ChaosResolved
10-22-2005, 10:48 AM
Rosetta
The Galilean Satellites
Release Date: 10/18/2005 (US)
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/rosetta.jpg
Buy Here: Translation Loss (http://www.translationloss.com/v2/store_009.htm)
Listen Here: Translation Loss (http://www.translationloss.com/v2/mp3/rosetta_europa.mp3)
Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/Rosetta)
Tracklisting:
Disc 1 :
Departe
Europa
Absent
Itinerant
Au Pays Natal
Disc 2 :
Deneb
Capella
Beta Aquilae
Boss 128
Sol
~~~~~
A little known band hailing from Philadelphia, PA scores the “release of the month” for October. Rosetta’s debut album, The Galilean Satellites, is so immense in its vision that it must span two full discs. Converted into finely ripped –vbr quality, this monster occupies roughly one-fifth of a gigabyte. For those with less pretentious tastes in music, that’s probably at least four or five albums worth of bile pop-punk. A project of such grand proportions could easily go horribly awry, but luckily for music fans everywhere, Rosetta serve up an unforgettable debut release featuring five tracks of unrestrained passion and five tracks of ambient meanderings.
There are many awards we could hand out to Rosetta: best band fronted by a high-school history teacher; best concept album of the year; geekiest metal band of the year; hardest space rock band of the year; strangest post-rock band of the year; most likely to sleep with Isis... The list could go on forever. And in the end, none of it really matters too much, for The Galilean Satellites is an album that truly speaks for itself. I can go on for pages and pages about the strength of this album in comparison to today’s modern trends, but inevitably it conveys very little about the release itself. The Translation Loss family is one that is quickly consuming the stale environment it finds itself positioned into and it is content on subverting the way we listen to music. If that was never clear before, Rosetta brings it to the forefront. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy of the album right now (http://www.translationloss.com/v2/store_009.htm). After it arrives in a nicely packaged case (artwork by Aaron Turner of Isis), return back to this article and give it a spin while reading. You’ll thank me later.
There are many different types of genres one could try to impose on Rosetta. Music critics love to structuralize the music world so everything fits nicely into little boxes that we can check off and file into folders so that we look like we have a vast knowledge of modern music. Any deconstruction of Rosetta will eventually lead to a contradiction (or perhaps use of circular logic) of our original assumptions about these so-called genres, so I proceed with caution. Rosetta isn’t quite “the band that is unlike anything you’ve ever heard,” because the band clearly share much in common with the likes of Isis, Neurosis, Mare, Mouth of the Architect, and Twin Zero-–but if you haven’t heard of those bands, then Rosetta really is new to you. However, one can’t help but notice the apparent influence of bands like Explosions in the Sky, Mono, Stars of the Lid, and a list of other “post-rock” acts that one wouldn’t originally expect a “metal” band to care too much about. Then there’s this third component to the music—-a fascination with the space frontier--which puts them in the “space rock” genre if only by concept, yet the band follows it up with some truly spacey segues through the course of The Galilean Satellites. So what is Rosetta? Metallic Space-Rock? Post-Metalcore? Hypnotic Indie-Rock? You be the judge. I digress on the subject and wish to return to the matter at hand. In time the internet community will find a place for this band within the rigidly defined “scene,” but I don’t care to be the one that discredits its art as such.
Formed in the summer of 2003, Rosetta started as a side project of sorts which quickly evolved into the main focus of this young group of musicians. With a desperately passionate drive to make music and a relentless search for perfection, the band slowly began laying down the foundation of its debut album, piece by piece assembling the journey of “the spaceman.” I’d hate to give away the story behind the album, since the band neglects to list the lyrics to the songs in the liner notes and these things are part of the fun of dissecting one's art work. Suffice to say that this band had a strong fascination with all things dealing with the limits that transcend our world and break out into the great unknown. It’s not always a smooth adventure, as Rosetta navigates through several turbulent sections, but all lethal threats are avoided over the course of The Galilean Satellites until the end of ‘Au Pays Natal,’ where the future of the protagonist is left as an open question. The Galilean Satellites presents the option of delving into a very philosophical, sometimes existential, subject matter, but that is left entirely to the preference of the listener, whom can engage himself as deeply as he wishes. Be forewarned, like the subject matter the band so desires, a long drink of The Galilean Satellites may have the same effect as an astronaut who has ventured too close to a black hole. The intelligence of the band is apparent through its musical presentation, but the lyrical content reinforces the brains of the band. The Galilean Satellites is devoid of fluff, packing a condensed journey that is slowly unraveled on the spaceman's journey.
