From their official website, “Sixteen years and five albums into the Pennsylvania band's career, progressive death metal progenitors RIVERS OF NIHIL are upping the ante with the self-titled album. Traditionally, a self-titled record can signal a return to basics and/or a fresh beginning, and in 10 powerful songs, it's clear that both those factors are in play. The album deserves the 'self-titled' treatment. “I feel like these songs are the perfect blend of all our albums, with all the fat cut away," says founding member/guitarist Brody Uttley. There are more technical songs, but with a more mature understanding of pacing. There's a fair bit of experimental stuff, but with a more refreshed perspective on those styles for the current era of the band."

“The Sub-Orbital Blues” is first, and I am immediately struck by a shift in their sound. The power of the harsh vocals and sheer weight of their sound is still there, but the clean vocals bring some melody with them. “Dustman” rumbles with thick commanding bass notes, blast beat drums, and vocals that could scare you right out of your pants, and this represents the more aggressive side of the band for me. The fat has been cut away, indeed. “Criminals” has a contentious sound that is akin to a detestable creature spewing black goo. The clean vocals however temper it with just enough satiable melodies so that it doesn’t swallow you whole. The groove here is thick, nasty, and ill reputable.

“Despair Church” comes at you like a thick layer of fog descending in the evening, and holding tightly through the next morning. The atrocities that can be committed under this veil can’t even be counted. Throughout the cycle of the death machine, clean guitar passages provide a moment of levity and melody, and they are nothing short of glorious. “Water & Time” may qualify as one of the more experimental songs on the album, but all it shows for me is the band’s versatility. It doesn’t all have to be about primal aggression, and they let this song out there to ebb and flow.

“House of Light” has a nice balance between aggression and melody, and depending on the flow of the song, either side takes the lead at times. The chorus has both in nearly equal doses, and their use of restraint is further testament to their growth. “Evidence” is a veritable fireball of aggression and pounding heaviness. The lead breaks are tastefully done, and even within the seeming madness, the band maintains control the entire time. This is a tight structure, indeed. “American Death” has a steady supply of staccato attack beats both in the guitars and drums, and the vocals add a poisonous bite. Cleans emerge in the chorus however, washing away the filth. “The Logical End” begins with some smooth keyboards before the brutal attack commences. The clean vocals are harmonized, and they wrestle firmly with the harsh vocals, and some of the band’s Progressive elements shine here along with sultry saxophone notes.

The title track closes the album, and it’s a short, instrumental piece, focusing more on the atmosphere that comes with a smiled sigh from such an outstanding listening experience. Overall, the album registers as a bold and ferocious entry into the realm of Progressive Death Metal that marries unrelenting aggression with a structural intelligence rare in the genre. It is a balancing act between chaos and calculation…a sound that never loses its teeth, even as it brushes against moments of eerie melody and intricate musicianship. In a landscape crowded with brutality for brutality’s sake, this album is a fusion of relentless death metal ferocity, progressive ambition, and melodic sensibility. It’s the sound of a band not afraid to push, twist, and mold their aggression into forward progress. It's evolution with its fists still clenched.