Show review by listener August Fuhrman

First, this is only a review for the Rivers set. I’m not too familiar with the other acts- Rotten Sound, Ringworm, and Darkest Hour. So I didn’t think I could give them a decent review.

Now onto it. Rivers was the first act to play and their set was about 30 minutes. For those not familiar, Rivers of Nihil (pronounced “Nile”) can be defined as a technical death band. The other acts on the bill are considered grindcore and metalcore by most. So I thought their place on this tour was odd. With only about a dozen people with me near the stage, they opened with “Perpetual Growth Machine”. By mid-song the floor was filling fast and horns and fists were flyin high.

So, as I said, this is a tech-death band and technical skills were on full display. Brodey’s guitar skill was crazy fucking good. At one point I think I saw smoke coming from the fretboard. Adam’s bass playing was beyond anything I’ve seen at a metal show. This guy shreds. I played bass in high school. Well, I owned one and recently thought of picking it up again. After seeing this guy play it’s like “what’s the fucking point?”.

Rivers continued on to play the high notes from their two LP’s. I don’t have the full list, but the ones I remember are Monarchy, Sand Baptism, Rain Eater, and closing with my personal favorite- Soil and Seed. Sand Baptism was the definite highlight of their set. The crowd was at their most rowdy and Jake gave the mic up to a few fans during the chorus.

Rivers of Nihil did not disappoint. Spoke with Brodey for a quick moment and he stated that this band at the present has only been together for about four years. They play like they’ve been together for much longer. And the guys couldn’t be more chill or more fan-friendly. Definitely spend some of your hard earned cash to catch Rivers if they play in your city.

Date:   2/27/17

Venue: The Riot Room in Kansas MO

Review written by listener August Furhman