As for the music itself, The Galilean Satellites presents a rich sonic environment where elements are progressively constructed in a linear manner and broken down with a hauntingly subtle brute force. Compositionally, Rosetta can be likened to a band exploring the post-rock realm. Strictly looking at the structure of the songs and not the sound, one can’t deny the influence of instrumentalists in The Galilean Satellites. However, due to the metallic nature of the band, focusing on heavy hitting base lines and gut wrenching vocals from Mike Armine that bleed through the choruses, it’s easy to lose sight of the actual form of the music as one becomes distracted in the presentation. Particularly, the track ‘Itinerant’ throws an obvious reference to this point by use of a violin and piano—-two post-rock staples—-to smooth out the rough edges of the album. ‘Itinerant’ is a bizarrely smooth song, one that can easily pass unappreciated amongst the high levels of aggression that excrete from this album. Those with highly trained ears will notice that Rosetta doesn’t completely discard the use of subtlety in this album, but rather, everything is amplified across the horizon to accentuate the sense of passion in the music. Miraculously, the band don’t fall into the common flaw among “metal” albums to make everything TOO LOUD. While The Galilean Satellites is a loud album, is it not something that causes small children to go deaf. Instead, it’s something that would sound really amazing cranked up on a vinyl. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The drumming is truly spectacular across the board. One of the most important parts of a band toying with the idea of spacey instrumentation is that the drumming must be able to anchor the song. Bad drummers are quickly exposed in space-rock oriented music, but great drummers flourish and use the extra slack given by the unrestrained guitarists to build up an unstoppable momentum that charges into an explosive climatic ending. Bruce McMutrie Jr. proves that he is up to the task, rendering over an hour's worth of creative drumming that frees up David Grossman on bass and Matthew Weed on guitar to float off into the atmosphere while carving out a jagged sonic landscape. Though Bruce falls into line with the more traditional idea of metallic drumming during the groups harder moments, the rest of the work showcases a musician with a more mature appetite. In any other band, I’d prophesy that he would quickly grow tired of the “metal gig,” but Rosetta embodies a constant desire for evolution and never shows the same form twice. In this environment, I believe a drummer such as Bruce McMutrie can truly excel and come into his own as possibly one of the leading drummers of this new frontier.
The guitar work follows McMurtrie’s lead, creating rhythmic, spacious pockets that prove large enough to contain the energy of The Galilean Satellites. Matt and David aren't overbearing on the guitar effects, but like all good space monkeys they know how to fire off a few flares--or start a fireworks show. The talent of these two axe wielders is displayed on the largely instrumental track ‘Absent’. How someone can walk away from that song and not feel the raw fury of Rosetta is beyond me, for the pressure and intensity of the song itself surpasses most of the work in the metal genre of late. Time and again the music just naturals gels, enveloping the listener in a cocoon of sound that is ripe with pure emotion. ‘Departe,’ the lead off track, similarly devastates the musical landscape by building up layers of tension and flattening it with unforeseen force. The song starts off rather sluggishly and quickly transitions into a series of chaotic climaxes, embedded along the way with some less-aggressive transitions. It’s a fitting introduction to the band and establishes its “sound” with relative ease.
