioned, wanting on the stranger moments on Owls like “Terrestria III”, which is a synth-wavy darkish industrial sort of tune, and wanting to love discover that sound extra. We wished to simply make this an enormous prog album that was identical to bigger than life. I imply, a few of the songs on that album have like 90 tracks of like guitar and synth. At occasions like that album, it feels prefer it simply ventures too far at occasions.
It is actually an album … I do not know if I might suggest taking acid and listening to it in a darkish room, however should you wished to, you may. It is like a headphone report. It is an album to hearken to in headphones in a darkish room and simply journey out. It is a wonderful album at occasions and like a very fucked up freaky album at different occasions. It is identical to an actual true experimental album for us i believe, and like i mentioned you understand in hindsight like i believe there’s some songs on that report that they are too lengthy there’s some sections that there is simply an excessive amount of occurring you possibly can’t even inform what is going on on at sure factors and like there’s moments which are like what? This is sort of a Weapons N’ Roses tune or a giant nine-minute acoustic ballad. There’s a lot like what?! On that report, which, to be honest, I believe scared lots of people off when it first got here out.
I believe lots of people had been sort of anticipating like an Owls 2.0. We had been very conscious of that. We knew that is what individuals wished, and we did not need to give it to them. We simply wished to go in as far of a wierd path away from that as we presumably might. And I believe there are some songs on The Work that sound like they may have been a part of a continuation of Owls. Like, I believe “The Void From Which No Sound Escapes” undoubtedly appears like a continuation of the Owls sound, however I imply, there are different songs in that report. The opener, “The Tower (Theme from ‘The Work’)”, it is like virtually like a 9 Inch Nails meets Muse sort of tune. And “Dreaming Black Clockwork” is simply this fucked up like Strapping Younger Lad sort of tune after which “Wait” is sort of a lo-fi Religion No Extra sort of tune.
It is such a wierd mix of influences, The Work, however I imply, for that purpose, although, that’s an album that I’ll at all times look again on as simply such an unbelievable artistic time as a result of it was throughout COVID. It was going out and simply experimenting with stuff that I by no means experimented with earlier than like subject recordings and making drum loops out of sounds that I recorded in industrial warehouses and the kitchen door slamming, stuff that you’d hear on like a Björk or a Radiohead album, however in a demise steel context, you understand what I imply? Simply actually fucking round with sound is a dumb option to say it, however that is actually what was occurring.
So yeah, it is an album that I believe shocked a variety of our followers, scared a few of them off, however since we have put that album out, lots of people who initially had been sort of greatly surprised by how completely different it was from Owls have sort of come round to it. And I see Owls and The Work sort of mentioned collectively so much. Type of like, once you’re speaking about Pink Floyd, more often than not persons are speaking about like, Darkish Facet of the Moon versus The Wall, and it is like an analogous sort of duality.
I believe for a very long time, I assumed that they had been albums that had been actually not related in any respect. However now, the additional down the highway I get, the extra I notice that Owls was sort of the decision, and The Work was the response.
Rivers Of Nihil
It is cool to have a while and house to have sort of seen these first 4 information and sort of examined how they work together with each other. I believe that that had so much to do with, like I used to be discussing beforehand, how this new information turned out, simply sort of these first 4 information and seeing how they interacted with one another and what the excessive factors had been and what actually labored and what we actually did not after which sort of taking that data and enjoying to the strengths of us as a band and what we have finished to date.
This report is sort of like an amalgamation of all the pieces that we have finished to date, plus one thing additional, I suppose. On this report, a minimum of instrumentally, which is sort of like my division, now that now we have 4 albums behind us, I discovered myself sort of reflecting on the final 10 years or 12 years or no matter it has been. Taking a look at stuff on all of our information that I really feel has actually labored, what hasn’t labored, what songs actually click on reside each with us as like a reside band enjoying collectively and in addition to the viewers and sort of like actually checked out our previous discography as a giant affect on this new report, greater than something, I might say.
I am at all times listening to music. In order that stuff at all times works its method into no matter it’s that I am engaged on. However I actually really feel like analyzing what we have finished and what I believe we’re the perfect at, what our strengths are and actually sort of enjoying to them and bringing them into this new period of the band and sort of making an attempt to take what we’re already good at and push it even additional. That was actually sort of like my purpose on this report, as a result of I believe that on the final report, The Work, it was actually an album that’s extra of like a movie rating than something. It is simply this big, big report, an hour and 10 minutes lengthy.
It is like sort of like our The Wall or one thing like that. That was very intentional. You already know we’re big Pink Floyd followers. Simply the massive like theatrical sort of album factor has at all times been one thing that we have at all times wished to do, so doing that on The Work, it was necessary that we made that report as a result of I believe we needed to show to ourselves that we might do one thing like that.
However on this report, it’s extremely like cliche to say, however we actually wished to sort of get again to fundamentals in a variety of methods and concentrate on the core parts of the band like guitar, bass, drums, vocals, get all that stuff actually cooking after which sort of add within the additional stuff after the actual fact; the saxophones and the synthesizers and any sort of further orchestration that we wished to place in there after we had these songs that had been already actually heavy hitting simply with the sort of core parts of the reside band.
Yeah, it was actually an album of reflection, I suppose, and like I mentioned, having Andy alongside for the writing of these things and having the ability to bounce concepts off him and have him contribute concepts that will perhaps encourage me and vice versa was actually superior. After which having Adam take over on lead vocals. Since Adam‘s at all times written all the lyrics, it was cool to see him sort of be capable to carry out the stuff that he was writing in a method that he had by no means actually been capable of carry out them earlier than, as a result of earlier than he was like writing stuff, however sort of by means of the lens of understanding that anyone else was going to be performing it. So it simply has a special really feel, however now he is writing what he will be singing, and he undoubtedly introduced some strikes to the desk vocally that we did not have earlier than.
So yeah, it was a take a look at of an album to jot down as a result of it was such a giant shift, however I believe in the end we had a blast making it, and I believe it is a few of our strongest materials up to now. And it is considerably of a retrospective on what we have finished, however not in a tragic method. We’re simply going to do that once more. It is a refreshed sort of perspective on stuff that we all know we’re actually good at as a band.
