Rivers of Nihil is an American

technical death metal Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of death metal that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Techni ...

band from

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...

. They are currently signed to

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

. To date the band has released two EPs and four

studio albums An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

. Their most recent release is 2021's '' The Work''. Their 2018 album ''

Where Owls Know My Name ''Where Owls Know My Name'' is the third studio album by American death metal band Rivers of Nihil. The album was released on March 16, 2018 through Metal Blade Records and was the band's first effort to chart on the ''Billboard'' Top Sales cha ...

'' debuted at number 61 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 2,750 copies in its first week.

History

Rivers of Nihil was formed in 2009. They recorded their first EP ''Hierarchy'' later that year with

Century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

vocalist Carson Slovak, who produced numerous works by other bands such as

August Burns Red August Burns Red is an American metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. The band's current lineup consists of lead guitarist John Benjamin "JB" Brubaker, rhythm guitarist Brent Rambler, drummer Matt Greiner, lead vocalist Ja ...

Texas in July Texas in July was an American metalcore band from Ephrata, Pennsylvania, formed in 2007. They released an EP, ''Salt of the Earth'', and their debut full-length album, ''I Am'', through CI Records. After signing with Equal Vision Records, they ...

, and

Black Crown Initiate Black Crown Initiate is an American extreme metal band from Reading, Pennsylvania, United States, currently signed to Century Media. The band formed in 2012 and self-released their first EP '' Song of the Crippled Bull'', which was met with pos ...

(Slovak would later work with the bands on their second and third studio albums, adding writing credits to "Terrestria III: Wither" on ''Where Owls Know My Name''). During this period the band opened shows for bands such as

Decapitated Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

, Decrepit Birth,

Suffocation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...

Dying Fetus Dying Fetus is an American death metal band originally from Greater Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Formed in 1991, the group is known for their consistently hook-laden song structures, characterized by blast beats, complex riffing, slam riffs and ...

, and Misery Index. In 2011, the band worked with producer Len Carmichael to record their second EP ''Temporality Unbound''. The album would spawn a music video for the song “(sin)Chronos". In February 2012,

MetalSucks MetalSucks is a heavy metal music-themed news website. The site features reviews, interviews, information on latest metal releases and blog-like posts from the writers, most notably Vince Neilstein and Axl Rosenberg. History The site was foun ...

referred to Rivers of Nihil as the "best new Death metal band you'll hear this year". On December 10, 2012,

announced that they had signed Rivers of Nihil to a record deal, and released a demo for the song "Rain Eater". The label also announced that the band would be working with

Erik Rutan Erik Rutan (born June 10, 1971) is an American heavy metal musician and producer from New Jersey. He is the guitarist and lead vocalist of death metal band Hate Eternal and lead guitarist for Cannibal Corpse, who he fully joined in 2021 after ...

Hate Eternal Hate Eternal is a death metal band from St. Petersburg, Florida. The band currently consists of founding guitarist/vocalist Erik Rutan and bassist J. J. Hrubovcak. To date, Hate Eternal has released seven studio albums: ''Conquering the Throne' ...

and

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling ...

to record their first

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

at Mana Recording Studios in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. The band released the album in the United States on October 15, 2013. The album artwork was created by

Dan Seagrave Daniel Seagrave (born 1970) is a British artist, who created many record covers for death metal bands especially in the early 1990s. He lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He grew up in Ravenshead, near Nottingham. Seagrave's works are typically ...

, who would handle the artwork on the band's next two albums as well. Rivers of Nihil returned to Atrium studios to work again with Slovak on their second full-length studio album, ''

Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

'', which was released on August 21, 2015. The album sold 1,175 copies in its first week. On August 17, 2015, the band made ''Monarchy'' available for streaming in full. On September 7, 2017, the band announced via their Facebook account that they had returned to the studio, once again working at Atrium Audio, and working again with audio engineers Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland. The band recruited The Kennedy Veil's live drummer Jared Klein to track drums. On March 16, 2018, the band released ''

'' as well as a music video for the song "A Home". Metal Injection gave the album a perfect 10/10 score. On September 24, 2021, the band released their fourth album, titled '' The Work''. It was elected by ''

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...

'' as the 22nd best rock/metal album of 2021. Topore left the band in 2022. On October 20, 2022, the band announced that they had parted ways with lead singer Jake Dieffenbach.

Members

Current members

*Brody Uttley – lead guitar (2009–present), keyboards, programming (2017–present) *Adam Biggs – bass (2009–present), lead vocals (2022–present), backing/additional vocals (2009–2022) *Jared Klein – drums, backing vocals (2017–present)

Current live members

Andy Thomas Andrew "Andy" Sydney Withiel Thomas, AO (born 18 December 1951) is an Australian and American aerospace engineer and a former NASA astronaut. He has dual nationality; he became a U.S. citizen in December 1986, hoping to gain entry to NASA's a ...

– rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2022–present)

Former members

*Jake Dieffenbach – lead vocals (2009–2022) *Jon Kunz – rhythm guitar (2009–2014) *Ron Nelson – drums (2009–2014) *Alan Balamut – drums (2014–2016) *Jon Topore – rhythm guitar (2014–2022) *Dylan Potts – drums (2015–2017) Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

References

{{Authority control 2009 establishments in Pennsylvania American progressive metal musical groups American technical death metal musical groups American death metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Pennsylvania Metal Blade Records artists Musical quartets