August 21, 2004 - Rishloo and Terras Fames

Four days after my last release a new band joins my library when Rishloo released their debut album "Terras Fames" on August 21, 2004. But who is Rishloo? They are a four-piece progressive rock band from Seattle, Washington consisting of lead singer Drew Mailloux, guitarist Dave Gillett, bassist Sean Rydquist and drummer Tyler (Tyler doesn't get a last name apparently, I can't find it anywhere!) Rishloo play a unique, alternative style of progressive rock that reminds me of A Pefect Circle. That's a good comparison for sure! Let's see what Rishloo is all about! 

The album kicks off with "Romance Of A Dead Kingdom" and Rydquist is playing some pretty cool bass, Gillett adds some light and slightly creepy guitar and Mailloux sings for the first time in his typical voice which is pretty high and he holds lots of long notes that hang nicely overtop this moody main riff. Once Tyler joins in with a solid drumbeat things sound pretty smooth and interesting as they roll right into a similar chorus. Eventually the guitar picks up for some Louder and more distorted stuff that sounds pretty sweet and Rydquist's bass is pretty awesome throughout the whole song. Mailloux gets louder as well and he sounds pretty good yelling overtop this headbanging new part. A pretty good way to introduce Rishloo to the world, a cool little opener for sure! Up next is "The Passage" and it's just a little interlude that is less than a minute long. It's got some trippy and interesting guitars in this short little song that connects us right to track 3 "Blitz" where they dive right into the first verse with Mailloux singing soft and high overtop some more interesting light guitar and some more cool bass by Rydquist. The chorus is pretty similar; it's also very smooth and solid bit with nothing jumping out too much, just comfortably treading between the waves. Gillett starts to solo lightly eventually and Mailloux continues to sing overtop as the solo gets better and better! Another pretty solid song! The next track is "Harlequin" and it starts very quiet with Gillett leading the way with some light guitar while Rydquist intermittently adds some simple bass. Once the drums and vocals come in we have a more complex and interesting main riff with some much better bass, some more smooth light guitar and some solid high singing by Mailloux. This song is nearly eight minutes long, but it's all very smooth the whole way through, even if once again nothing really jumps out from the main drag. Mailloux gives a bot more energy to his singing in the latter half, but it's still the same main riff that continues to carry us along. Track 5 is "Seven Rings Left" and it's got some dreamy and trippy guitar by Gillett, and a pretty cool rhythm section with some catchy drums by Tyler and some more pretty interesting bass by Rydquist. After a couple softer rounds and several minutes they take things up a notch with a heavier new riff that sounds pretty cool, still plenty smooth, and it definitely spices things up a bit with some nice guitar by Gillett. Mailloux holds some pretty long notes and stays high the whole time and there's some pretty cool drums and bass as well at times in the latter half! It's another pretty smooth and solid tune! Up next is "The Water Is Fine" and Tyler starts us off with a pretty cool drum beat before Gillett comes in with some solid guitar to lead the way. The bass and vocals then join to complete the main riff and things sound quite smooth (as always with these guys). The chorus gets a little louder with some more cool guitar and Mailloux sounds pretty good giving it a little extra in the chorus. Towards the end they turn it up a little more and it's a pretty cool heavier part with Mailloux sounding great until they slow it down for the finish. Track 7 is "Lovely Room" and it's got a stop-and-start opening riff with everyone sounding solid, but it's a pretty sweet guitar riff that drives things at first. They settle into a lighter and simpler main riff though that is still decent for sure, but it's a step down from what seemed like a really cool opening. Still a good song, but it might've been a great one! The next track is a mere 37 seconds long and it's called "Fenris". It's a very light Interlude with some acoustic guitar, but it doesn't connect in any way to the song before or after it, making it a very strange (and quite unnecessary) little song. Track 9 is "Narcissist Code" and it's got yet another light but creepy and cool main riff that perfectly fits their vibe, some solid drums by Tyler, and once it kicks in some pretty cool bass by Rydquist as well as everyone sounds smooth as usual. Mailloux sounds very silky smooth as he floats overtop the music to fit the mood perfectly. Then in the chorus Mailloux starts swearing and raising his voice (he sounds pretty great!) and the music shifts nicely to a heavy chorus riff that is also pretty cool! They don't stray from this main drag, but I would argue it's still one of the best songs on the album! Up next is "Illumination" and Gillett kicks right into a pretty cool guitar riff, then the rest of the band nicely falls in as we complete a pretty groovy, hard rock main riff! The chorus is more typical with a slower and slightly creepy riff and some more typical soft singing by Mailloux. After a couple rounds Mailloux quiets down to a whisper, before ramping back up to some long-held notes as they solidly close things out. Track 11 is the first half of the album name, "Terras" and it's a shorter song that has a bunch of incoherent whispering in the background and a pretty trippy and psychedelic main "riff" (if you could even call it that). Mailloux comes in to sing a super slow and long-held verse that matches the vibe pretty well. This leads perfectly into the final song on the album (and latter half of it's name) "Fames" where Rydquist joins in with some typical(ly cool) bass, Tyler joins on drums and we've finally reached the main riff after the long intro. It's a pretty smooth and solid riff that they jam out for a bit, then they do a wonderful job of slowly speeding things up until we've reached a faster pace new part that gets your head banging along with some solid drums. There's even a little guitar solo by Gillett and not only is it a pretty epic solo, but the bass is also pretty sweet! Mailloux sings a loud final verse, ending with a pretty long final note, but then it's back to the psychedelics of the previous song, then they end the album with 25 seconds or so of one of the album's previous riffs, but everything is in reverse! All the cymbal hits are Imploding and everything sounds super trippy and crazy! It's a very interesting way to close it out!

That is the end of "Terras Fames" and I thought it was a solid debut album by Rishloo. These guys have found their style and they don't really try to wow you with anything too fast or technical, but they are really good at this lighter style of progressive rock, with flashes of cool heavy parts as well. Aside from the two shorter songs I thought everything else was pretty cool and very smooth and I look forward to hearing where Rishloo go from here!