Single Slam – Old Friends by Riverman (Something This Way Comes)

Here is a bit of new music from a brand new band for you. Riverman hail from Finland, the land that just keeps giving when it comes to rock and metal. They aim to add to the mix with a fresh and folkish take on dark rock.

Riverman are a three piece. We have Heidi Wahl on vocals and keys, Jesse Jukuri on guitars and backing vocals and Jan Jokinen on cello and backing vocals. So without even hearing a note yet, I have to admit I am already excited. I like folk tinted music a lot. I see the band are bringing instruments like cellos into the mix. Even the fact that they hail from Finland, the land that has given us bands like Nightwish, Amorphis, Apocalyptica, Children for Bodom, Wintersun, Turisas and Korpiklaani to name but a few, excites me. New folk rock from Finland. Yes please.

So Old Friends is more of a promotional track, recorded during studio rehearsals in late 2017/early 2018. It is a beautiful track, full of passion and emotion. A gentle keys intro sets us off before guitars join in with drawn out notes. The female vocals join a gentle drum beat and the keys melody. Heidi Wahl has a beautiful voice, sounding classically trained and a little like Tarja Turunen (ex Nightwish).

The cellos add a whole new layer of depth throughout the gorgeous chorus and instrumental that follows. As the instrumental raises it’s intensity while staying beautifully melodic, aggressive and powerful harsh vocals permeate the cloud in the background forming a mightily impressive sound. The clean and passionate vocals come in fro a final short section to end the song.

Old Friends is a really passionate and beautiful piece. It is meticulously crafted with multiple musical layers and intricate, perfectly placed melody. The vocals are perfect, with the added harsh vocals a nice treat near the end. Beautiful is probably the word to best describe Old Friends but beauty with a touch of sadness. Check it out below.

There isn’t a website or anything I can direct you to just yet but you can check them out on YouTube here. Keep an eye on their YouTube channel by hitting that subscribe button. The band will be posting more and more stuff on there soon. Do your bit to help them out by sharing their YouTube page and this article.