For nearly two decades, Rivers of Nihil have established themselves as one of progressive death metal’s most adventurous bands. But with bassist Adam Biggs now stepping fully into the role of frontman, the band’s latest chapter represents more than just a lineup change — it’s the beginning of an entirely new era.
Speaking with Metal On Tap ahead of Rivers of Nihil’s Australian co-headline tour with Psycroptic this August, Biggs reflected on the challenge of becoming the band’s lead vocalist, the freedom that came with taking complete control of the vocal arrangements, and why saxophone somehow became even more prominent despite the band’s original intentions.
“It’s an entirely different job,” Biggs admitted when discussing the transition.
“Outside of the growing pains of having to adjust to doing that much singing in one night and singing entire tours, things aren’t too out of the ordinary. It’s been a wild ride.”
Far from feeling overwhelmed by the added responsibilities, Biggs explained that much of the creative process was already familiar territory. Having spent years writing lyrics and shaping vocal arrangements behind the scenes, stepping up to the microphone himself actually simplified things.
“It was almost like there was less of a middleman,” he explained.
“I could just go in there and give the performance how I thought it should sound. I didn’t have to tell somebody how to do it or come to terms with somebody else’s performance of something that I wrote.”
That creative freedom also allowed him to tap into more personal emotions lyrically.
“There were some passages on the album that are a little more bitter or loose,” he said. “I didn’t have to put this on anybody else. It could just be straight from my mouth.”
Songs Taking On New Life
Now that the self-titled album has been out for over a year, Biggs says his favourite tracks continue to change, particularly after the band performed the record in its entirety on tour.
“We’ve done that for the past three albums and it definitely changes the way you look at it when you’re performing it all as one piece.”
Among his personal highlights are “Suborbital Blues”, “Criminals” and “Despair Church”, songs that have become particularly rewarding to play live.
“Suborbital Blues for some reason has just grown and grown and become more fun to play.”
The Saxophone That Wasn’t Supposed To Exist
Ironically, Rivers of Nihil originally had no plans to feature saxophone on the album at all.
“We were kind of very like, ‘We’re not doing sax on this,’” Biggs laughed.
That changed once the band reunited with saxophonist Patrick and began experimenting with the songs on stage.
“We started bringing him out again and came up with parts on the fly for ‘Suborbital Blues’.”
Although the single had already been released without saxophone, the band decided to revisit the track and add it in later.
“We were like, ‘Hey, why don’t we just go back and re-record it?’”
From there, the floodgates opened.
“It just sort of takes hold of you after a while. You start to find these moments where that vibe can help something along or fill a gap.”
Why Modern Metal Fans Are More Open-Minded
Biggs believes today’s listeners are generally more accepting of bands evolving their sound than fans were decades ago.
“It’s got to do with the monoculture being in flux a little bit,” he explained.
“There’s just this endless supply of bands to listen to.”
Where metal fans of the past might have universally followed only a handful of bands, modern audiences have far more options available.
“If somebody starts doing something weird, you can kind of be like, ‘That’s interesting that they changed that thing in that way.’”
Biggs points to the enormous cultural weight bands like Metallica once carried.
“If you’re Metallica, you’re one of maybe five metal bands somebody has ever heard. For them to change their whole style, that’s wild in that person’s mind.”
GoldenEye, James Bond and “Water & Time”
One of the interview’s more unusual topics revolved around fan comparisons between “Water & Time” and the pause music from GoldenEye 007 on Nintendo 64.
While Biggs couldn’t confirm any intentional inspiration, he understood why listeners make the connection.
“I’ve heard people make that comparison before.”
Instead, he sees the song as tapping into something closer to classic James Bond themes.
“I love that kind of smooth, sexy Bond vibe.”
“If we were ever to write something for a Bond movie, it would probably be something like that.”
Although guitarist Brody Uttley isn’t a particularly big gamer, Biggs admitted that perhaps some long-forgotten memory had surfaced subconsciously.
“Maybe somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind he just pulled that out one day.”
Heading Back To Australia With Psycroptic
This August, Rivers of Nihil will return to Australia for a highly anticipated co-headline run alongside Tasmania’s technical death metal legends Psycroptic, with support coming from Growth and Slaughtercult.
Biggs says he’s eager to return to the other side of the world, despite the daunting amount of travel involved.
“It’s always a wild time to go to the other side of the planet to play some metal riffs and hang out.”
He also expressed excitement about sharing the stage with Psycroptic once again.
“I’ve always associated them with being sort of the flagship death metal band from your country.”
“It’s an honour to go down there and chill and shred with those guys.”
With the self-titled album continuing to grow in stature and Biggs embracing his new role with confidence, Rivers of Nihil appear to be entering one of the strongest periods of their career — and Australian fans will soon get to witness that evolution firsthand.
