On June 1st 2024 the Polish melodic progressive rock maestros Riverside played a triumphant homecoming gig at COS Torwar in Warsaw, marking the pinnacle of touring for their ID. Entity album. Over the last 20-odd years Riverside have become a top class accomplished live band, honing their act since 2003’s debut, Out of Myself. ID Live. showcases new heights of live performance, after extensively touring ID. Entity across the Europe, North and South America in both 2023 and 2024. Following the tragedy in the loss of their guitarist Piotr Grudziński in 2016, this tour saw Riverside re-defining their identity. Their emphasis largely moved away from melancholy and introspection into a far more joyous and vibrant presentation, with the band really wanting to connect with their fan community more positively. What is also apparent is that, after so many gigs across the world, by the time Riverside rolled into Warsaw these newer ID. Entity songs had really matured as pieces, with more time to embed themselves into their consciousnesses of their audience. Mariusz Duda has stated:
“I would argue that RIVERSIDE always come across better in concerts than on studio albums. In fact, it’s only during live performances that our songs gain their full potential. What’s more, some song arrangements are much better in live versions than in studio recordings. There are a lot of nuances, quirks, and, above all, explanations of what RIVERSIDE’s music is all about. That’s why “Live ID.” is not just an ordinary live album. It’s an album that reveals the band’s true identity.”
As a live act Riverside embellish their song to great effect, as exemplified in #Addicted‘s extended intro, featuring great synth and organ work from the outstanding Michał Łapaj, followed by fluent, bass play from Mariusz Duda. This song’s focus on modern preoccupation with social media is ideally suited to the Identity theme of the tour. The only other song from their Love, Fear and the Time Machine 2015 album played on this live set later is a rare moment of mellower introspection in this energetic show, the wonderfully melodic and emotionally stirring Lost (Why Should I be Frightened by a Hat?), simply one of the best songs Riverside have ever recorded.
02 Panic Room ignites the crowd with its chugging, pulsing magnificence, although the mischievous prolonged ‘frozen moment’ in which the band ‘freezes’ silently for a few seconds may mystify listeners to audio only! (TPA did not have access to the visual content on the Blu-ray version… but having seen this band 3 times in 2023 & 2024 this reviewer can certainly attest to their amazing stage show, especially at their Loreley festival performance, most assuredly the high point of that great event.) They follow up the classic crowd pleaser of 02 Panic Room with first of the ID. Entity songs, the explosive Landmine Blast. This grabs from the start with its killer opening riff – this is a band who really know how to pull you in with memorable hooks, melodies and riffs delivered with such brio and power. Next, Duda robotically announces the ‘terms and conditions’ as a preamble to Big Tech Brother and then Duda’s rumbling bass is backed by Lapaj’s funky synth horns. Piotr Kozieradzki’s drums propel this song, and indeed the whole set, with power and precision. The crunching guitar riff of Maciej Meller casts a sinister shadow, before Duda’s spasmodic, almost paranoid vocals intone about constant monitoring, with dystopian references from Orwell’s ‘1984’ and Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’. This is not a band afraid to touch on important themes, framed in engaging and thrilling rock songs.
The main highlight of the newer songs is an epic version of The Place Where I Belong, commencing with Duda’s plaintive vocals. However, the main stars of this piece are Łapaj’s rippling organ runs and Meller’s smooth electric guitar flourishes, building to a satisfying, flowing, celebratory finale. Their 2008 album Anno Domini High Definition (ADHD) showed Riverside at by far their ‘heaviest’. ADHD songs feature significantly on this live set, in contrast to the total absence of any songs from their inevitably sombre post bereavement album 2018 album, Wasteland. A real highlight of this live album is the extended Left Out from ADHD, perhaps best characterizing Riverside’s mastery of seamlessly melding softer introspection, sweeping melodic passages and pile-driving slabs of rock. Left Out particularly displays Riverside’s implicit understanding of dynamics, fluidly contrasting light and dark, heavy and soft, and is a real highlight of Live ID.. Later Egoist Hedonist from ADHD is an intoxicating adrenalin rush, bowling along at a head spinning pace with fantastic drumming from Kozieradzki and some incongruous but brilliant synth horns, injecting some unexpected ‘swing’ into this rolling tank of a track, symbolic of Duda’s expressed desire on that tour that Riverside want to ‘reject melancholy’.
In a month which has seen the troubling presidential inauguration of a convicted felon the biting crunch of Post-Truth seems so sadly apt for our times. Later, in a set dominated by ID. Entity tracks, Self Aware is an intoxicating mix of infectious riffs, earworm lyrics and some communal crowd chanting. Somewhat bizarrely, it even has some reggae touches just for the fun of it! They segue into a thrilling finale section from the titanically powerful Driven to Destruction, yet another piece drawn from ADHD. Near the end another ID. Entity song sweeps along the crowd, and seems set to become a live staple for years: the ‘a-ha on steroids’ synth driven Friend or Foe?. Its infectious groove gets the fans bouncing along ecstatically… it’s just great fun. Live ID. concludes with an extended version of their beautifully melodic Conceiving You from 2005’s Second Life Syndrome. The whole band are in glorious sync as they career towards the end but not before Riverside inject some humour with Duda involving the crowd in a comical ‘Silent Scream’ skit.
In 2023 my live review concluded Riverside ‘are a truly world class act right at the top of their game…’ and Live ID. underlines their pre-eminence as a great live band. For fans who attended one of these shows this beautifully presented and excellently recorded live release is a bit of a ‘no-brainer’ to buy as it will bring back such great memories, and for those not lucky enough to have seen them Live ID. is a thrilling insight into the fabulous live experience of Riverside. If you want to hear and see a top-class rock act in action then Live ID. is an absolute ‘must buy’ – witness a fine band in their live element, re-defining their identity.
TRACK LISTING
CD1
01. #Addicted (7:51)
02. 02 Panic Room (4:40)
03. Landmine Blast (7:28)
04. Big Tech Brother (8:11)
05. Lost (Why Should I be Frightened by a Hat?) (6:56)
06. Left Out (12:53)
CD2
07. Post-Truth (6:40)
08. The Place Where I Belong (15:45)
09. Egoist Hedonist (11:12)
10. Friend or Foe? (8:46)
11. Self-Aware (including section of ‘Driven to Destruction’) (9:45)
12. Conceiving You (12:07)
Total Time – 112:24
MUSICIANS
Mariusz Duda – Vocals, Basses
Piotr Kozieradzki – Drums
Michał Łapaj – Keyboards, Back Vocals
Maciej Meller – Guitars
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: InsideOut Music
Country of Origin: Poland
Date of Release: 24th January 2025
DISCOGRAPHY
– Out of Myself (2003)
– Voices in My Head [EP] (2004)
– Second Life Syndrome (2005)
– Rapid Eye Movement (2007)
– Reality Dream (2008)
– Anno Domini High Definition (2009)
– Memories in My Head [EP] (2011)
– Shrine of New Generation Slaves (2013)
– Love, Fear and the Time Machine (2015)
– Eye of the Soundscape (2016)
– Lost ‘n’ Found – Live in Tilburg (2017)
– Wasteland (2018)
– ID. Entity (2023)
– ID Live. (2025)
LINKS
Riverside – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp (IOM) | YouTube | X | Instagram
