ALBUM REVIEW: The Unfailing Rope – Sunrot
It would be easy enough to make a big song and dance about how SUNROT are the perfect sonic embodiment of their name; something about the slow decay of that big fiery orb on which all life on this planet depends, bringing with it all manner of darkness and desolation and so on. But, suitably oppressive though it is, the new album from the New Jersey sludge/noise outfit isn’t actually about all that. Recorded under deeply trying circumstances and setbacks – including the hospitalisation of vocalist Lex Santiago while suffering from a psychotic episode – The Unfailing Rope refuses to take the more predictable option of pure nihilism and instead finds the band determined to uncover catharsis and even joy in the most unlikely of places.
You might not guess it at first though. After opener Descent sets an ominous tone with nearly three minutes of noise and buzz, the first words Santiago screams on the album’s first song proper are “This is hell / This pain / It’s everywhere / In everything / It’s too much / And I can’t bear it any longer”. Named for the process of Trepanation – essentially drilling a hole into the skull in the belief that it can relieve pain or even achieve some form of enlightenment – the track itself is utterly torturous, an eight-and-a-half-minute sprawl of hardcore-infused NEUROSIS worship that sets a clear and excellent tone for the record to follow. Even with its lengthy runtime it passes quickly – as does the rest of the record – with the band’s doomy heft often carrying that much-desired mesmeric power that can make these songs feel far shorter than they are.
Indeed, you could just succumb to The Unfailing Rope if you wanted to; its sludgy guitars, piercing vocals and layers of effects and noise all promise and deliver one of those apocalyptically immersive experiences. But pay a little more attention – look a little closer at the lyrics for example – and you will find hope here. Take lead single Gutter, which rails against the destruction of our planet under capitalism and colonialism with all the fury and anguish you’d expect only to end with guest vocalist Emily McWilliams’ haunting assertions that “This is our choice / We can choose something else”. Or consider Patricide, which speaks unflinchingly of the horrors of abuse as Santiago promises “I’ll kill you and your voice inside my head”. SUNROT don’t pretend the darkness doesn’t exist, but they are determined to face it, to triumph over it, and ultimately to inspire others to do the same.
Perhaps nowhere is this more clear than in fourth track The One You Feed (Pt. 2). At just a shade over three minutes, it’s the shortest song on the record that isn’t based on noise and samples, and yet it packs arguably the album’s most emotional punch of all. Again it’s worth quoting a fair chunk of these lyrics, particularly its first lines of “It’s not your fault / What happened wasn’t right / Be accepting of your path / You don’t have to feel this way any more”. Screamed, as ever, with such passion and intent by Santiago, these words are matched perfectly by the band’s powerfully melodic doom as they strike a somewhat paradoxical balance between mournful and stirring to provide perhaps the best sonic representation of The Unfailing Rope’s overarching intention.
Ultimately though, while there is so much depth to be found in the lyrics provided, The Unfailing Rope is about far more than just words on a page. Even on a purely sonic level this record carries immense power – a weight, an intensity and a sense of furious desperation that is easy to get lost in. The idea that this kind of music can offer some form of catharsis will be completely baffling to some, but more importantly there will be many others – familiar perhaps with the work of bands like the aforementioned NEUROSIS, or CULT LEADER or THOU or any number of others – who are well aware of the escape and solace that one can find in what appears on the surface to be so bleak and unforgiving. If that’s you, then these 40 minutes should have no trouble offering something just as valuable here.
Rating: 8/10
The Unfailing Rope is set for release on April 7th via Prosthetic Records.
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