Official press release:
Exile On Mainstream confirms the February release of You Must Relax, the debut album by Germany’s high-volume doom dealers, Bellrope, the band which has ascended from the ashes of Black Shape Of Nexus. Raised on a diet of doom, noise, and crust punk, thriving in the international DIY/squat communities, Bellrope is a band who dubs their sound as, “the total absence of tonal sanity.” The album’s thundering lead single “Old Overholt”, featuring Yvonne Ducksworth and Arne Heesch of labelmates Treedeon, is now streaming, and pre-orders for the record are now available.
Driven by a rabid sense of urgency, and with a simple goal in mind — “Amp hauling and amp abusing” — Bellrope’s sonic maelstrom traverses many different plains of heavy, oft recognizable, but never bound to one formula. Case in point being the visceral album opener; more than a palette cleanser, this is sensory overload, total tonal (in)sanity. Elsewhere, the stomping second track, “Old Overholt”, replete with blood curdling bellows, pays tribute to the iconic rye whiskey, whilst the morose dueling vocals of Arne Heesch and Yvonnne Ducksworth of labelmates Treedeon, and sonic samples on “TD 200”, carry that colossal track to a climatic end, leading into the album closer “CBD/Hereinunder”, a heavy combination of chugging guitars and psych-like leads locking into a repetitive, almost entrancing groove.
Exile On Mainstream label owner Andreas Kohl remarks:
“In utter contradiction to your usual heavy rock bands with an esoteric twist and the common (non)sense of interweaving ritualistic riff-mongery with some heritage-purveying focus to ancient rites, rituals, and ideologies, Bellrope is a hurricane of fresh air, well needed and even more welcome. There will be no antlers, mandalas, fur or badly drawn symbols on stage when they are coming after you. Bellrope doesn’t need to charge their sonic urgency with ideology.”
Bellrope’s You Must Relax debut album will see release through Exile On Mainstream February 22nd on CD, LP, and digital formats. Fans of Celestial-era ISIS, early-Cult Of Luna, Old Man Gloom, and of course Black Shape Of Nexus must hear this. Find pre-orders at the label webshop.
You Must Relax track listing:
- “Hollywood 2001/Rollrost”
- “Old Overholt”
- “You Must Relax”
- “TD200”
- “CBD/Hereinunder”
Bellrope is booking live performances in support of You Must Relax, including a run through Germany in early February. This will be followed by performances at the Exile On Mainstream 20th Anniversary Parties this year, April 4th through 7th at UT Connewitz in Leipzig, Germany, and on April 13th at Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands. Watch for more widespread tour news to be released in the weeks ahead.
Tour dates:
2/06 – Lünen, DE | Lükaz
2/07 – Berlin, DE | Zukunft am Ostkreuz
2/08 – Jena, DE | Rosenkeller
2/09 – Stuttgart, DE | JuHa West
4/06 – Leipzig, DE | UT Connewitz
4/13 – Tilburg, NL | Roadburn Festival