Rope and Ladder’s – A Rock Opera
Wow! Found another band that has not been given enough coverage, despite having created one of the better albums of the year so far…
Rope and Ladder, have released their debut album, A Rock Opera on February 7, 2020. The band is made up of two talented multi – instrumentalists, lyricists, and vocalists, Jay Clark, and Ryan Dolen. Together they spent more than 10 years creating this debut. So, as a reviewer, I want to review it in a way that takes into account all of that work and creativity put into A Rock Opera.
Jay Clark, provides, lead vocals, guitar, bass, and piano. Ryan Dolen, plays drum set and percussion. The additional players included on the album: Josh Knowles – violin on “Overture”, “Moonlight/ Sunrise”, “Safehouse”, and “Dust”. Leila Tunnell, on vocals for “Lost Cause”. Russ Robar, trumpet and trombone on “Moonlight/ Sunrise” and “The Conspiracy”. Christian Olsen, organ solo on “Corruption/ A Call to Arms”. Thomas Cadrin, guitar solo on “The Conspiracy”. Gang vocals on tracks 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12 by: Alex Lach, Chris Flaherty, Spencer Holland, Andy O’Laughlin, Nick Thompson, Thomas Cadrin, Ben Curran, Devin Mauch, Jay Clark, and Ryan Dolen.
A rock opera is an ambitious way to start your discography. A successful production sets the stage and the floor for what will come in the future. I salute that ambition from the start and I am happy to say that Rope and Ladder have indeed created one of the best albums of 2020, so far.
The album opens like all operas should with an “Overture”. This one includes not only dramatic music, but wonderful singing. The music opens with deep keyboard sounds, atmospherics, and Jay Clark singing, “One man’s rise from another man’s death. You’re the only light left”. The dark and brooding keys are joined by strings, deep bass, and a wall of drumming, full of power. An epic opening to what will be a powerful debut.
“Lost Cause”, is the first track beyond the overture. Leila Tunnell, sounding a lot like Manuela Kraller, of Xandria fame, sings, “Whisper what it means to be always cold and hungry. Whisper how it feels to be alone with no one. Whisper it so soft and sweet, so no one will hear. Whisper it so soft and sweet, because it’s a lost cause”. She is accompanied by acoustic guitar, then bass, and drums. Her voice and power rise with the emotion of the lyrics and the wave of music surrounding her.
“Moonlight/Sunrise”, opens with deep piano keys and Jay Clark singing. He has the range of Matthew James Bellamy, while at the same time possessing the emotional strength of one of Aryon’s best singers ever, Jasper Steverlinck. That is a wonderful combination. Clark sings, “I awake, every day, an hour before the sun comes up. And I meet with the men. To prepare once again. For a day we pretend won’t come. Oh, to serve and defend. To stand with our friends. And protect the ones we love”. The piano gets more and more deliberate and dominating as he sings, “And so I, I have seen the sunrise. It must be a thousand times. But I’ve never seen the light like I see in her eyes”. More piano, then a powerful lyrical statement, “Oh, how we could rid of life’s wretchedness. If only all could see the colors so vividly. We’d see this world how it’s meant to be seen”. A Muse like instrumental session begins, lifting the listener emotionally, like Muse did on side two of The Resistance.
“Corruption”, takes the music in a different direction. A reggae-like beat at the opening. Jay Clark sings, “Tonight we’ll feast on the elbow grease, and we’ll wash it down with the blood, sweat, and tears. Of our representees, who slave on hands and knees, and work away the years, just trying to make ends meet”. Clark sings, “There has to be an easier way”. Lyrics that capture the feeling the globe is stuck in today with the Covid-19 pandemic, allowing the lyrics to expand beyond the story. A very Muse-like presentation, “This famine is fake. This plague is staged. And we don’t have to take this lying down. We’re up in arms, we’re going to take those bastards out”. The characters in the story move towards conclusion and describe the opera’s objective, Clark sings, “We are the revolution. And this is our call to arms”, set to stomping drums, electric guitars and bass.
