The River
Oneiric Dirges in Mono (CD Demo) 2003 None
The interesting thing about today's doom scene is the fact that there are countless sub genres. This allows the creative artist to blend them in the same way that a painter would blend different colours with his brush to form new shades. That's what The River seem to be doing in this impressive demo. Without offering something groundbreaking or new, they succeed in blending very effectively different sub genres of doom: the crushing, droned wall of guitar of bands like Sunn O))), the oppressive heaviness of a Winter and a strong traditional doom aspect which is especially noticeable in the soulful female vocals and the semi-groovy riffs. There are also some moments in those two pulverizing tracks where the band seems to experiment trying to develop an own identity, but those occasional interludes, like the psychedelic intermezzo and piano outro in 'Opaque' and the long-drawn jam at the end of 'Amber' are not as effective as their usual crushing drone sound. The band's assets are clearly the heavy, pervasive guitar sound, the soulful vocals (which sound somewhat bizarre at first but the contrast with the concrete guitar base works really well) and the captivating 'drive' of the songs. It is clear from this promising work that a lot can be expected from this band in the future. In the meanwhile, you can order the demo from the band and I would encourage every fan of extreme doom to do so, since there are enough elements of all extreme doom sub genres in this recording to satisfy even the most demanding adept of heaviness. Band contact: info@doomriver.co.uk	1. Opaque 2. Amber Approx. 17 minutes
Reviewed by: Kostas Panagiotou
Different ways to be haunted (MCD) 2005 None
More of the same, but even better: this description is perhaps the most appropriate one to describe the musical ‘evolution’ of The River from their first to their second demo. All the ingredients of ‘Oneiric Dirges in Mono’ are still present, but much better executed: the guitars are as heavy, but much clearer; the voice sounds more confident and soulful and the drums strong and powerful. Even the occasional acoustic interludes are very well integrated and form an ideal calm before the storm. The hypnotic, mesmerizing wall of guitar sound is very addictive and as a doom fan, you find yourself returning very often to this strong demo. The River prove with this second effort that together with Cambian Dawn and Centurions Ghost they can be considered among the finest specimens of the New Wave of British Doom Metal.	1. A close study 2. White Library 3. Broken Window Approx. 21 minutes
Reviewed by: Kostas Panagiotou