Pennsylvania progressive death metal band Rivers of Nihil had quite a year in 2022. After the release of their fourth album “The Work” towards the end of 2021, the group spent the majority of their time burning the candle at both ends with a frenzied tour schedule including headline runs of the U.S. and Europe and in support of The Contortionist, but once the latter tour wrapped up, they were short a band member.
For personal reasons, founding member and lead vocalist Jake Dieffenbach and the band went their separate ways. The split took place just three days after the recording of a live video and audio session for Audiotree‘s new “From Nothing” series. And while initially the band wasn’t sure how to approach the release with the departure of a founding member and lead singer – or whether to release it at all – they decided to move forward with it to honor Dieffenbach‘s contributions to the group over the years and mark the beginning of a new chapter.
So, for Audiotree‘s second installment of ‘“From Nothing”, presented to you is the end of an era and the beginning of something new for Rivers of Nihil. The session features live performances and interviews diving into the band’s creative process and recent work. Check it out now HERE! See below for a message from the band.
Guitarist Brody Uttley comments; “We’ve been big fans of the Audiotree catalog for many years now, so when Austin from Audiotree asked us if we’d be interested in being part of a new series they were doing we said ‘yes’ immediately.
Additionally, you will notice that Jake is performing with us. This shoot took place just a few days before our split with him as our vocalist, so rather than burying this project (since we are now no longer working together), we decided to release it as a finale to the chapter of the band that he spent with us.
The time when this was filmed was one of the most strenuous in our band, both from a personal standpoint and simply because we were playing SO many shows at that time nonstop. The morning that we filmed the Audiotree piece we had driven through the night from the previous gig to arrive in Chicago early enough to film with Audiotree in the morning AND still make it to our show later that day with The Contortionist.
This is the most accurate picture of our band working ourselves to the bone. A lot of what is said in the documentary still applies to where things are going, but this video definitely captures the essence of where the band was at, in late September of 2022.
Finally, we just wrapped up a recording session that birthed a ton a new music that you will be hearing much sooner than you think, featuring our previous bassist/backup vocalist Adam Biggs as the new lead vocalist (and bassist) as well as Andy Thomas‘ first appearance on record with us as a member of Rivers of Nihil. We will be continuing as a four piece and we simply cannot wait to show you what this sounds like.”
Catch Rivers of Nihil live this summer when they hit the road with Between the Buried and Me and Thank You Scientist. Tour kicks off on June 16th in Charleston, SC at Music Farm and wraps up on July 31 in Winston-Salem, NC at The Ramkat. Tour dates below.
“We’re super honored and excited to be a part of the upcoming Parallax II 10th Anniversary Tour. BTBAM are one of my all-time favorite bands so you know the Rivers boys and I will be bringing our A-game and a set-list full of our best material (maybe even some new stuff!). We’re also stoked to share the stage with the uber-talented Thank You Scientist, so I think it’s safe to say this will easily be one of the best prog-metal shows of the year, so don’t miss out!” Adam Biggs (vocals/bass)
The Parallax II: Future Sequence Tour dates:
Jun. 16 – Charleston, SC – Music Farm
Jun. 17 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
Jun. 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Brooklyn Bowl
Jun. 20 – New York City, NY – Irving Plaza
Jun. 21 – Albany, NY – Empire Live
Jun. 23 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
Jun. 24 – Montreal, QC – Club Soda
Jun. 25 – Toronto, ONT – Danforth Music Hall
Jun. 27 – Millvale, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre
Jun. 28 – Detroit, MI – The Majestic
Jun. 29 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
Jun. 30 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Jul. 01 – Minneapolis, MN – Lyric at Skyway Theatre
Jul. 02 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman
Jul. 03 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
Jul. 05 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
Jul. 07 – Calgary, AB – MacEwan Hall
Jul. 08 – Edmonton, AB – Union Hall
Jul. 10 – Vancouver, BC – The Vogue Theatre
Jul. 11 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
Jul. 12 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre
Jul. 13 – Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades
Jul. 15 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
Jul. 16 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory
Jul. 17 – Mesa, AZ – The Nile Theatre
Jul. 20 – San Antonio, TX – Vibes Event Center
Jul. 21 – Dallas, TX – The Factory
Jul. 22 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
Jul. 23 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
Jul. 25 – St. Louis, MO – Red Flag
Jul. 26 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl
Jul. 28 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live
Jul. 29 – Orlando, FL – The Beacham
Jul. 30 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
Jul. 31 – Winston-Salem, NC – The Ramkat
