Hear ye, hear ye! Rope Sect are about to unleash The Great Flood upon the Earth! Mark your calendars, lovers of all things musically dark and underground, because the twelfth of August will prove to be one of the more exciting dates for you in 2020 – exciting in a positive sense. Whether you’re into death rock, gothic rock, post punk or darkwave specifically doesn’t really matter, the debut album at hand will almost certainly be to your liking.
Did you know that nearly all cultures and peoples around the Earth have some kind of flood myth? Well, you know now. It’s probably safe to say that the flood myth is mankind’s oldest annihilation fantasy. The album at hand, The Great Flood, directly references this doomsday narrative, instantly evoking a well-known scenario. The difference here: There are no chosen ones that will survive the flood, there is no new beginning. The end here is the definitive end.
In addition to the end-of-the-world reference in the album title, the band name “Rope Sect” brings death cults to mind, as does what appears to be the band motto: “Venerate the rope! Fear the rope!”. The album cover features a photograph of a person whose head is wrapped in rope and who is standing on the edge of a river or lake, with bowed head and drooping shoulders.
Pretty desolate, right? Well, luckily that’s not all there is to Rope Sect. The music, as it should, draws connections that go far beyond the verbal and visual ones. While the band are obviously partly inspired by depressive and suicidal black metal, the music they make does not belong to that genre. It’s primarily of a melancholic character, yes, with vocals that reflect an unexcited, level and tired state of mind, but it’s also very melodic and even danceable. This is music for the end times, but end times that include a “dance on the ruins”, end times with a “doomsday revel.”
The album opens with Divide et Impera (Latin for “divide and conquer”) where God, played by a male, reverberating voice, announces the flood into the ether. After the announcement the music sets in, hectic, pulsing, full of life – and full of spite. What follows are theme-appropriate musings on freedom, regret, sadness and beauty accompanied by gothic rock. Finally, the Diluvian Darkness comes over the Earth and puts an end to everything.
Although probably the most fitting description, calling Rope Sect’s music gothic rock or death rock means not doing it justice entirely. The band’s sound does have an overall gothic character, but in addition it is spiced with a post punk abruptness, outbursts of black metal drumming, mechanical industrial sounds, and soaring heavy metal guitar solos. Quite an unusual, exciting mixture and very appealing.
While this four-piece from the North of Germany might be a relatively new addition to the underground music scene it is certainly a talked-about one, and one that with its short-length releases already attracted the attention of some of the scenes better-known figures. That is also how the collaboration with Mat “Kvohst” McNerney (Hexvessel/Grave Pleasures) came about, who contributed lyrics and guest vocals on two of the album’s ten tracks.
About the band’s background, musical or otherwise, I can’t tell you much. Although the band are not directly hiding from the public, they do prefer to stay out of the limelight and let their music speak for itself.
With a very fitting theme, intriguing song writing, sophisticated arrangements, memorable vocals full of character and a spotless production, this is definitely the best debut album I have reviewed this year so far and undoubtedly a contender for my albums-of-the-year-2020 list. Do check out this gothic beauty. And you might as well do it via my two favourite tracks, Divide et Impera and The Underground Paradise.
(9/10 Slavica)
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