Progressive death metal progenitors RIVERS OF NIHIL will release their eponymous fifth full-length album on May 30 via Metal Blade Records.
Sixteen years and five albums into the Pennsylvania band’s career, RIVERS OF NIHIL is upping the ante with “Rivers Of Nihil”. Traditionally, a self-titled record can signal a return to basics and/or a fresh beginning, and in ten powerful songs, it’s clear that both those factors are in play. Founding bassist Adam Biggs became the band’s new lead vocalist/bassist in 2023; the same year marked the appearance of additional guitarist Andy Thomas (ex-BLACK CROWN INITIATE),whose vocals also play prominently on “Rivers Of Nihil”. Producers Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland at Atrium Audio captured the new dynamics across more than fifty minutes of music.
“I feel like these songs are the perfect blend of all our albums, with all the fat cut away,” says founding guitarist Brody Uttley. “There are more technical songs that call back to ‘The Conscious Seed Of Light’ and ‘Monarchy’ sound, but with a more mature understanding of how to pace a song. There’s a fair bit of the ‘Where Owls Know My Name’ and ‘The Work’-type experimental stuff, but with a more refreshed perspective on those styles for the current era of the band.”
On June 15, 2023, RIVERS OF NIHIL released a new single, “The Sub-Orbital Blues”, the first track with Biggs handling lead vocals following the 2022 departure of singer Jake Dieffenbach. It was also the first track to feature Thomas. A second single, “Hellbirds”, dropped on October 19 of that year. On April 29, 2024, the band released the cut “Criminals” and an accompanying music video. Both “Criminals” and “The Sub-Orbital Blues” appear on “Rivers Of Nihil”.
The new album’s first single of 2025, “House Of Light”, is a track that “encapsulates the nature of what it is that we do perfectly while offering a different perspective on the sound with the new lineup,” explains Uttley, who also plays piano and does the programming in the band. “Everything that our fans have come to love about our sound is demonstrated in this song with the new addition of Andy singing and Biggs on main vocals. It has the riffs, it has the big chorus, it has the prog, it has the solos, it has the sax. Just a real classic example of what we do as a band in 2025.”
“Rivers Of Nihil” also showcases additional musicians, including Patrick Corona on alto saxophone, Stephan Lopez on banjo, McFarland on cello, and a slate of other guest vocalists. Despite the fresh approach on “Rivers Of Nihil” however, the album fits neatly into the band’s discography. With “Where Owls Know My Name” (2018),RIVERS OF NIHIL transcended all labels applied to them, and with its 2021 follow-up, “The Work”, they forged further into new territory with Metal Injection calling the latter album “the group’s most cohesive, ambitious, meditative, and varied effort, with greater uses of philosophical significance and transcendental respites.”
“Rivers Of Nihil” track listing:
01. The Sub-Orbital Blues
02. Dustman
03. Criminals
04. Despair Church
05. Water & Time
06. House Of Light
07. Evidence
08. American Death
09. The Logical End
10. Rivers Of Nihil
Later this month, RIVERS OF NIHIL will kick off their “Aggressive Progressive” European headlining tour with support from CYNIC, BEYOND CREATION and labelmates DÅÅTH. In May, the band will return to North American stages for another month-long headliner with support provided by HOLY FAWN, INTER ARMA and GLACIAL TOMB.
RIVERS OF NIHIL is:
Adam Biggs – bass guitar, vocals
Andy Thomas – guitar, vocals
Brody Uttley – guitar, piano, keys, programming
Jared Klein – drums, vocals
Photo credit: Mike Truehart