Rivers Of Nihil might not be the most mainstream rock band I’ve ever interviewed but they are one of my all time favorite metal bands. From their insane first album The Conscious Seed Of Light to the genre defining Where Owls Know My Name (my all time favorite green album) to the latest self titled Rivers Of Nihil this band has transcended what metal music can be. They were the first metal band I had heard that used saxophones. Their first 4 albums are thematically tied to the seasons, The Conscious Seed Of Light being spring, Monarchy being summer, Where Owls Know My Name being fall and The Work (a fair stretch but the imagery of the album is very much so) winter. Where do you go from there? What happens when your lead singer leaves midway through a tour? I sit down with the newest member of the band and former guitarist/vocalist for the Black Crown Initiate Andy Thomas to figure that all out.
We talk about the song ‘Water & Time’ and Andy had this to say.
‘I remember I was sort of like “I don’t know man, it’s pretty simple, it could probably use more chords or something.” And he [Brody] was kind of like “Nope. Shut up dude.” (He didn’t tell me to shut up) I kind of let it go and the more I got used to the song…You know because it didn’t have vocals yet and that was a big lesson for me on that…a lot times when you add the vocals the song takes on a totally different life, which it did. I played the guitar solo on it, that was my second solo for Rivers, which is cool because no one besides Brody has ever played guitar solos in Rivers, and once the song was done it’s one of my favorites.’
Lyrics are a huge part in the Rivers of Nihil musical approach. Their bassist/main vocalist Andrew Biggs is the guy that has written all of the lyrics for the band and to hear how much of a fan Andy has been since before joining the band and how that impacts his singing approach for the band.
‘I have been a fan of Rivers since day one as well, so the music throughout their career is very near and dear to me. So it’s not hard to derive meaning from it or to feel emotions from it. But it also helps that Biggs is one of my favorite lyricists. He comes in with those lyrics and it’s like “Holy shit, that’s beautiful!”…His favorite guy is Roger Waters and I think that, not that I would put any of us on the level of a Pink Floyd or Roger Waters but his style is very reminiscent of that to me. That’s how I can deliver them well is that I care about them.’
Most of the albums Rivers of Nihil have released have a singular philosophical theme that comes back around or orbits as you go through the tracks. Andy explains what the theme of Rivers Of Nihil is.
‘I think overarching theme is probably to choose light in your life instead of darkness…In the metal scene…there’s a prevailing darkness and a preoccupation with it, almost a glorification of it. And we’re saying…choose the things in life that are beautiful instead of ugly.’
We talk about themes in the world of heavy music beyond his own band.
‘It feels really juvenile to walk around being like “Hail Satan ahhhh”…there’s a lot more than that.’
We talk about how he brought the riff for ‘Sub-Orbital Blues’ and also craft beer because obviously. What’s his brew of choice? Belgium Trappist beers, Tripels, Quads and West Coast IPA’s. What’s he not a fan of? Hazy’s. Don’t worry we planned a brewery trip for whenever they come to Green Bay.
[Spotify: Decker] [YouTube: Rivers Of Nihil] [YouTube: Century Media Records] [Loudwire]
