Rioghan – Kept
Rioghan – Kept
Inverse Records
Release Date: 14/02/25
Review by Beth Morait
10/10
Finnish Modern Progressive Metallers Rioghan are still relative youngsters to the scene, having been formed in 2019. Their unique blend of genres has already made them rising stars, though, and they’ve worked with some pretty notable names, including Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) and Einar Solberg (Leprous). Their sophomore album, “Kept”, promises “Modern Metal with a Progressive twist – ranging from Melodic Death Metal moments to floating Dark Pop elements, while ethereal Gothic darkness walks right beside you all the way.” That sounds absolutely my cup of tea! But does it deliver?
‘Dreams’ kicks off the album, and it’s a strong opener, leading off with samples and Bass, before launching into a great Modern Metal number with soaring choruses, and anthemic instrumentation.
Third track, ‘Skin’ is a beautiful, melancholic track, centred on understated instrumentation, and the haunting vocals of singer Rioghan Darcy. Beginning purely with low Bass and Rhythms that serve as a method for keeping the beat and complimenting Rioghan’s voice, the track slowly builds to the first chorus, then takes things back down for the verse, before erupting into a full-blown, fully orchestrated second chorus. Great track!
We get treated to the heavier side of Rioghan’s vocals during ‘Edge’ where she spends large parts of the track in Banshee- like screams. And despite the basis of the underlying instrumentation being the same, this track has a different feel because of the vocals, edging more towards Metalcore, but still with the Progressive time signatures, and chord progressions that the band use so well. There’s an epic Bass lick at the end of the track too – spikey and punchy, bringing things to a neat conclusion.
The album is a good mix of hard-hitting tracks, and more stripped-back laments that smash into life for the final section. The use of atmospherics, and the addition of more Death/ Black Metal vocal hooks in these tracks add to the almost ominous Gothic nature of things, giving an uneasy, foreboding edge to everything.
But there are interjections of sounds and techniques from mainstream genres, too, meaning that some of the tracks here could quite easily sneak into a mainstream charts without anyone noticing, but still appeal to the more Metal world simultaneously. And that’s a pretty hard thing to achieve. There are elements of traditional Folk music that drift in from time to time, as well, bringing yet another edge and influence to the sound.
Now, I guess I should probably mention the other musicians here too, seeing as how I’ve (yet again) mainly focused on vocals. The beauty in the instrumentation here is nothing is overcooked. It’s precise, and intricate, with all the awkward timings you’d expect in a Progressive album, but everything’s kept solid by the rhythm section, comprising of Antti Varjanne on Bass, and Valtteri Revonkorpi on Drums. Synth samples and Keys play another big part in both the Rhythm and melody section here, and Teemu Liekkala handles the dual duties of both Keys and Guitar extremely well. Completing the mix is guitarist Tero Luukkonen.
One thing this band have in bucket loads is a collective understanding of the importance of dynamics, and also the epic gravity held within the use of pauses, and silence, which makes the entire instrumentation of this record ingenious, delicate and poignant. It tantalises you with what’s to come, and makes you either draw breath sharply before the drop, or not breathe at all in the delicate stillness of the quieter sections. And with everything based in a minor key, the emotive tension that Rioghan manage to develop is next level. I set you a challenge to listen to the final track, ‘Grief’, and not feel emotional. And this is a perfect example of the top-tier skill of these musicians.
So, does it do what it says on the tin? To that, I can say a very strong ‘YES’! Sometimes we get press releases that are way off the mark when describing what you’ll hear on a record. But this one is absolutely correct. Rioghan are a very talented and versatile bunch of musicians and songwriters, and this is a very accomplished Modern Progressive album, that they should be extremely proud of. Production-wise, it’s meticulous and detailed, with everything absolutely bang on in the mix, at every single point of the album. It’s yet another album that I’m going to have to give 10/10 to this year, despite it not even being spring yet! There is literally nothing here that hasn’t been given full attention, or that isn’t quite on par. Great work! Check it out.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Dreams
02. Hands
03. Skin
04. Edge
05. Distance
06. Hopes
07. Motion
08. Here
09. Red
10. Grief
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