“The Conspiracy”, brings back memories of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the power of Queen. Clark sings, “Forgive me father, for I have sinned in the most elegant fashion. A conspiracy smothered in passion; a flaw so tragic it’s as if he were asking for it to be exposed”. Powerful, keys, guitar, bass and drums so loud you can barely hear the singing. But the band is mad. Clark comes back with a strong statement, “Forgive me father, and correct me if I’m wrong, but you made this world so you could watch us burn it to ash. And by thy will, my will I confess: one man’s rise from another man’s death”. Serious lyrics indeed, set to power electric guitar, “I’ve been dealing with this shit for way too long. I’ve been waiting for my chance to turn the tables on this world. I’ve been hearing screaming voices in my head. Singing, “Let it burn, let it burn, let it burn, let it burn”.
“The Invasion”, opens with deep bass and soft drums, with keys accompanying. Then all hell breaks loose. A wind tunnel of accelerated electric guitar jamming. Clark sings, “Our wounds are dressed in their Sunday’s best. As if to suggest that the lead is a welcomed, celebrated guest. Among our tattered, blackened flesh. And we’re wearing our hearts on our sleeves, courtesy of their bayonets. A place of penance and regret, independence imminent. Renegade militiamen pray over sacrificial bread. When the watchmen sound their horns, one came crashing through the doors, ghastly muttered, “We are vastly outnumbered”. The battle ensues.
For every battle or revolution, there is a “Price”. Clark screams, “Everybody has their demons. Everybody has their doubts. Everybody has their reasons,. Everybody needs an out. Everybody has their needs, and their needs are never satisfied”. Yes, indeed. Clearer words have rarely been spoken. Power electric guitar chords bring metal firepower. A fire breathing track full of thunder, that lights a fire to your ears.
“Rope and Ladder”, opens with piano and keys, before the crushing electric guitar re-enters, along with bass and drums. Clark sings, “I’ve been infected by a vile venom. This skepticism has crept inside of me. And it’s rendered useless my ability. To trust a single soul other than me”. Then, the band’s name encapsulated in the lyrics to a song. Clark sings, “They’ll braid my veins and stack my bones. They’ll make rope and a ladder. They’ll climb up and over, they’ll climb up and over”. A great song to hang your name on.
“Betrayed/Condemned”, opens with deep, dark piano, then Clark sings, “The king, his bed. Sheets red, no breath. My sword, his flesh. My God, I’m next”. Heavy metal thunder and yelling ensue.
“Safehouse”, is a short instrumental interlude, separating the main story, enroute to the conclusion. Soft keys, strings and guitar chords, welcomed, after all of the violent heavy metal that proceeded it. Like the song’s title describes, a place to rest before the finale.
“The Confrontation”, Clark sings a soft warning, “We’ve got to go, they’re coming, they must have known that we were here. And if they get a hold of us they’re going to have our heads, we’ve been exposed”. Before a power guitar assault that you will remember long past the album’s completion. Some of the best guitar work I have heard since…since…yah, last year’s Tool Fear Inoculum.
On “The Queen”, we hear more of that wonderful acoustic guitar. But it doesn’t last long enough. The heavy electric lead, bass and circling keys return to grind in a rhythm. Clark sings, “Too careful to let me live. Too coward to let me die.
So here, instead, I lie. Somewhere in between. By order of The Queen”.
The closer, “Dusk”, is full of great keys, and more of that great singing, that we heard at the beginning of the album. Clark sings, “I built my faith from ground up, I laid every stone. I stood on it through storm and wind to see if it could hold. I built my whole life all by the sweat of my face. I hand-picked every brick that I laid”.
Later, Clark sings, “I tried to build a better man, but I was piling sand ashore a rising tide. And all I could do was watch it wash away, a little every day. I was never up to me to decide, no matter how you fortify. You live, you love, you die”.
“Rope and Ladder’s debut is an ambitious album about revolution and change. A call to change the world we live in and make it better, more attuned to man’s needs and emotions. A solid debut album that will cement this band on my wish-list for future releases. What a way to kick off to their discography. Please get this album and hear out the entire story and enjoy the powerful music and lyrics.
Track List
- Overture – 4:07
- Lost Cause – 2:15
- Moonlight/Sunrise – 5:37
- Corruption/A Call to Arms – 5:06
- The Conspiracy – 6:09
- The Invasion – 6:37
- Price – 1:57
- Rope and Ladder – 5:46
- Betrayed/Condemned – 3:59
- Safehouse – 1:16
- The Confrontation – 5:56
- The Queen – 2:56
- Dusk – 8:53
https://ropeandladder.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/RopeAndLadderMusic/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChM5AgIbOSZssaG8N9BJ00w
https://music.apple.com/us/album/rope-and-ladder/1494579478?app=music