Rivers of Nihil (album)
| Rivers of Nihil | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 30, 2025 | |||
| Recorded | March 2023 - April 2024 | |||
| Studio | Atrium Audio | |||
| Genre | Progressive death metal[1] | |||
| Label | Metal Blade | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Rivers of Nihil chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Rivers of Nihil | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Blabbermouth | [2] |
Rivers of Nihil is the fifth studio album by American technical death metal band Rivers of Nihil. The album was released on May 30, 2025 via Metal Blade Records.[3] It is the band's first album without founding member and vocalist Jake Dieffenbach, and the first to feature Andy Thomas.[3] Commercially, the album is the band's most successful to date, debuting on multiple charts, debuting at #2 position on the Current Hard Music Albums chart, #7 on the Current Rock Albums chart, #7 on the Independent Label Albums chart.[3][4]
Background
In April of 2022, the band announced that guitarist Jonathan Topore would be leaving the band, and that Black Crown Initiate guitarist Andy Thomas would be replacing him.[5]
In October of 2022, the band announced that they had parted ways with founding member and vocalist Jake Dieffenbach, and that Adam Biggs would be handling vocal duties on upcoming tours.[6]
In March of 2023, the band announced via social media that they were in the studio recording their fifth full-length album.[7]
On June 15, 2023, the band released its first piece of new music featuring their new members, "The Sub Orbital Blues," with an accompanying music video.[8] The single was engineered, mixed, and mastered by Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland of Atrium Audio, with additional engineering by guitarist Brody Uttley.[8] The band entered the studio again in April of 2024 to record additional material.[9] On April 29, the band released the single "Criminals" with an accompanying music video.[10] The single was recorded during their March 2023 recording session.[10]
In February of 2025, the band shared that their self-titled fifth LP would be released on May 30, and that the album's first single, "House of Light" would debut on February 6.[1] On March 12, the band debuted the single "American Death" with an accompanying music video,[11] and on April 17 the band debuted the single "Water & Time" with an accompanying video.[12] The band shared a guitar play-through of the track "Dustman" on June 10.[13]
Critical reception
Rivers of Nihil was the band's highest-debuting album to date, appearing on a number of charts and recording over 2.8 million streams on Spotify in its first week.[3]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Adam Biggs; all music is composed by Brody Uttley, with additional co-writers listed.
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Sub-Orbital Blues" |
| 4:18 |
| 2. | "Dustman" | 4:33 | |
| 3. | "Criminals" | Thomas | 4:32 |
| 4. | "Despair Church" | Thomas | 6:30 |
| 5. | "Water & Time" | 5:24 | |
| 6. | "House of Light" | Thomas | 5:49 |
| 7. | "Evidence" | 4:22 | |
| 8. | "American Death" | 5:23 | |
| 9. | "The Logical End" | 6:07 | |
| 10. | "Rivers of Nihil" | 3:16 |
Charts
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| Current Hard Music Albums | 2 |
| Current Rock Albums | 7 |
| Independent Label Albums | 7 |
| Current Digital Albums | 9 |
| Current Album Sales | 23 |
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| Hard Music Albums | 1 |
| Current Digital Albums | 7 |
| Top Current Albums | 8 |
| LP Vinyl Sales | 23 |
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| Official Top 100 Albums DE weekly | 60 |
| Official Top 100 Albums Downloaded DE weekly | 21 |
| Official Top 100 Albums Midweek DE weekly | 22 |
| iTunes Top 10 Albums AT daily | 9 |
| iTunes Top 100 Albums DE daily | 33 |
| Official Top 100 Albums CH weekly | 87 |
| Official Top 20 Rock/Metal Albums DE weekly | 12 |
| Official Top 75 Albums AT weekly | 44 |
Personnel
- Rivers of Nihil[14]
- Adam Biggs – vocals, bass
- Andy Thomas – guitar, vocals
- Brody Uttley – guitar, piano, keyboards, programming, additional mixing, additional engineering
- Jared Klein – drums, vocals
- Additional personnel
- Patrick Corona – alto saxophone (1, 4, 5, 6, 9)
- Stephan Lopez – banjo (3, 10), backing vocals (7)
- Grant McFarland – cello (4, 6)
- Ben Umanov, Brian Miler, Mike Manley, Nick Shaw – backing vocals (7)
- Dan Seagrave – cover art[15]
- Carson Slovak, Grant McFarland – recording, engineering, mixing, production, mastering
- Nick Loiacono – additional engineering
References
- ^ a b "RIVERS OF NIHIL to release new self-titled album in May". Lambgoat. February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "Rivers Of Nihil". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. May 27, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Rivers of Nihil: Self-Titled Fifth Full-Length Tops Billboard Charts Upon Its First Week of Release". Metal Blade Records. June 15, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "RIVERS ON NIHIL reach highest selling and streaming debut following release of self-titled album". Lambgoat. June 16, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "RIVERS OF NIHIL Part Ways with Guitarist Jonathan Topore". Lambgoat. April 27, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "RIVERS OF NIHIL part ways with founding member and vocalist Jake Dieffenbach". Lambgoat. October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "RIVERS OF NIHIL enter studio to begin LP5". Lambgoat. March 9, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ a b "RIVERS OF NIHIL release new single "The Sub-Orbital Blues", share music video". Lambgoat. June 15, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "RIVERS OF NIHIL have entered the recording studio". Lambgoat. April 20, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ a b "RIVER OF NIHIL premiere new single "Criminals" along with official music video". Lambgoat. April 29, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "RIVERS OF NIHIL release new single "American Death" and music video". Lambgoat. March 12, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "RIVERS OF NIHIL premiere new single "Water & Time" and official music video". Lambgoat. April 17, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "RIVERS OF NIHIL guitarist Brody Uttley share's "Dustman" guitar playthrough video". Lambgoat. June 10, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "Rivers of Nihil". Metal Blade Records. June 15, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ^ "Rivers Of Nihil Share Cover Art And Track Listing For Their New Self-Titled Album". Theprp.com. February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.