(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))): RIVERSLEEM

Friday, 24 September 2021

RIVERSLEEM

Band: RIVERSLEEM
Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Metalcore / Metallic Hardcore / Thrash / Crust
Related artists: ?.
Country: Saskatoon CANADA
Years Active: 2020-present
For fans of: Mattachine, Furnace, Weak Wrists, Fluoride, Mouthing, and Fall Silent.
Label(s): Tomb Tree Tapes

2021 is the year of The Sleem for me. Ever had a shower band? No? Y'know, a release that you rock out in the shower to, blasting from your phone to be heard over the water? Last year it was Brahm's first outing and this year it's RIVERSLEEM's 'A Debut Release' cassette EP. Mixing shrieky vocals with pulverizing, metallic hardcore, it's not overly original but something about it makes it highly likely to be my favourite EP of 2021. I should also mention that the reason Tomb Tree Tapes picked up the EP was because the band submitted to this very blog, and I was like...yo...this fucking rules. I need to make you tapes, please. And now we're here.

The EP kicks off with "Cavalier", and there's no doubt about what you're gonna get from these four songs by the 30-second mark. Punishing, unrelenting, metallic hardcore. Those guitar squeals amidst the breakdown a minute in is fucking awesome, as are the peculiarly but confidently delivered ramblings of vocalist Kyle to close out the track. The vocals really shine on each song, but honestly everything does as the instrumentals are tight, punchy, chuggy and all-around very interesting to listen to, and a top-notch recording job doesn't hurt either.

Second up is "Observatory", a winding, chaotic, maze of a song that makes me think I'm being punched in succession. It's written in a way that the listener in funneled down a predetermined, shifting corridor that bounces you back and forth like a pinball. "Eyebrow" follows, and don't be fooled by the playful palm-muting, as the shortest track on the EP (about 1:30) is also one of the most vicious...ooof that ending.

Closer "Richard" is a helluva good time, opening with those sick, thick, RIVERSLEEM chugs. As it screeches around the half-minute mark it makes a plummeting dive for a slow-motion breakdown and the subsequent, danceable section features some very memorable repetition with the vocals, screaming...I think, "I am a chemical!". The tail-end of the song can be spotted by those ridiculously prolonged and sinister shrieks amidst evil, subterranean breakdowns.

Straight up, this debut EP is fucking incredible. There's absolutely no filler. The songs are mad intense. The running time is perfection, just shy of 9 minutes. The band is also community driven as they donated all digital proceeds to Prairie Harm Reduction. And to top it all off they're hilarious, just watch this video they released yesterday titled "Behind the Sleems".

A final note (besides how well those fucking tapes turned out) is the band's first show/release party tonight in Sasketchewan. If you're in/around Saskatoon and are double vaxed please go so I can live vicariously through you. All details in this facebook event page.