Pennsylvania post-metal/sludge metal band Rosetta admittedly don’t fall neatly into either of the aforementioned genre descriptors, but that’s not the point. The point is that they fully deserve to be among your favorite bands, period, if you’re unfamiliar with them. To put it simply, they’re a veteran band that has elements of post-rock, sludge metal, dream pop, ambient soundscapes, and just about any melodic metal subgenre you can think of. If this sounds good, it 100% should.
PS: we’ve included a handy Spotify playlist of all 6 of their full-length records. Listening to their discography all the way through is a good play, if you have the time.
Last year’s Utopoid record was highly impressive – the band’s 6th full-length was solid all the way around, but the 7+ minute long “Detente” simply blew the doors off what their so-called “metal for astronauts” was all about. A brilliant track that has to be considered among the band’s best tracks, its build-up and explosion midway in the song is something few bands of the genre (well, multiple genres) can say they do with this much skill.
Interestingly, their earlier, more metal-oriented material is even more ambitious. Especially their first two records, The Galilean Satellites and Wake/Lift, released in 2005/2007, respectively. While the band is surely influenced by the greats like Isis, Neurosis, and maybe even a little bit of early Hopesfall, Rosetta have managed to carve out a distinct sound for themselves, just like those legendary bands. While they aren’t necessarily topping charts, that shouldn’t be a measure of their success or failure – one listen to any of their 6 full-lengths and countless other material reveals themselves as a band many look up to, and that’s no small thing.
