Riverside frontman Mariusz Duda has announced that his time with the band has officially ended after 25 years, and hereafter he will concentrate on his other music project, Lunatic Soul.
“I would like to officially announce that, after 25 years, my journey with Riverside is coming to an end,” Duda commented. “I am proud of everything this band has achieved over the years. But most of all, I am proud of the incredible and extraordinarily loyal fans we have gathered around us. Thank you for everything.”
Explaining further he noted: “Unfortunately, the current situation within the band no longer allows me to pursue my main passion there, the passion to create new music. And that has always been my primary life goal and priority. On top of that, I am tired of pretending and forcing a smiling band image which, in recent years, has had nothing to do with reality.”
Concluding, he said: “So, without going into details, I would like to announce that, although I remain on good terms with most of the members of Riverside, from now on, over the coming years, I will be focusing primarily on my work in Lunatic Soul and my side projects.
“As for Riverside, I do not see any possibility of the band continuing in its current line-up. And restarting it with a different one would be extremely complicated.”
A great shame, and you wouldn’t have imagined this coming to pass following their last UK tour, but there you have it.
Thus with Mariusz Duda moving on, his Lunatic Soul musical vehicle has a new single out in ‘Ardour (Reimagined Version)’ via InsideOutMusic. ‘Ardour’ originally appeared on Lunatic Soul’s eighth studio album The World Under Unsun (2025), but this new version is completely reimagined, as Duda commented:
“‘Ardour’ is a song about passion. About racing thoughts that transform into art. It is a song about the artistic creative process, where light and dark collide. But just as darkness musically dominated the album version on The World Under Unsun, the reimagined single version, ‘Ardour (Reimagined Version)’, is primarily filled with light and hope.
“‘Ardour (Reimagined Version)’ is a fully rearranged and transformed version, with additional vocals and instrumental parts, as well as a new mix and master. A version that celebrates the changes of spring and my current state of mind.”
Lunatic Soul is itself undergoing a reinvention. Musically somewhere between progressive rock and trance-like ethnic music, in ‘Ardour (Reimagined Version)’ it, in a way, says farewell to its former dark world while simultaneously welcoming a new one, full of musical freedom and a desire for change.
You can check out the official lyric video below.
The World Under Unsun reached the following international chart results upon release: Poland Album Charts #2, Germany Album Charts #71, Germany Rock & Metal Charts #18, Switzerland Album Charts #55, Scotland Album Charts #56, UK Rock & Metal Charts #3, USA Current Rock Albums #45 and USA Current Digital Albums #43.
The World Under Unsun is available in assorted formats from InsideOutMusic.