Yet all of that is only Disc I. Given the performance on the first five songs, I’d easily say this is one of the top releases of the year, but there is much more to follow. Filled with ambient noises, Disc II is quite the change from Disc I. It’s a disc that is probably lost on most people, much in the same way that Byla’s self-titled album from the same label fell upon deaf ears, but Rosetta has a trick up its sleeve. Those with a keen eye will notice the two discs match up in track lengths! What to do? Find two stereos, put one disc in one (turn up the volume), put the other disc in the second (turn up the volume), and push play at the same time. That’s right—these two discs synchronize. What results is Rosetta with Rosetta support. As if one band weren’t good enough, we now have the pleasuring of listening to two at the same time. In some ways this is a magical experience, allowing you to time travel and rediscover the magic of The Galilean Satellites for a second time.
Probably unbeknownst to them, Rosetta does not rest too far from Oceansize in its musical vision. Rosetta consciously pulls itself together from several different influences and worlds of music to create a unique, complete sound. Similarly, Oceansize has garnered much critical acclaim by its wide instrumentation and excessive musical talent--crafting songs that are both aggressive and show a softer side as well. The Galilean Satellites increases the intensity a few levels and strips its sound of superfluous production and mixing. Although Rosetta appeared to have bitten off more than it could handle with its debut album-—blending together various forms of modern rock and sprawling it across two discs worth of music—-somehow everything comes together without the presence of jarring transitions. A band that invests so much time jumping from extreme to the other and is capable of avoiding disjointed compositions is a band that gets my praise. The Galilean Satellites is an unforgettable first taste from the band, and hopefully the future sees more brilliance from these fresh faces.
What’s next for this talented band? The logical step would be to introduce some John Coltrane into the mix, expose them to the world of electronica, and have Bruce father Ani DiFranco’s hippie, vegetarian baby, but who am I to say? For those enamored with the recent flux of musicians covering both ends of the spectrum, Rosetta is a must have. For those with an interest in the metal world, The Galilean Satellites is an album that will be a instant hit. For those looking for a band making some creative tunes that aren't afraid to express themselves on a raw emotional level and couple it with an intelligent foundation, there's nothing in this album that is displeasing. I'd expect the band to be grouped together with the metal/hardcore scene based upon the aggression of its music, and if that is the case I can only hope the band succeeds in influencing others in the genre and begin to dilute the overcrowded metalcore scene. We could use more bands like Rosetta.
~Jordan Volz
The Galilean Satellites
Release Date: 10/18/2005 (US)
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/rosetta.jpg
Buy Here: Translation Loss (http://www.translationloss.com/v2/store_009.htm)
Listen Here: Translation Loss (http://www.translationloss.com/v2/mp3/rosetta_europa.mp3)
Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/Rosetta)
Tracklisting:
Disc 1 :
Departe
Europa
Absent
Itinerant
Au Pays Natal
Disc 2 :
Deneb
Capella
Beta Aquilae
Boss 128
Sol
~~~~~
A little known band hailing from Philadelphia, PA scores the “release of the month” for October. Rosetta’s debut album, The Galilean Satellites, is so immense in its vision that it must span two full discs. Converted into finely ripped –vbr quality, this monster occupies roughly one-fifth of a gigabyte. For those with less pretentious tastes in music, that’s probably at least four or five albums worth of bile pop-punk. A project of such grand proportions could easily go horribly awry, but luckily for music fans everywhere, Rosetta serve up an unforgettable debut release featuring five tracks of unrestrained passion and five tracks of ambient meanderings.
There are many awards we could hand out to Rosetta: best band fronted by a high-school history teacher; best concept album of the year; geekiest metal band of the year; hardest space rock band of the year; strangest post-rock band of the year; most likely to sleep with Isis... The list could go on forever. And in the end, none of it really matters too much, for The Galilean Satellites is an album that truly speaks for itself. I can go on for pages and pages about the strength of this album in comparison to today’s modern trends, but inevitably it conveys very little about the release itself. The Translation Loss family is one that is quickly consuming the stale environment it finds itself positioned into and it is content on subverting the way we listen to music. If that was never clear before, Rosetta brings it to the forefront. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy of the album right now (http://www.translationloss.com/v2/store_009.htm). After it arrives in a nicely packaged case (artwork by Aaron Turner of Isis), return back to this article and give it a spin while reading. You’ll thank me later.
