Band Line Up 2025
Rivers of Nihil have never fit neatly into a box, but with 2018’s Where Owls Know My Name, they transcended all labels applied to them. Returning in 2021 with The Work, they forged further into new territory, once again upending any expectations fans had placed on them. And now, with a new series of singles recorded in early 2023 that will be released in the coming months and eventually appear together on an album, the band has once again shattered the ceiling of how far they are willing to go in search of new sonic terrain.
The Reading, Pennsylvania-based progressive death metalers spent 2021 and 2022 burning the candle at both ends with a frenzied tour schedule including headline runs of the U.S. and Europe, a jaunt on the European festival circuit and two runs in support of The Black Dahlia Murder and The Contortionist in North America. But once the latter tour wrapped up, they were short a band member.
For personal reasons, founding member and lead vocalist Jake Dieffenbach and the band went their separate ways. The split took place just three days after the recording of a live video and audio session for Audiotree’s new 'From Nothing' series, which was released on April 20, 2023. And while initially the band wasn't sure how to approach the release with the departure of a founding member and lead singer — or whether to release it at all — they decided to move forward with it to honor Dieffenbach's contributions to the group over the years and mark the beginning of a new chapter.
In March 2023, Rivers of Nihil wrapped up a recording session that saw the now four-piece band birth a considerable amount of new music featuring their previous bassist/backup vocalist Adam Biggs as the new lead vocalist/bassist. This recording session also marked the first appearance of new guitarist Andy Thomas (ex-Black Crown Initiate), whose vocals also play prominently in the music, as a member of Rivers of Nihil. These new singles are the first to showcase the band’s new lineup in full-on collaboration, and demonstrates that while this is a new, brave sound with tons of potential, it also carries the band's classic energy.
Released across all digital platforms on June 15, “The Sub-Orbital Blues,” the first single from those sessions, is about the dichotomy of living in a 21st century society rife with scientific and technological advancements such as artificial intelligence and ever more sophisticated space travel, while also dealing with the increasing threat of old world problems like out of control governments and the looming threat of world war.
The remaining three singles from the April 2023 recording session will be released leading up to the release of the band’s next full-length studio album, which the band is eager to begin work on.
