Rivers Of Nihil Flow Hit Bristol’s Fleece with Cynic, Beyond Creation & Daath [Photos]

Featuring a stacked line-up of artists, the aptly named “Aggressive Progressive Tour” rolled through Bristol’s Fleece on Thursday 6th March, with headliners Rivers of Nihil bringing with them a range of artists from tech-death Beyond Creation through to prog metal OGs Cynic.

Opening the show are Daath; a band who spent a period of quiet – with last year’s The Deceivers releasing 14 years after their prior album – yet who are now back with a bang. The room fills during their set with those in attendance appreciating the mix of faster technical sections with simpler caveman riffs designed to make you bang your head so severely at the risk of detaching it from your body. It’s an extremely tight performance in a set wrapped up before 7 PM; a high bar set for the bands following this evening.

If extreme tightness and technicality were the benchmarks to exceed, then Beyond Creation pick up where Daath left off and elevate the latter to nigh-on unbelievable levels. There are moments in the set where guitarists Simon Girard and Kevin Chartré and bassist Hugo Doyon-Karout push the limits of what can be done with their instruments, all in perfect sync and blending progressive passages with breakneck speed – speaking of speed, a special mention also to Clement Denys on drums who’s on tour with Beyond Creation for the first time and both doesn’t miss a beat and melts faces with his drumming alone. A band who shine on record, but to witness their performance live is truly the way to experience their intensity.

Progressive metal legends Cynic take up the main support slot and, when compared to the previous two bands, whose music grabs you by the scruff of your neck and demands you engage, provide a much more introspective affair. Despite this, the room feels at its most full as many surge forward to absorb the full performance despite more parts being instrumental than intended – Paul Masvidal is sadly suffering with his throat tonight but still hits the main beats in classic tracks like “Evolutionary Sleeper.” A comparable moment of calm ahead of the evening’s headliners.

Entering and kicking swiftly into “The Sub-Orbital Blues,” Rivers of Nihil waste no time in demonstrating why, even amongst some superb artists, they deserve to be sat at the top of the bill of a tour such as this. Their set is saxophone heavy this evening, and the first appearance of Patrick Corona on stage with the instrument brings a mighty cheer that’s repeated each time he struts out, ready to storm each passage he plays.

The clean vocals of Andy Thomas on guitar add so much to the band ever since his guesting and stand-in days, and now, as an official member writing, with the vocal interplay with Jared Klein on drums (an unbelievable feat given his technicality on the kit whilst singing, too) and Adam Biggs on bass in mind brings out an even greater quality and hook to their choruses – none more so than in recent single “House of Light.”

Newer tracks sit comfortably side by side with those from Where Owls Know My Name (2018, which makes up nearly half the set; probably more than time-wise) and The Work (2021), building anticipation for their forthcoming self-titled release on May 30th. The crowd haven’t let up in their enthusiasm as their set closes with a (let’s be honest – almost certainly pre-planned) encore consisting of an emphatic performance of “Clean,” and the tour rolls on to take over more of the UK and Europe over the following weeks.

Rivers of Nihil’s Setlist:

1. The Sub-Orbital Blues
2. The Silent Life
3. Hellbirds
4. A Home
5. Subtle Change (Including the Forest of Transition and Dissatisfaction Dance)
6. Criminals
7. House of Light
8. Death Is Real
9. Episode
10. Where Owls Know My Name
11. Clean

Rivers of Nihil (w/ Cynic, Beyond Creation, Daath) @ The Fleece (Bristol, UK) on March 6th, 2025

38 photos