Rosetta is an American

post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. In a way si ...

band from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

incorporating elements of post-hardcore,

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 volu ...

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

, post-rock,

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

and ambient, with influences as diverse as

Neurosis Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

and

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

, 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. by vocalist/guitarist Shelby Cinca ...

, and

Stars of the Lid Stars of the Lid is an American ambient music duo consisting of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie. The duo formed in Austin, Texas in 1993. They have been acclaimed for their music incorporating droning, effects-treated guitars along with piano, st ...

. The band somewhat humorously self-describes its music as "metal for astronauts", and its members are very interested in astronomy and space travel.

Biography

Rosetta's members were all acquaintances in high school, and had played in various bands until they decided to play a last minute gig on August 20, 2003, after only three practice sessions, and improvised the entire show. Following this, they proceeded to write more songs, play more shows, and eventually record 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 composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts are in Ancien ...

. Their debut album, ''

The Galilean Satellites ''The Galilean Satellites'' is the first studio album by American post-metal band Rosetta, released in 2005 on Translation Loss Records. The album is two discs long and the track lengths on each disc correspond to each other, indicating that the ...

'', featured two separate hour-long discs (one of more metal-oriented music, and one of ambience) that synchronize together. Although originally intended to be one disc of metal tracks sandwiched by ambient ones, the band had enough material to cover two discs. The band's second release, ''

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 ...

'', a split with Balboa, was released April 24, 2007. After a full United States tour in July, the band's second full-length album, entitled '' Wake/Lift'', was released on October 2, again through Translation Loss. The release of ''Wake/Lift'' was accompanied by selected United States touring and followed by a June 2008 Australian tour. Rosetta's third full-length album, named ''A Determinism of Morality'', was released on May 25, 2010, and was followed in the summer by the band's first full U.S. tour in three years. In October, the band released a split LP with Philadelphia band Restorations, on Cavity Records, featuring a previously unreleased track which had been recorded in December 2007. In 2012 the band 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.

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' (Translation Loss, 2005) * '' Wake/Lift'' (Translation Loss, 2007) * '' A Determinism of Morality'' (Translation Loss, 2010) * '' The Anaesthete'' (self released, 2013) * '' Quintessential Ephemera'' (self released, 2015) * '' Utopioid'' (self released, 2017) ;EPs * '' The Cleansing Undertones of Wake/Lift'' (Translation Loss, 2007) * '' Flies to Flame'' (Translation Loss, 2014) *''Sower of Wind'' (self released, 2019) *''Terra Sola'' (self released, 2019) ;Soundtrack * '' Rosetta: Audio/Visual Original Score '' (self released, 2015) ;Splits * ''

'' 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 variety ...

, 2007) * Three way split with Year of No Light and East of the Wall (Translation Loss, 2009) * Split with Restorations (Cavity Records, 2010) * '' Junius / Rosetta'' with Junius (Translation Loss Records / The Mylene Sheath, 2011) * City of Ships / Rosetta (Bird's Robe Records, July 2012) ;Compilations * '' A Dead-Ender's Reunion'' (self released, 2016) ;Demos * Demo (self-released, 2004)

Members

* Michael Armine – lead vocals,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, synthesizers, 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, a ...

(2003–present) * David Grossman –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

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 ...

(2003–present) * Bruce McMurtrie Jr. – drums (2003–present) * J. Matthew Weed –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

(2003–present) * Eric Jernigan –

(2014–present)

References

External links

*
Rosetta
at

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Translation Loss Records
{{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