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Rosetta is an American post-metal band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that has been active since 2003.
Rosetta | |
|---|---|
 Rosetta performing in Richmond, Virginia in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | Translation Loss |
| Members |
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| Website | www.rosettaband.com (archived) |
Rosetta was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1] 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 the entire show.[2] They proceeded to play more shows, and eventually wrote and recorded a four-song demo album, which picked up interest from Translation Loss Records.[2] The band's name does not come from the Rosetta Stone, but was chosen because they "wanted a one word name that was both feminine and beautiful."[3]
Their debut album, The Galilean Satellites, featured two separate hour-long discs (one of more metal-oriented music, and one of ambience) that synchronize together. This setup was inspired by Neurosis' album Times of Grace.[2] Although originally intended to be one disc of metal tracks sandwiched by ambient ones, the band had enough material to cover two discs.[2] The album was released through Translation Loss on October 18, 2005. Rosetta self-released a CD-R and a 5.1 surround sound DVD-R syncing both discs together during the band's 2005 and 2006 tours, respectively.[4]
The band's second release was a split album with Balboa. Titled Project Mercury, it was released April 24, 2007 by Level Plane Records. After a full United States tour in July, the band's second full-length album, entitled Wake/Lift, 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, 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, was released by Translation Loss on May 25, 2010.[5] 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 band in 2013.[6] They self-released their fourth studio album, The Anaesthete, 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.[6] Their final release on Translation Loss was the Flies to Flame EP on October 14. A docummentary 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.
Rosetta released a compilation album titled A Dead-Ender's Reunion 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.
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Rosetta plays a style of post-metal[7] that incorporates elements of space rock, sludge,[1] post-hardcore,[8] shoegazing, drone,[1] post-rock, avant-garde and ambient. The band's influences are as diverse as Neurosis and Isis,[9] My Bloody Valentine, Frodus, and Stars of the Lid.[2] Rosetta's members have an interest in astronomy and space travel, and they somewhat humorously describe the band's music as "metal for astronauts".[2][10]
- Current members
- Michael Armine – lead vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, samples, effects (2003–present)
- David Grossman – bass guitar, piano, backing vocals (2003–present)
- Bruce McMurtrie Jr. – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2003–present)
- James Matthew Weed – guitar, violin, piano, bass guitar, backing vocals (2003–present)
- Eric Jernigan – guitar, keyboards, piano, synthesizers, backing vocals (2014–present)
- Session musicians
- Will Benoit – bass guitar (2018)
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