RIVERSIDE’s Mariusz Duda checked in with the following comment about the album’s overall concept: “I'd been thinking about exploring "post-apocalyptic" regions for a long time. I read books, watched films, played video games, all connected by stories about an attempt to survive in a world that had just ended. But writing such a story myself didn't make much sense until now. RIVERSIDE are starting a new chapter and after our recent experiences, a story like that has gained more meaning.
"Wasteland" is mostly about what's happening in the world these days but it also makes a reference to the tragedy that befell the band in 2016.
Musically, we've returned to darker sounds but we have also turned a new page and recorded the album in a different style. It's still RIVERSIDE but expressed in a much deeper and more mature way. Most artists say the same thing while promoting their new releases: that they have just created their best work to date. I won't say that because everything we have done so far has been consistently very good and unique. But I will say that we have never had such an incredible emotional load on any of our previous releases, and it's not likely that we will ever make such a charged album again. "Wasteland" is an epic, multidimensional, poetic and very deep album. Perhaps of the once in a lifetime kind.”
RIVERSIDE’s “Wasteland” marks the first studio album effort with newly composed music after the tragic passing of founding member and guitarist Piotr Grudziński on February 21st, 2016.