Rome – The Lone Furrow (Album – Trisol)

Genre/Influences: Chanson, cinematographic, neo-folk.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Hailing from Luxemburg, Rome, the project set up by Jérôme Reuter, this year celebrates its fifteenth anniversary. The band rapidly gained a name in the neo-folk scene by the early works released on the defunct Cold Meat Industry. Rome next moved to Trisol while the music progressively evolved, touching ground with different music genres. “The Lone Furrow” is Rome’s newest work, which comes as a (new) critical perception of the world we’re living in.

Content: One of the main elements of this work is the presence of multiple guest artists. Some of them like Alan Averill (Primordial) and Adam Nergal Darski (Behemoth/Me And That Man) are active in the wider fields of metal music. Other guests areLaure Le Prunenec(Rïcïnn),Joseph D. Rowland (Pallbearer) and J.J. (Harakiri For TheSky).

Sound-wise the album is getting back to the influences from the past few years, which means elements of dark-chanson and neo-folk, but the global production has been seriously boosted by impressive bombastic arrangements. There also is a more cinematic part running through the work. The songs have been mainly sung in English, but Jérôme is also singing in French and German. The contributions of numerous guest singers injects some extra diversity to the album.

+ + + : Rome has released an impressive number of works over the past 15 years and I’m each again surprised by the quality and artistic level of the work. Jérôme Reuter is not repeating himself; he’s in a constant move and tries to accentuate each of his productions with different elements. He on this time realized a new tour de force mixing different influences from his career thus far. The overwhelming orchestral treatments are impressive and very powerful. This bombast sounds a bit like the red line throughout the work. The diversity of the singers is also a noticeable element. I’ve to mention the song “Achtung, Baby” (which is a wink to the legendary U2 album) featuring Alan Averill. But one of the absolute highlights is without a shadow of doubt “The Angry Cup” featuring Adam Nergal Darski. “On Albion’s Plain” is just Jérôme Reuter and himself, but it also is a brilliant song. Some of the songs and Jérôme timbre of voice are once again evoking Nick Cave to me, but the work also reveals cool cinematic passages.

– – – : I don’t have real minor points, this artist just moving on his artistic voyage accomplishing a new masterpiece.

Conclusion: Rome remains a prolific project, but the quality of each production remains top-notch.

Best songs: “The Angry Cup”, “Achtung, Baby!”, “On Albion’s Plain”, “Kaili Yuga Über Alles”, “Tyriat Sig Tyrias”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/romeproject

Label: www.trisol.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Trisol-Music-Group/104166526285471