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Kriver: Foresight (EP)

Progressive Metal

3.0/5.0

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Unsigned / Self-released
Words: Craig Hartranft    Added: 06.08.2014

South America has always had a strong heavy metal presence, particularly in it's largest country, Brazil. Kriver is another aspiring band, offering progressive metal. Over the last several years, the band has chosen to purse shorter EPs rather than full-length albums. Foresight is their third and latest EP.

Kriver: spread out.

For their progressive metal, Kriver injects elements of thrash and power, but also a strong symphonic current. The riffs are sharp, and the guitar solos featured in most every song smart and often blistering. The strongest songs, Scion's Resolve and Ghosts Should Not Care, are those that at more complex in instrumentation and arrangement. The latter, for instance, bumps up the symphonic layer, but also adds a prominent piano line. Of the other songs, Our Silent Borders finds Kriver going something shorter, more accessible, in a context of a more thrashy power metal. Before this, Throes of the Wonder is largely a symphonic instrumental prelude.

The suspicious element of Kriver is the vocals and vocal arrangements of Rafael Gorga. He's a capable singer, with some range. By range, I don't mean necessarily the vocal register, but different voices to his singing. Not the least of which is his willingness to add death/black vocals to Scion's Resolve and Our Silent Borders which, in turn, diminish the value of the songs. Frankly, I don't see the point or need for them. I also got the feeling, with the variety of voices he used, that Gorga was either unsure of how he wanted to sing or was simply proving that he could do different sounds, showing off as it were. Whatever. Nevertheless, if you allow the vocals to pass to the back of your mind while listening, you'll likely find some interest in Kriver's progressive metal.

Kriver - Foresight EP

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On their latest EP, Kriver offers some traditional progressive metal, with a significant symphonic layer, and then compromised by death/black vocals.

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The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]