Rivers of Nihil

April 20, 2023 Audiotree

A now 4-piece band hailing from Pennsylvania, Rivers has been the musical project of guitarist, Brody Uttley, and vocalist/bassist, Adam Biggs, for over a decade. And this far in, everything to do with texture, tonality, instrumentation, lyricism, and composition are open to interpretation without limitation. Arrays of sample placements, strange synthesis, and a saxophone, are just a few of the elements that make up their unique sound.

Unbeknownst to the Audiotree team, this would be one of their last performances with their now ex-vocalist, Jake Dieffenbach. Uttley explains, “We’ve been big fans of the Audiotree catalog for many years now. 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 morning of the filming of this session, the band had come off of driving through the night, while also placing themselves in a position to still make their soundcheck that evening. Fatigued, but determined, the band poured everything they had into this performance. “This is the most accurate picture of our band working ourselves to the bone,” Uttley says. “A lot of what is said in this piece still applies to where things are going, but this video definitely captures the essence of where the band was in late September of 2022.”

When speaking about music, it’s clear this band lives and breathes creativity, in whatever form it comes. Their outside-the-box approach to an already saturated genre is proof of this, and their passion when it comes to performance embodies it. And perhaps most impressive was how they carried themselves. Humble, calm, and gentle, Rivers of Nihil brings an edge of gratitude to death metal.