BETWEEN RIVERS – Freedom Denied Visualizer Introduces Debut Mini Album Form Without Soul

BETWEEN RIVERS has presented a visualizer for "Freedom Denied," the first offering from its debut mini album, Form Without Soul. The Stockholm-based solo project of Italian multi-instrumentalist Emanuele Viali has announced an independent release date of March 26, 2027, for the seven-track record.

Viali describes the song as a concentrated expression of the album's heavier side: "It is probably the most aggressive track on the album, built to feel like a short burst of pressure rather than a long progressive construction." The announcement places BETWEEN RIVERS within progressive metal, incorporating thrash and death-metal elements alongside melody and drama.

The song's subject is the distance between personal freedom as an ideal and the restrictions of everyday life. Viali explains: "The song is about the contradiction between the idea of personal freedom and the reality of living inside systems that constantly restrict it. We are told that we are free, but every movement, choice, and basic need seems to come with a cost."

He also connects that subject to privacy: "That sense of restriction also extends to the lack of privacy in contemporary life. The modern lifestyle often demands that we remain visible, trackable, and economically useful at all times."

Viali wrote and produced Form Without Soul, performing all instruments apart from vocals and selected guest guitar solos. Recording, mixing and mastering were handled by Viali and Dmitry at Ozone Hole Studios.

Vladimir Lalic of ORGANIZED CHAOS is credited with vocal performance, vocal arrangement and lyrics on all tracks except "Brightest Eyes," whose lyrics were written by Viali. Francesco Domenichetti contributed guitar solos to "Silicon Paradise" and "Insides," while Fabrizio Milo performed the solo on "Brightest Eyes." Niklas Sundin, formerly of DARK TRANQUILLITY, created the cover art.

Originally from Terni, Italy, Viali holds a degree in jazz bass and also plays guitar and keyboards, programs virtual instruments, and works professionally with music and sound for video games. Before establishing BETWEEN RIVERS, he played in the folk metal band BLODIGA SKALD.

The supplied biography names AYREON, DEVIN TOWNSEND, DEATH, NEVERMORE and GENESIS among the project's influences. It also cites 1990s Disney film music and Italian songwriters Fabrizio De André, Franco Battiato and Giorgio Gaber, alongside progressive metal and death/thrash metal.

Form Without Soul contains the following tracks:

1. Silicon Paradise
2. Freedom Denied
3. Insides
4. Chroma Veil
5. Brightest Eyes
6. Choices
7. Thing Beyond Things (Devin Townsend cover)

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