There are few musicians who are as committed to the European Idea as Jerome Reuter. Through his music, under the band name Rome, he has been promoting Europe, both geographically, as a naturally cohesive entity, and philosophically, as a place of shared roots and values. Originally from Luxembourg, he is a polyglot and speaks, and sings in, several languages. Over the 17 years that Rome has been active, he has worked with numerous well-known artists from different countries, in this way additionally stressing the idea of unity. For example, Alan Averill of Primordial, Adam Darski of Behemoth and Laure Le Prunenec (Rïcïnn, Öxxö Xööx, Igorr) appeared as guest vocalists on Rome’s penultimate LP The Lone Furrow. So far, Rome have released one album every year since their inception, and whatever one might think of this kind of hyperproduction, it just seems to be their way of functioning. The fans certainly don’t seem to mind. They’ve remained loyal to them over the years, buying their records and going to their shows.
Given how much Jerome Reuter champions the European Idea, it is perhaps no wonder that the Russian attack on Ukraine and the ensuing war came as a special shock to his system. On previous albums, the song lyrics thematized, for example, past threats to the continent, such as fascism, or the decline in democratic values in the western world, or the loss of contact with the pagan roots that unite the continent. Now, Rome’s lyrics deal with the real, present, existential threat that Europe faces and an imagined dystopian future. Since the beginning of the war, Jerome Reuter has not only published music on the subject of Ukraine, but also played a concert in the theatre of war, namely on July 5th, this year in Lviv, Ukraine. The concert was broadcast live, and the audience attending online was invited to donate with the donations being given to a free hostel for refugees.
Along with a change in subject there is a slight change in sound to be heard on Rome’s new album Hegemonikon – A Journey to the End of Light. But it is really just a slight change, so old fans don’t need to worry. Known for music that combines Neo Folk, Industrial and Chanson, almost always with dark undertones, this time, Jerome Reuter has chosen to use more electronica, and the listener is reminded of New Wave and Post Punk. The connection with the latter two genres might not be incidental, but chosen with purpose, since New Wave and Post Punk stem from a pre-Glasnost aera, when the world, similar to today, faced nuclear armament and a nuclear threat.
A Slaughter of Crows marks a cold, dystopian beginning to the album, the vocals distorted and robotic, the music synth-driven, with icy beats. No Second Troy, the following number, on the other hand, has a more familiar sound, with Jerome’s acoustic guitar and his rather sombre voice being accompanied by an undercurrent of synth-tunes and beats, the lyrics reminding the listener of what’s at stake.
Similar to the initial duo, the rest of the albums eleven songs shapeshift and turn, representing fear, then defiance, then hope, and then fear again. And Rome wouldn’t be Rome if there weren’t bits of beauty, wisdom, poetry and authentic emotion in the songs.
Compared to the majority of the material that we cover here, this is rather mild, but that doesn’t mean it’s boring. As on previous albums, and probably because he is recording a new album every year, Jerome Reuter manages to capture the spirit of the times, the zeitgeist.
So, if you feel like pondering a bit about the macro-political situation, its cultural implications and what it means for individuals, Rome’s new album Hegemonikon – Journey to the End of Light offers you a good soundtrack for your musings.
(7/10 Slavica)
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