At the end of the project’s 20th anniversary celebrations, ROME tolls in the next era of the band with two fresh and visionary albums: ‘The Tower’ and ‘The Hierophant’.
ROME’s new and ever more mature sound is informed by a radically minimalist folk approach, with nonetheless charmingly lush arrangements. ‘The Tower’ is an introspective and enigmatic work at whose center stands nothing less than ROME’s raison d’etre: The Great Work and the sacrifices both necessary and essential on the demanding path to light.
As an unreachable bulwark against the general decline of every value in life, the tower would have been erected long ago to defend the coast. It would have been raised on a rocky platform resting on the sea floor. It would have been joined to the continent by a thin tongue of sand. It would have offered a heroic, magical point of view. A place for our claim to know and point out vaster horizons. It would have stood firm on the ramparts. This isolated tower would not have been just a refuge for more or less mystic escape, but also a post of resistance and combat.
Reuter’s poetry is the voice of the solitary spirit. A remarkable feat, lyrically demanding, ROME’s songs require of the listener a willingness to penetrate shadows and trace the inner drama of the modern world clearly, calmly and convincingly.
In a time which celebrates noise, fame and convenience, here is the well-crafted antidote, a hymn of praise to obscurity, difficulty and silence. ROME’s ‘The Tower’ is an unmissable majestic experience that won't leave you indifferent.
ROME’s dual release of ‘The Tower’ and ‘The Hierophant’ is a twin engine of magical splendour. Not to be missed.
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‘The Tower resounds as a bulwark of solemnity, sovereignty and silent struggle against the desert enroaching from all sides. A mature work, musically lush while austere in instrumentation, it is dominated by the baritone vocals of Jerome Reuter and his poetic reflections delivered in a hushed, intimate tone, battle-weary yet resolute. This is a soundtrack to our age of strife, a paean to the internal and external conflicts of those dedicated to the great work.’
- Aki Cederberg, author of ‘Holy Europe’ and ‘Journeys in the Kali Yuga’
‘Enigmatic and infused with a deep sense of cultural memory and primordial longing, 'The Tower' is classic ROME. Like tales of old, passed from father to son, speeches given to armies arrayed for battle, and warriors made defiant of fate before a seemingly overwhelming enemy, the sound and lyrics of this album penetrate deep into the very being of the listener, reawakening memories long covered over by the distractions of modernity. Through this moody festival of sound and spirit, we journey among elemental forces (crashing waves, howling winds, storms, and light) and through ancient worlds (towers, catacombs, and monasteries), and feel, again, those holy feelings of honor and daring. Before us, the flickering flame of awakening appears in the darkness. We partake of the spiritual bread and drink, made by ancestral hands. And, with each song, we rededicate our souls to the Great Work and enigma of life.’
- Angel Millar, author of ‘The Path of The Warrior-Mystic’ and ‘The Three Stages of Initiation Spirituality: Craftsman, Warrior, Magician’
