Rosetta is an American

post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal music, heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis (band), Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture (music), te ...

band from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

that has been active since 2003.

History

Rosetta was founded in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

by vocalist Michael Armine, bassist David Grossman, drummer Bruce McMurtrie Jr., and guitarist James Matthew Weed. The four were acquaintances in high school and had played in various bands. After only three practice sessions, they performed a last minute gig on August 20, 2003,

improvising Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

the entire show. They proceeded to play more shows, and eventually wrote and recorded a four-song demo album, which picked up interest from Translation Loss Records. The band's name does not come from the

Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt, Egypt, on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts ...

, but was chosen because they "wanted a one word name that was both feminine and beautiful." Their debut album, '' The Galilean Satellites'', featured two separate hour-long discs (one of more metal-oriented music, and one of ambience) that

synchronize Synchronization is the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. For example, the conductor of an orchestra keeps the orchestra synchronized or ''in time''. Systems that operate with all parts in synchrony are said to be synchrono ...

together. This setup was inspired by

Neurosis Neurosis (: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related con ...

' album ''

Times of Grace Times of Grace is an American metalcore band formed in Southampton, Massachusetts. The group consists of Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage) and Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage, The Empire Shall Fall, and Seemless) while guitarist Joel Stro ...

''. Although originally intended to be one disc of metal tracks sandwiched by ambient ones, the band had enough material to cover two discs. The album was released through Translation Loss on October 18, 2005. Rosetta self-released a

CD-R CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital media, digital optical disc data storage device, storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can only be Write once read many, written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) ...

and a 5.1

surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to ...

DVD-R DVD recordable and DVD rewritable are a collection of optical disc formats that can be written to by a DVD recorder and by computers using a DVD writer. The "recordable" discs are write-once read-many (WORM) media, where as "rewritable" discs a ...

syncing both discs together during the band's 2005 and 2006 tours, respectively. The band's second release was a

split album A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "v ...

with Balboa. Titled ''

Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...

'', it was released April 24, 2007 by

Level Plane Records Level Plane was an American independent record label based in New York City that was founded in early 1997 by Greg Drudy for the release of Saetia's first 7". Drudy ran the label until it ceased to exist in 2009. It released records in a vari ...

. After a full United States tour in July, the band's second full-length album, entitled ''

Wake/Lift ''Wake/Lift'' is the second full-length album by post-metal band Rosetta. The album was released on October 2, 2007 through Translation Loss Records on CD, with a limited-edition double LP prepared for late 2008. This album is the first to not b ...

'', was released through Translation Loss on October 2. The release of ''Wake/Lift'' was accompanied by an ambient album,

The Cleansing Undertones of Wake/Lift ''The Cleansing Undertones of Wake/Lift'' is the companion EP to the full-length album '' Wake/Lift'' by post-metal band Rosetta Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governor ...

, which came out the same day. To support the new records, Rosetta toured the United States before embarking on a June 2008 tour of Australia. Rosetta's third full-length album, ''

A Determinism of Morality ''A Determinism of Morality'' is the third full-length album by post-metal band Rosetta. The album was released on May 25, 2010 through Translation Loss Records on CD. "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin" is translated as "I Do Not Know Its End". The nam ...

'', was released by Translation Loss on May 25, 2010. The release and was followed in the summer by the band's first full tour of the US in three years. In October, the band released a split LP with Restorations on Cavity Records, featuring a previously unreleased track which had been recorded in December 2007. In 2012 Rosetta announced their return to Europe in July, followed by their second Australia tour. The tour was accompanied by a split release with touring partners City of Ships, released by Australian independent label Bird's Robe Records. After a decade on Translation Loss Records, Rosetta became a fully

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

band in 2013. They self-released their fourth studio album, ''

The Anaesthete ''The Anaesthete'' is the fourth full-length album by post-metal band Rosetta, and their first fully independent release. The album was announced on Rosetta's blog on June 20, 2013 and self-released as a download via Bandcamp on August 8, 2013 us ...

'', that same year. Guitarist and vocalist Eric Jernigan, who contributed guest vocals to the band's previous two albums, became an official member of Rosetta in 2014. Their final release on Translation Loss was the ''

Flies to Flame ''Flies to Flame'' is the second EP by post-metal band Rosetta Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in 1799. Founded arou ...

'' EP on October 14. A documentary film by Justin Jackson titled ''Rosetta: Audio/Visual'' was released on Christmas day 2014. The following year, they released the film's soundtrack, '' Rosetta: Audio/Visual Original Score'', which was followed by their fifth studio album, ''

Quintessential Ephemera ''Quintessential Ephemera'' is fifth full-length album by post-metal band Rosetta Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in ...

''. Rosetta released a compilation album titled ''

A Dead-Ender's Reunion ''A Dead-Ender's Reunion'' is the first compilation album by post-metal band Rosetta, and their fourth fully independent release. Release The album was announced on Rosetta's blog on October 19, 2015 and self-released as a download via Bandcamp ...