There are many different types of genres one could try to impose on Rosetta. Music critics love to structuralize the music world so everything fits nicely into little boxes that we can check off and file into folders so that we look like we have a vast knowledge of modern music. Any deconstruction of Rosetta will eventually lead to a contradiction (or perhaps use of circular logic) of our original assumptions about these so-called genres, so I proceed with caution. Rosetta isn’t quite “the band that is unlike anything you’ve ever heard,” because the band clearly share much in common with the likes of Isis, Neurosis, Mare, Mouth of the Architect, and Twin Zero-–but if you haven’t heard of those bands, then Rosetta really is new to you. However, one can’t help but notice the apparent influence of bands like Explosions in the Sky, Mono, Stars of the Lid, and a list of other “post-rock” acts that one wouldn’t originally expect a “metal” band to care too much about. Then there’s this third component to the music—-a fascination with the space frontier--which puts them in the “space rock” genre if only by concept, yet the band follows it up with some truly spacey segues through the course of The Galilean Satellites. So what is Rosetta? Metallic Space-Rock? Post-Metalcore? Hypnotic Indie-Rock? You be the judge. I digress on the subject and wish to return to the matter at hand. In time the internet community will find a place for this band within the rigidly defined “scene,” but I don’t care to be the one that discredits its art as such.
Formed in the summer of 2003, Rosetta started as a side project of sorts which quickly evolved into the main focus of this young group of musicians. With a desperately passionate drive to make music and a relentless search for perfection, the band slowly began laying down the foundation of its debut album, piece by piece assembling the journey of “the spaceman.” I’d hate to give away the story behind the album, since the band neglects to list the lyrics to the songs in the liner notes and these things are part of the fun of dissecting one's art work. Suffice to say that this band had a strong fascination with all things dealing with the limits that transcend our world and break out into the great unknown. It’s not always a smooth adventure, as Rosetta navigates through several turbulent sections, but all lethal threats are avoided over the course of The Galilean Satellites until the end of ‘Au Pays Natal,’ where the future of the protagonist is left as an open question. The Galilean Satellites presents the option of delving into a very philosophical, sometimes existential, subject matter, but that is left entirely to the preference of the listener, whom can engage himself as deeply as he wishes. Be forewarned, like the subject matter the band so desires, a long drink of The Galilean Satellites may have the same effect as an astronaut who has ventured too close to a black hole. The intelligence of the band is apparent through its musical presentation, but the lyrical content reinforces the brains of the band. The Galilean Satellites is devoid of fluff, packing a condensed journey that is slowly unraveled on the spaceman's journey.
As for the music itself, The Galilean Satellites presents a rich sonic environment where elements are progressively constructed in a linear manner and broken down with a hauntingly subtle brute force. Compositionally, Rosetta can be likened to a band exploring the post-rock realm. Strictly looking at the structure of the songs and not the sound, one can’t deny the influence of instrumentalists in The Galilean Satellites. However, due to the metallic nature of the band, focusing on heavy hitting base lines and gut wrenching vocals from Mike Armine that bleed through the choruses, it’s easy to lose sight of the actual form of the music as one becomes distracted in the presentation. Particularly, the track ‘Itinerant’ throws an obvious reference to this point by use of a violin and piano—-two post-rock staples—-to smooth out the rough edges of the album. ‘Itinerant’ is a bizarrely smooth song, one that can easily pass unappreciated amongst the high levels of aggression that excrete from this album. Those with highly trained ears will notice that Rosetta doesn’t completely discard the use of subtlety in this album, but rather, everything is amplified across the horizon to accentuate the sense of passion in the music. Miraculously, the band don’t fall into the common flaw among “metal” albums to make everything TOO LOUD. While The Galilean Satellites is a loud album, is it not something that causes small children to go deaf. Instead, it’s something that would sound really amazing cranked up on a vinyl. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The drumming is truly spectacular across the board. One of the most important parts of a band toying with the idea of spacey instrumentation is that the drumming must be able to anchor the song. Bad drummers are quickly exposed in space-rock oriented music, but great drummers flourish and use the extra slack given by the unrestrained guitarists to build up an unstoppable momentum that charges into an explosive climatic ending. Bruce McMutrie Jr. proves that he is up to the task, rendering over an hour's worth of creative drumming that frees up David Grossman on bass and Matthew Weed on guitar to float off into the atmosphere while carving out a jagged sonic landscape. Though Bruce falls into line with the more traditional idea of metallic drumming during the groups harder moments, the rest of the work showcases a musician with a more mature appetite. In any other band, I’d prophesy that he would quickly grow tired of the “metal gig,” but Rosetta embodies a constant desire for evolution and never shows the same form twice. In this environment, I believe a drummer such as Bruce McMutrie can truly excel and come into his own as possibly one of the leading drummers of this new frontier.
