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PSYCHOTROPIC ZONE, Finland
"The World's Alive might just be Nick Riff's best album to date. The CD does include many really excellent tracks and the sound quality is top-notch. The playing is very fluent and Nick's solos are manna for the ears. The lyrics are guaranteed mind-expanding stuff and communication with the extra-terrestrial intelligences. The musical style varies a bit in between the tracks being somewhere in the middle of space rock, psychedelic pop and picturesque improvisation. The whole album is pretty hallucinatory stuff, without forgetting the musical values. The World's Alive is absolutely one of the best albums I've heard this year so I can warmly recommend it to all those into psychedelic rock."
AURAL INNOVATIONS, USA
""The Hidden Path" kicks off the set, an intense rocking intro piece with chants, looped liquid guitar, and all around psychedelic swirl that builds momentum. This leads into "Calling You", a heavy spaced out psych rocker with wailing trip guitar licks and blasts of alien electronics. It's got a relentlessly pounding stoner-garage beat and I really dig the mixture of crashing guitar chords and tasty solo bits. "Into It" is an outstanding psych rocker and damn good song and features more luscious freak guitar and synth bits. "The World's Alive" is another excellent rocker with a pop-psych edge and a great 60s feel, both musically and lyrically. On "Hovering Just Overhead" we get deep into garage rocking SPACE. "Same Thing Twice" is an acidic space rocker with song elements and lots of totally stoned jamming. "Pre-Millennium Transmissions" features 9 minutes of pure instrumental space exploration. Great drumming really adds oomph and direction to this effects fest. And "Dream" is a peaceful, seductive, melodic psychedelic space rock song that's ends the album on a meditative note. Highly recommended!"
MARKOS GARAGE GIG, USA
"Nick Riff has drifted into the realm of Hawkwind and other space ritualists, but with a PUNCH. This is truly original music, no copy of any particular band style. It is genuine and fresh for the ages overwhelmed by wimpy power pop, and fake metal bands."
ROCK & ROLL REPORT, USA
"The World's Alive is a release that features a musical mixture that you don't find everywhere: part of the music is psychedelic in nature, and part of the music has a very spaced out feel to it. Although that might seem like a very unusual combination, with the meaning behind the lyrics to Riff's songs, the combination works in a way that seems very natural. The World's Alive by Nick Riff's Freak Element features the right amount of psychedelic rock and extra-terrestrial elements to create a unique listening experience. If you're up for something that's a little "out of this world," take a chance with this 2008 release."
PSYCHEDELIC CENTRAL, USA
"Although the sound is what one would call psychedelic, it also encompasses space rock too, which is in essence of a similar nature, along with some interesting eastern or middle eastern overtones here and there.If you are intrigued by the thought of the psyche genre, but get put off by the ' flowers and lollipops' aspect of some of it then this album is for you, as the aforementioned has been traded for 'muscles and a mustache' and sounds right up to date even though you get echoes of the past throughout. The World's Alive is thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended."
CLEVELAND.COM, USA
"Billed as an album appealing directly to "the organically stoned lovers of rock and roll." Nick Riffs Freak Element's latest CD effort "The World's Alive delivers what it promises."
TIMEMAZINE, Greece
"This is the latest adventure of psychedelic mastermind Nick Riff. The music ranges from psychedelic rock to spacey psych-pop to ancient tribal soundscapes. With references to summoning UFOs to the exact meaning of the title song, The World's Alive remains in essence a set of modern psychedelic rock. This is cosmic powered psych-rock magically blended for your traveling pleasure."
MAGICK MUSEUM
GOLDMINE MAGAZINE, USA
"Riffs'
music is characterized by loads of fuzz guitar, metaphysical
and otherwise transcendental lyrics, droning harmonics, reverb-saturated
vocals, bits of raga-rock and plenty of other psychedelic effects
and gestures."
HARTBEAT,
Germany
"Nicks
swirling psychedelic pop music could well claim a genre of
it's own, and with all the different textures and it's multi-colored
facets it's a must for any connoisseur of wonderful and outstanding
music."
AURAL
INNOVATIONS, USA
"This
guy really excels at fusing psychedelic influences from a number
of eras... yet there's a freshness to Nicks' sound that heads
off the temptation to tag him as being too retro."
PSYCHOTROPIC
ZONE, Finland
"Nick
Riff is a master of great melodies and his guitar solos in
particular are a real treat. Magick Museum is an excellent
way to update yourself with Nicks' music so far."
KWEEVAK,
USA
"Nicks'
music is a magical blend of alternative, psychedelic, punk,
and rock."
CLEVELAND
SCENE, USA
"The
disc was designed to introduce Riff to a new audience, and
it probably will.... Riff is at his best when mixing pure -
pop glee with drugy atmospherics. Those moments make Magick
Museum a mind altering, mindless good time."
ORGAN,
UK
"Nick
Riff writes the kind of songs that could bring MTV back to
life... Psychedelia for those who like the sounds
but don't want to wallow in nostalgia."
ABUS
DANGEREUX, France
"Nick
Riff produces pre-Raphaelite rock, the music equivalent of
Gustane Moreau. His influences are remarkably varied: The
sixties Spector sound, acid, garage, pop and punk."
PTOLEMAIC
TERRASCOPE, UK
"Soulfoul
psychedelic signatures, right on lyrical attitude and trippy
guitar pyrotechnics."
SUPERNATURAL
FAIRY TALES, Italy
"...It's
a convincing synthesis of the garage/psych languages from the
eighties to present day."
KICK
OUT THE JAMS, Spain
"Themes
have been made with good purpose; to fly your spirit and mind
with wonderful magic moments."
GROHINGA
WELL, Belgium
"...a
school example of psychy pop fairy tales. Albums like
this are important because they make one realize a child has
unlimited fantasy, one of the most valuable qualities in life
to possess."
ROCK'N'REEL,
UK
"...equal
parts 60's punk, garage and psychedelia. Thundering and
swirling soundscapes abound in the realm of Riff."
COOL
CLEVELAND . COM, USA
"Magick
Museum may not be every ones cup of herbal tea, but it's certainly
worth an extended listen if you can dig the old lava lamp out
of the closet, find some incense to light and get in the right
frame of mind." |
