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Ropes Inside A Hole—A Man And His Nature (2023)
Details
Produced and mixed by Riccardo Pasini at Studio73. Mastered by Magnus Lindberg.
Released on Voice of the Unheard/Shove Records on Tuesday 10 January 2023.
Band
- Daniel Loefgren—Vocals
- Flavio Di Bella—Guitar
- Andrea Binetti—Guitar
- Michele Verni—Guitar
- Diego Ruggeri—Bass and synth
- Rocco Catturani—Drums
Tracks
- Distance
- Others are gone. I don’t care
- Loss and grief
- Feet in the swamp, gaze to the sky
- Overwhelmed
- Time to sleep
Review
Ropes Inside a Hole (RIAH) is a Swedish/Italian post-metal collective featuring members of Swedish post-metal group Suffocate For Fuck Sake.
Nearly three years following the release of their debut album Autumnalia (2019) and nearly two following their split release with Postvorta RIAHPSTVRT (2021), Ropes Inside a Hole has returned with a new line-up and a refreshed spirit.
RIAH’s Facebook page sums them up as “Between beauty and brutality we dwell” and their music certainly reflects that. On first listen, this album reminded me of somewhere between Inverness (Scotland) instrumental local legends Shutter and Chicago post-metal instrumentalists Russian Circles… but with vocals.
The imposed Covid-19 quarantine that hindered everyone’s life gave the band new ideas, inspirations and feelings to compose their second album.
The distance gave the band the opportunity to work and produce their songs in a more focused way, as well as it gave them the opportunity to collaborate with people from various locations. As a result, the album hosts a myriad of contributions, Hernan Paulitti from Buenos Aires, Argentina on violin, the jazz master William Suvanne from Helsinki, Finland on saxophone, Francesco “Fresco” Cellini from Ravenna, Italy on cello, Mohammed Ashfarf also from Ravenna on keyboards and the incredible voice of Daniel Loefgren from Sweden’s Suffocate For Fuck Sake, with which the group is planning to maintain the collaboration on future releases.
“Distance” (track 1) is a floaty, ethereal song that circles around a central theme before exploding into a wall of noise and a siren of feedback before tapering off into the distance.
“Others are gone. I don’t care” (track 2) opens with a pretty guitar motif before picking up volume and then dropping down again into a thoughtful and beautiful riff that ebbs and flows to this instrumental track’s conclusion.
“Loss and grief” (track 3) carries on the ponderous theme with a gently lurching riff and delicate vocals.
“Feet in the swamp, gaze to the sky” (track 4) builds gently from a soulful and bluesy saxophone solo into a steady rumble that again builds and falls around the mournful saxophone.
“Overwhelmed” (track 5) comes straight off the blocks with a heavy, industrial-sounding riff and post-metal discordant guitars. This is another rumbling track that pauses every now and then for a ponderous exploration of riffs, arpeggios, building layer upon layer.
RIAH throw their entire playbook at the final track, “Time to sleep” (track 6) which opens with breathy vocals against an acoustic guitar lick that soon opens to a heavy wall of guitars before dropping down again to a minimalist riff before cycling around again a couple of times.
Conclusion
For various (kidney-related) reasons, I’ve fallen behind a little with reviews over the last couple of weeks and so I have found myself playing this album over and over again. Play… today I will finish this review… next day: play… repeat… repeat… To be honest, I couldn’t have hoped for a better album to get ‘stuck’ on.
The album reveals an introspective sound that incorporates a gentle acoustic guitar, the warm sound of the cello and a tender voice that slowly engulfs listeners and create a sonic landscape replete with nostalgia and gloominess, just before waves of colossal and monolithic guitars comes clashing in to provide opposite sentiments of anger and turmoil. The chilling vibes emanated from the keyboards blend perfectly with the warmth of the saxophone, so uncommon in the post-metal genre, that it gives the songs a mood that is indescribably sinister and combines well with the grinding framework of drums and bass.
I’m rather delighted that for an album that I selected to review because of the band’s name and the artistic cover, this album speaks to me on many levels. The contrasts of lightness and dark, beauty and heaviness, the delicate and ugly. This kind of music touches me and moves me and makes my day better.
I will definitely be keeping a close eye on Ropes Inside a Hole for any future releases.
Review score: 100%
Video
Disclosure
Viral Propaganda contacted me inviting me to preview Ropes Inside a Hole’s forthcoming album, thank you. I have no connections to either Viral Propaganda or Ropes Inside a Hole. I’m not being paid to review this. But I did get a free digital copy of the album to review which is pretty cool. Many thanks to Viral Propaganda, and to Ropes Inside a Hole for continuing to create fresh, exciting music.