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Rosetta
A Determinism of Morality
Translation Loss
On 2007’s Wake/Lift, Rosetta established a solid niche for themselves within the burgeoning ambient metal landscape, applying a fairly unique approach to heavy song craft while comfortably remaining within the genre’s parameters. Incorporating equal measures of tar-thick sludge and spacey melodic rock, the Philadelphia four-piece straddles a fine balance between the crushing weight of Isis and the atmospheric tendencies of latter-day Cave In. Not bad company to be associated with, and on A Determinism Of Morality, they’ve taken that sound refined it into their highest quality output yet.
Those familiar with the band’s previous records (the previously mentioned Wake/Lift and its predecessor The Galilean Satellites) will feel immediately at home with this third LP. Rather than pitch any drastic creative curve balls, Rosetta has opted to play things fairly safe and down the middle. If anything, perhaps the most noticeable change here over their previous work is a shift toward slightly more streamlined songwriting. They’re still in the business of writing lengthy, complex and densely layered jams, but this time around they only break the ten-minute mark once (on the record’s title track) in comparison to Wake/Lift’s three tracks that run past that length. The result is a record that feels just a little more accessible and easier to get into; marginally tighter songwriting aside however, not much has changed between records for the band.
That is not necessarily a fault however, and it remains refreshing to hear a band of this style that can be both progressive and listenable without compromising their content. If anything, this is what separates Rosetta somewhat from the myriad of their peers; they know how to write monstrous epics without getting too bogged down in excess. They also give their songs a little more room to breathe than most; where other acts might opt for suffocating heaviness, the band gives ample space between each instrument to move freely and allows legitimate melodies to creep in.
Guitarist J. Matthew Weed spends a fair amount of time playing in the upper registers, carefully weaving single-note lines that gracefully swirl and meander while giving the rhythm section the ability to be heard and not just felt; the bass tone here is warm and round, while the syncopated percussion is tastefully understated and explosively propulsive when the time calls for either. The band makes sparing use of straight-forward heavy riffing as well to satisfying effect, particularly during the jarring noise breakdown on opening track “Ayil” and at the tail end of its follow up “Je N’en Connais Pas La Fin.” Other tracks like the soaring “Revolve” would almost sound pretty if frontman Mike Armine’s anguished, heavily effects-processed roar didn’t keep the proceedings sufficiently brutal, reminding us that despite their shimmering melodic leanings, Rosetta are still a metal band.
A Determinism Of Morality isn’t exactly a game changing release, but it is a strong effort in its own right. Three albums deep into their career, Rosetta have assured themselves a spot as a dependable player in the high-brow ambient metal game, serving up enough deliberately-paced heaviness for metalheads on one end, and enough towering melodic crescendos for delay-pedal loving post-rockers on the other. Quality, if not particularly groundbreaking, goods for both camps.
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