The Riven call Stockholm, Sweden, their home base, but with members hailing from Spain and the UK, they’re just as easily tagged as a multinational conglomerate. There’s no clash, however, when it comes to bringing their material to life. To wit, the four-piece issue their The Sign Records-backed self-titled debut album March 1, and with it proffer nine songs and 40 minutes of crisply executed traditionalist heavy rock and roll. They’re not so much dug into the vintage sound, but that influence is there for sure in songs like the single “Far Beyond,” for which you can see the lyric video premiering below, as well as the bluesy “Shadow Man,” the subdued and soulful “I Remember” and the presumed side A finale “Finnish Woods,” which quietly meanders in its beginning and opens to a slow-rolling chorus in its first half only to unveil a NWOBHM gallop after its midpoint that complements and offsets the boogie that surrounds. On The Riven, as on their 2017 debut EP, Blackbird (discussed here), there’s a sense of the classic as a foundation to work from, rather than a modus to be so directly emulated. That mindset only helps The Riven as they make their debut.

Comprised of vocalist Charlotta Ekebergh, guitarist Arnau Diaz, bassist Max Ternebring and drummer Olof Axegärd, the band recorded in Madrid and very clearly worked to capture a naturalist spirit in so doing. As straight-ahead shufflers like the Thin Lizzy-style opener “The Serpent,” the dug-in groover “Edge of Time” and the penultimate “Leap of Faith” hit all their marks, it’s the organic style that unites them with longer cuts like “I Remember” and the jammy closer “Sweet Child.” As it should be for classic-style heavy rock, the rhythm section proves crucial to the overarching effectiveness of the band, with Ternebring‘s tone and Axegärd‘s snare work both serving as standout performances along with Ekebergh‘s dynamic vocals and Diaz‘s guitar leading the way for all to follow. The hook of “Far Beyond” is a highlight, but it’s far from the only one the record has on offer, and whether it’s “Shadow Man” or the momentum-building side B launch in “Fortune Teller,” The Riven draw from the strengths of its component members even as they unite for the purpose of memorable songwriting.

Part of the work The Riven does as an album is set the stage for the band The Riven will become, even as it signals their arrival at this starting point. They won’t get to put out another first record, and they make the most of the opportunity before them. These songs feel worked through and honed for maximum effect, and while the Swedish and wider European heavy underground has seen a surge of similarly-minded blues-influenced ’70s-rock aficionados, The Riven‘s collective ability to drop the rush of “Fortune Teller” right into the moody sway of “I Remember” and still carry the listener with them speaks to their confidence as songwriters as well as the justification for that confidence in the output itself. Are they done growing? Probably not, but The Riven makes an encouraging place to start from not the least because it demonstrates how clear the band are in their purpose. They’re schooled in what they want to do and how they want to do it. What they’ll do next is a question, of course, for some later time. There’s plenty of rock and roll here to last until then.

The Riven‘s The Riven is out March 1 on The Sign Records. PR wire info follows the “Far Beyond” lyric video here.

Please enjoy:

The Riven, “Far Beyond” lyric video premiere

Far Beyond is taken from The Riven’s debut album released by The Sign Records.

In 2018, The Riven went to Madrid, not to spend time under the Spanish sun but rather curled up in the cellar studio at Holy Cuervo Studios. In ten days they powered through the record’s nine songs, producing an album that in the words of the drummer Olof Axegärd, “is loud, is rock, is soul, and prog. It has it all!” The Riven will be releasing their highly anticipated first full length with The Sign Records in the spring of 2019. Produced by Ola Ersfjord (Lucifer, Primordial, Dead Lord) the album manages to merge the diverse influences of its four members into a solid unit of Rock and Roll that will leave no one oblivious.

The Riven is:
Charlotta Ekebergh – Vocals
Arnau Diaz – Guitar
Max Ternebring – Bass Guitar
Olof Axegärd – Drums

The Riven on Thee Facebooks

The Riven on Bandcamp

The Sign Records on Thee Facebooks

The Sign Records website

The Sign Records at Freighttrain.se

Tags: self-titled, Stockholm, Sweden, The Riven, The Riven Self-titled, The Sign Records

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2019 at 6:23 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.