Rosetta: A Zen-Out Band

By Travis Dvoracek
Contributing Writer

I like to look around on the net for my music news. It’s a great way to find new bands that you don’t hear about just listening to the radio. You can find out that your favorite band is going on tour, or just what other people think about bands. Of course you can also find bands by going to shows, but some great bands will still slip through your fingers if you don’t actively look around on your own.

A couple of months ago, while looking at one of my go-to metal news sites, I saw that they had an article about a couple bands that were getting some recent publicity, some just starting to make a name for themselves, some with new albums being announced, and some that the writers just wanted to talk about. A couple looked promising but one band in particular got my attention, Rosetta, based in Philly and that has been going since 2003.

I hit up their site and there really wasn’t much besides a discography, a little info, and links. So then I checked their MySpace to hear some of their music. They have more of this post-metal style that I’ve been hearing a lot more of, and really getting into. Looking around some more, I found out that they have a new album, “A Determinism of Morality,” coming out soon and that they were going on tour.

On tour with them is one of Fargo’s own local metal bands, Battlefields, which means that there is bound to be a stop in Fargo. And what do you know, they’re heading to The Aquarium on July 8th. It’ll be a 21+ show but for younger fans of Rosetta or of Battlefields, they’re also going to House of Wang in Moorhead the next night.

For those who haven’t heard any of Rosetta’s music, it’s Post-metal/Prog-metal, a newer style of metal that is more about how the structure of the song changes within the song, with slower tempo, chord changes, and a general instrumental feel rather than the shredding, fast tempoed, loudness of normal metal that we all know. Songs are generally longer, from 5 to 11 minutes.

There are vocals in this style but they’ve lost importance and emphasis. They’re still sung in the style of a lot of metal, with that deep growl that you hear nowadays, but it’s mixed so low that it’s not as demanding. You hear the music rather than the lyrics, even though the lyrics are well done and almost poetic in some songs.

I would compare Rosetta’s to the slower-tempoed songs of the band Baroness (which is another band that you should check out if you haven’t). They have that powerful sound, but with a softness that gives them this new sound that you have to hear to understand.

They’re a band that you want to listen to but not necessarily rock out to. They are what I like to call a Zen Out band. You listen to them and just chill and appreciate the music. Hell, you could take a nap to it, which is part of the reason I love it so.

The only thing I really don’t like about their new album is that all the songs are at about the same tempo. While their playing changes and there are differences in the songs, they also lack variation of mood. If there were some slightly faster songs in there, or some parts were sped up just a bit, it could have helped give it more life. But it’s still a solid album.

If you think this is for you, then head out to the Aquarium on Thursday or House of Wang on Friday and check them, Battlefields, and all the other bands on the list. It’s bound to be a great show.

And if you want to get their new album, “A Determinism of Morality,” out now, Orange Records had some copies and if they don’t, they can order more for you.

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If You Go
What: Rosetta, Battlefields, City of Ships
Where: House of Wang, 1108 16th St N, Mhd
When: Fri, July 9, 8pm
Info: 218.287.2127