Technical metal project Ropemaker, from the west coast of Ireland, has released debut album, Interwoven, that’s out now via all popular streaming platforms, and follows recent single, ‘Paean’.
‘Paean’ is described as “another slab of contemporary progressive metal that hits the senses from the outset with a low-end brutal bass line, before some Gojira-like riffing takes hold,” you can check out the video for it right here at RAMzine.
Speaking of the track, multi-instrumentalist Dave Slattery said; “The inspiration from this track comes from my love of doom and sludge metal. Bands like YOB, Crowbar, and Pelican have been favourites over the years. Doom metal places an emphasis on simplicity groove, and emotion which is are cornerstones of the genre, and these traits are hopefully represented in this track.” You can access the track via Youtube, Bandcamp, and Spotify.
Drawing influences from the likes of early Mastodon, Gojira, Pelican, Keelhaul, Russian Circles, and Mono, multi-instrumentalist Dave Slattery, enrolled the talents of former Galway-based metallic hardcore IIenkus’ drummer Rory Guyett for an instrumental album, packed with: “monolithic riffs, unpredictable arrangements, and balls-out heaviness.”
Originally from Portarlington, Laois, Slattery began working on his debut album back in 2019 in Galway, where he has resided since 2004. The debut LP, entitled Interwoven features eight brutal cuts of technical, progressive-death compositions that delve into his psyche, resulting in a body of work that’s been duly noted as part of the flourishing underground Irish metal scene.
What once began as a post-rock oriented project with Guyett, Slattery felt a growing disconnect with the music, and decided to steer his creativity in a much heavier style, commenting; “I had been an avid metalhead for twenty five years, and decided to put something together, that is far heavier, and more musically challenging than anything I had attempted previously”.
Their debut single was ‘Blue Fire For Bones’, released back in January and still available on all digital platforms.
“’Blue Fire For Bones’ was the second last track I wrote for the album,” said Slattery of the new single. “I was feeling quite happy with how the overall writing process had went so far, and how the drums, and guitars were working together.
“The main driving force to begin with behind this tune in particular was my idea of old school death metal especially in the opening two or three riffs, and knowing when I was writing it, Rory could just lay it down on the double bass to bring out the best in the riffs. The tunes veers-off into a few other varieties of metal, before coming back round to its foundation idea.”
You can also check out the video for the ‘Blue Fire For Bones’ here at RAMzine.