'' in 2016. It contained remixes, rarities, B-sides, and retrospectives spanning the band's career. In 2017, Rosetta released its sixth studio album, '' Utopioid''. Two EPs, ''Sower of Wind'' and ''Terra Sola'', were released in 2019, as was a split with Labirinto and La Bestia de Gévaudan.

Musical style

Rosetta plays a style of

that incorporates elements of

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

sludge Sludge (possibly , or some dialect related to slush) is a semi-solid slurry that can be produced from a range of industrial processes, from water treatment, wastewater treatment or on-site sanitation systems. It can be produced as a settled sus ...

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

shoegazing Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volum ...

drone Drone or The Drones may refer to: Science and technology Vehicle * Drone, a type of uncrewed vehicle, a class of robot ** Unmanned aerial vehicle or aerial drone *** Unmanned combat aerial vehicle ** Unmanned ground vehicle or ground drone ** Unma ...

post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

and

ambient Ambient or ambiance or ambience may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ambiancé'', an unreleased experimental film * ''Ambient'' (novel), a novel by Jack Womack Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgr ...

. The band's influences are as diverse as

and

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

, My Bloody Valentine,

Frodus Frodus (a.k.a. Frodus Conglomerate International, Frodus Sound Laboratories, FCI, Frodus Escape Plan, Frodus Deposit Insurance Corporation) was an American post-hardcore band formed in 1993 in Washington, D.C. hardcore, Washington, D.C. by voca ...

, and

Stars of the Lid Stars of the Lid is an American ambient music project that formerly consisted of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie. The duo formed in Austin, Texas, in 1992. They have been acclaimed for their music incorporating droning, effects-treated guitars a ...

. Rosetta's members have an interest in astronomy and space travel, and they somewhat humorously describe the band's music as "metal for astronauts".

Members

;Current members * Michael Armine –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, keyboards,

synthesizers A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, samples,

effects Effect may refer to: * A result or change of something ** List of effects ** Cause and effect, an idiom describing causality Pharmacy and pharmacology * Drug effect, a change resulting from the administration of a drug ** Therapeutic effect, ...

* David Grossman –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Bruce McMurtrie Jr. –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

* James Matthew Weed –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

* Eric Jernigan –

, keyboards,

;Session musicians * Will Benoit –

Discography

;Studio albums * '' The Galilean Satellites'' (Translation Loss, 2005) * ''

'' (Translation Loss, 2007) * ''

'' (Translation Loss, 2010) * ''

'' (self-released, 2013) * ''

'' (self-released, 2015) * '' Utopioid'' (self-released, 2017) ;Soundtracks * '' Rosetta: Audio/Visual Original Score'' (self-released, 2015) ;Compilations * ''

'' (self-released, 2016) ;Extended plays * ''

'' (Translation Loss, 2007) * ''

'' (Translation Loss, 2014) * ''Rosetta on Audiotree Live'' (Audiotree Music, 2018) * ''Sower of Wind'' (self-released, 2019) * ''Terra Sola'' (self-released, 2019) ;Split releases * ''

'' with Balboa (

Level Plane Level Plane was an American independent record label based in New York City that was founded in early 1997 by Greg Drudy for the release of Saetia's first 7". Drudy ran the label until it ceased to exist in 2009. It released records in a vari ...

, 2007) * split with

Year of No Light Year of No Light is a French post-metal band formed in Bordeaux in 2001. On their 2006 debut album ''Nord'', the band combined a dark and aggressive sludge metal sound with psychedelic atmospheres inspired by post-rock and shoegazing. In 2008, t ...

and East of the Wall (Translation Loss, 2009) * split with Restorations (Cavity, 2010) * '' Junius / Rosetta'' with

Junius Junius often refers to: * Junius (writer), the pseudonym of an 18th-century British political writer of strongly Whig principles * The nomen of the ancient Roman * or , the month of June on the ancient Roman calendar * Rosa Luxemburg's '' Junius P ...

(Translation Loss / The Mylene Sheath, 2011) * split with City of Ships (Bird's Robe, 2012) * split with Labirinto and La Bestia de Gévaudan (Kali Yuga Distro, 2019) ;Demos * Demo (self-released, 2004) ;DVDs * ''The Galilean Satellites 5.1'' (self-released, 2006) * ''Rosetta: Audio/Visual'' (Fly Jar Films, 2015) ;Guest appearances * "Rain Falling on a Factory Roof (Redux)" on ''The Silent Ballet Volume XV'' (Lost Children Net, 2010) * "Like I Care" (

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

cover) on ''Meantime edux' (Magnetic Eye, 2016)

References

External links

*
Rosetta
at

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

(independent releases)
Rosetta
at Bandcamp (Translation Loss releases) * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in Pennsylvania Heavy metal musical groups from Pennsylvania Rock music groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups from Philadelphia American post-metal musical groups American sludge metal musical groups American space rock musical groups American post-rock groups American musical quintets