“Peace And Conflict“, the upcoming album from Stockholm, Sweden based THE RIVEN is like opening a musical time capsule to the early, and perhaps, glory days of heavy rock / classic metal in the ’70s and very first ’80s.
”Peace And Conflict” is sure to go down well with melodic metal purists and those who yearn for a return to the ground-breaking days of those early years and those amazing bands of the time like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, first Judas Priest, etc, despite The Riven is female-fronted.
By transforming from a 4 to a 5-piece band with the addition of another guitarist, The Riven have created that true classic sound with this second album.
First track ‘On Time’ will have you dusting off your air guitar within seconds of hearing the opening bars. It has a beautifully paced tempo that emphasizes Totta Ekebergh’s gritty vocals and gives you a first glimpse of those glorious twin guitars.
The driving momentum continues on ‘The Taker’, an awesome track with a real nod to those early days of metal / hard rock, it will compel you to sing-along and the twin guitars of Arnau Diaz and Joakim Sandegard will blow your mind.
Title track ‘Peace and Conflict’ has a more psychedelic feel to it with a much softer sound, some lovely bluesy guitars and a tempo that builds pace to an unexpected climax. The track smoothly moves into ‘La Puerta del Tiempo’, a fascinating interlude of acoustic Spanish guitar, which leads us into ‘Sorceress of the Sky’ with its heavy bass riff and dreamy vocals. The whole thing closes out with the return of the Spanish guitar for another short passage.
‘On Top of Evil’ brought to my mind the Led Zeppelin classic No Quarter during its opening, and that feeling I was hearing something truly special stayed with me throughout the song. This is great classic rock music played as it should be.
‘Fly Free’ is a punchy sing-along track played at pace, with a catchy hook and delicious vocal harmonies. Penultimate tune ‘Sundown’ is an amazing acoustic arrangement where Totta’s vocals are accompanied by a superb solo. The Riven certainly have a softer side to complement their much harder edge, and this track is a perfect example of that.
‘Death’ returns us again to the heavier side of things with a mid-pace groove and atmosphere. Then ‘Windbreaker’ is a romping arena rocker driven by a mammoth bass and frantic vocals, before ‘Moving On’ take us back to 1980 with its rolling melodic metal riff and that huge rhythms section. It brings the ”Peace and Conflict” journey to a beautiful finish with a very tight and polished performance, leaving you in no doubt that there are plenty more great things to come from The Riven.
This CD is old school Hard Rock / Heavy Metal for modern times, the sound is super cool and fresh, but the roots are deeply entwined with the past. Get yourself a copy and take a journey back in time with The Riven, I did, and I was right back there in my youth hearing these beautiful gloriously heavy sounds for the very first time.
Highly Recommended
01 – On Time
02 – The Taker
03 – Peace And Conflict
04 – La Puerta Del Tiempo
05 – Sorceress Of The Sky
06 – On Top Of Evil
07 – Fly Free
08 – Sundown
09 – Death
BONUS TRACKS:
10 – Windbreaker
11 – Moving On
Totta Ekebergh (vocals)
Arnau Diaz (guitar)
Joakim Sandegard (guitar)
Max Ternebring (bass)
Jussi Kalla (drums)
THE RIVEN – Peace and Conflict [Deluxe version +2 bonus] (2022)
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