Wasteland

Departure from the Northern Wasteland, a classic of the progressive electronic genre, contains four pieces that are almost perfect in their realization of the sequencer as a compositional tool. Hoenig took the concept of repetitive music further than most anyone in his homeland and claimed his inspiration was drawn from American minimalist composers Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley. The title track is a sublime 20-minute journey through ever-changing melodic and rhythmic phase relationships, creating the vivid sensation of a train ride through misty Northern European landscapes. "Hanging Garden Transfer" then speeds things up a little and is therefore less ideally suited for falling asleep (or waking you up). "Voices of Where" makes the picture of Path Finder on the desolate planet of Mars, appear before the mind’s eye, searching for any proof of life: not a single beat, just wonderful dreamscapes…

As a quartet, Polish act Riverside produced some of the most characteristic and captivating albums in modern progressive rock/metal. Sadly, the untimely passing of founding guitarist Piotr Grudziński in early 2016 sent fans and the remaining members—vocalist/bassist/lead songwriter Mariusz Duda, drummer Piotr Kozieradzki, and keyboardist Michał Łapaj—into a painful world of uncertainty about if, when, and how they should continue. After all, Grudziński’s distinctive style was a major part of their treasured formula, so adequately replacing him seemed both impossible and potentially impolite.

Although this album is called ''Wasteland'', the impressions it brings are those of wonderland. Atargatis play a genuine style of metal. This album, although labelled as gothic or symphonic is neither. It is 2 bright to be gothic, and is not enough bombastic to be symphonic…