The guitar work follows McMurtrie’s lead, creating rhythmic, spacious pockets that prove large enough to contain the energy of The Galilean Satellites. Matt and David aren't overbearing on the guitar effects, but like all good space monkeys they know how to fire off a few flares--or start a fireworks show. The talent of these two axe wielders is displayed on the largely instrumental track ‘Absent’. How someone can walk away from that song and not feel the raw fury of Rosetta is beyond me, for the pressure and intensity of the song itself surpasses most of the work in the metal genre of late. Time and again the music just naturals gels, enveloping the listener in a cocoon of sound that is ripe with pure emotion. ‘Departe,’ the lead off track, similarly devastates the musical landscape by building up layers of tension and flattening it with unforeseen force. The song starts off rather sluggishly and quickly transitions into a series of chaotic climaxes, embedded along the way with some less-aggressive transitions. It’s a fitting introduction to the band and establishes its “sound” with relative ease.
Yet all of that is only Disc I. Given the performance on the first five songs, I’d easily say this is one of the top releases of the year, but there is much more to follow. Filled with ambient noises, Disc II is quite the change from Disc I. It’s a disc that is probably lost on most people, much in the same way that Byla’s self-titled album from the same label fell upon deaf ears, but Rosetta has a trick up its sleeve. Those with a keen eye will notice the two discs match up in track lengths! What to do? Find two stereos, put one disc in one (turn up the volume), put the other disc in the second (turn up the volume), and push play at the same time. That’s right—these two discs synchronize. What results is Rosetta with Rosetta support. As if one band weren’t good enough, we now have the pleasuring of listening to two at the same time. In some ways this is a magical experience, allowing you to time travel and rediscover the magic of The Galilean Satellites for a second time.
Probably unbeknownst to them, Rosetta does not rest too far from Oceansize in its musical vision. Rosetta consciously pulls itself together from several different influences and worlds of music to create a unique, complete sound. Similarly, Oceansize has garnered much critical acclaim by its wide instrumentation and excessive musical talent--crafting songs that are both aggressive and show a softer side as well. The Galilean Satellites increases the intensity a few levels and strips its sound of superfluous production and mixing. Although Rosetta appeared to have bitten off more than it could handle with its debut album-—blending together various forms of modern rock and sprawling it across two discs worth of music—-somehow everything comes together without the presence of jarring transitions. A band that invests so much time jumping from extreme to the other and is capable of avoiding disjointed compositions is a band that gets my praise. The Galilean Satellites is an unforgettable first taste from the band, and hopefully the future sees more brilliance from these fresh faces.
What’s next for this talented band? The logical step would be to introduce some John Coltrane into the mix, expose them to the world of electronica, and have Bruce father Ani DiFranco’s hippie, vegetarian baby, but who am I to say? For those enamored with the recent flux of musicians covering both ends of the spectrum, Rosetta is a must have. For those with an interest in the metal world, The Galilean Satellites is an album that will be a instant hit. For those looking for a band making some creative tunes that aren't afraid to express themselves on a raw emotional level and couple it with an intelligent foundation, there's nothing in this album that is displeasing. I'd expect the band to be grouped together with the metal/hardcore scene based upon the aggression of its music, and if that is the case I can only hope the band succeeds in influencing others in the genre and begin to dilute the overcrowded metalcore scene. We could use more bands like Rosetta.
~Jordan Volz