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Features - Interview
 Rosetta A Metal Odyssey Interview by Sean Butze & Josh Coppola | September 5th, 2007
Within local clubs and basement venues across the globe, a trend has been emerging over the past several years among the extreme music scene’s more intellectually-minded. It is a trend that has led to the development of many artists who harness the extreme and often unbridled intensity of heavy music (typically metal), and direct it in ways that evoke appreciation for patience and subtlety. Such artists have begun to shape their intense sounds for the sake of introspection and emotional complexity, rather than surface-level rage and ridicule. As this trend has developed into a legitimate movement, even receiving occasional coverage in major magazines and newspapers, many have began trying to classify this modern musical phenomenon. Terms such as “metalgaze” or “post-metal” seem to have surfaced at the top, in reference to the scene’s heavy incorporation of minimalist ‘post-rock’ and layered ‘shoegaze’ techniques. But even as bands and scenesters alike continue to become swept up in this fad of sorts, there remain a handful of artists who prefer to go their own way and ignore all of the hype around it.
Philadelphia’s Rosetta is one such group, having managed to make a name for themselves in today’s “post-metal” arena without resorting to bandwagon themes or predictable songwriting techniques. Their 2005 debut The Galilean Satellites was a refreshing approach to atmospheric metal that quickly gained them solid recognition. Incorporating somewhat of an intergalactic spin on their music, the album pushed the bounds of the genre into the final frontier of outer space. Now with their brand new album Wake/Lift set to be released in October, vocalist Mike Armine takes a moment to offer his feelings on this newly found “post-metal” movement, and to give us some insight into the mysterious entity that is Rosetta.
SF: Many would say that your sound clearly fits in well with the likes of ISIS, Neurosis, Pelican, etc.; in that slightly intangible pseudo-genre known as doom / sludge / metalgaze or “post-metal.” Whatever people are calling it these days, it’s definitely a movement that’s really taken off in the past few years. What are your feelings on this new underground trend? Do you fee like your band is wholly a part of it?
Mike Armine (Vocals): Whatever people are making of this "post-metal movement" it is taking off. However I would not say that it's underground. Not anymore. With access to the internet, especially to web pages like Last.fm, and MysSpace, anyone can access that sound if they are looking for it. They may even stumble across it. It's only human to want to classify the sound. But I really think placing this style into categories or even to sub-categorize is appropriate. One can talk about ISIS, Neurosis, Pelican, Battlefields, North, etc. in the same sentence but they would be missing the fact that each of these bands has harnessed an aspect that sets them apart.
ISIS never sounded like Neurosis. Sure they were heavy and atmospheric, but they took it into a different direction. More importantly they had a different emotional element, a totally different emotional element than Neurosis did. And look at those bands now, they’re in two totally different places. You can not look at the newer bands that have caught on to the sound and pigeon hole them as a spin off. They are simply too young, the whole sound is young especially with the elements and influences people are starting to mix. We have to give these bands time and see where they go. If we are apart of it, I've only felt it once, and that was when we were on tour with Battlefields. They were one of the only bands that we have played with that I felt we were similar to stylistically. I'm not saying that Rosetta is different, we just never get tacked on the "Post-Doom metal post sludge rock experimental ambient wave" shows. We play in basements with good bands, of all styles, and that's why we love what we do.
SF: While undoubtedly crushing and intense, your sound also focuses heavily on atmosphere and evokes strange feelings of the unknown--Your 2006 release came with a simple inscription that said “These songs are about a space man.” What kinds of ideas and influences do you draw from in order to create your unique sound?
Mike: Musically, I can only speak from a lyrical standpoint. I can say that my lyrics are taken from my daily interaction with people, judgments that I make, and things that I see. My feelings on these matters come out during practice, get internally processed, then edited, and come out in song. Every lyric has something behind it and some connection to my life. Personally I can say that we are all "glass half empty" kind of guys, and view our environment with our own sense of skepticism, distrust. None of us really interact with our environment because we are uncomfortable in it, and we judge it. So when things are crushing, strange and intense, it's because the judgments we have made of our environment have made their way into our
music. We're people too, and we can't hold onto that type of bitterness--it has to come out somehow, Rosetta is our outlet. At least that's how I see it. That's how I feel when we play: bitter at all I have seen, and I feel overwhelmed at work trying to change it.
SF: The Rosetta Stone was an important discovery that helped decipher much of the Egyptian hieroglyph system. Is your band name referencing this artifact? If so (or if not), why did you choose the name?
Mike: No, that stone was a major archeological discovery, but it was only an edict that got rid of taxes and demanded temples be built. I feel that bands referencing this as a name or song feel the stone has more religious significance then it does political. Or they simply think it's a cool name...and it is. But NO, our Rosetta did not come about from this stone. We wanted a one word name that was both feminine and beautiful. I believe it was Dave that came up with it. Only later, while writing The Galilean Satellites, did we realize that Rosetta was the name of a satellite the ESA sent up to study comets.
SF: Considering that most of your songs involve lengthy and often repetitious patterns, combined with layers of additional effects, has performing live been a challenge for the band? Do you think your complex sound is reproduced accurately on stage?
Mike: I don't think it's a challenge for the band as much as it is for the listener. It's not a hassle for us if by the end of a set only 10 kids are left, and 120 are outside. We get it right a majority of the time, but one of the things we found during this past summer tour and last was that sometimes after playing the same song night after night after night, we speed up the tempo unintentionally. The atmosphere is always there, the layers are always there, but sometimes the tempo is too fast. Also, we are really particular about the rooms we play in. If the audience is too far away, we feel weird and not as intense. It's best to see us in a small club (all ages), with no stage and a good PA. It's important for us to feel the audience as much as it is for the audience to feel what we are doing.
SF: You recently released a split album with hardcore/screamo act Balboa. What was it like to collaborate with a band that has a considerably different style than your own? Are you planning on doing further collaborative efforts in the future?
Mike: It was a blast; we’re really good friends with Balboa. We play together often in Philly, tour together as much as possible, and we share a practice space. So getting together was not an issue at all. Both bands may play a different style, but our method to song writing is the same. Sitting in the space and jamming on parts was more or less an easy task that everyone was comfortable with it. I remember sitting in the space one night being flustered because with so many people, it's hard to get serious. I felt people were really timid about bringing up ideas at first because of the number of people that were going to pass judgment on it. After a couple of sessions, and once a few solid ideas were on the table and taking form, I began to enjoy the silly moments more(a lot), and everyone was definitely more comfortable bouncing ideas around. It was really nice to see things evolve between the eight of us. I only wish Peat and I had time to collaborate on lyrics--that was something that got lost in shuffle due to time limitations.
SF: Can you give any insight into what kinds of concepts your new album, Wake/Lift, will be dealing with (hopefully other than space men)? Will there be any significant differences in style from your previous work?
Mike: Wake/Lift does deal with the Spaceman, but only lightly. It’s not as heavy on that concept as the previous release. As the record continues, the listener will find that references about space do not exist. This release is more of a social commentary on my first year teaching, and the kids who's lives I've seen destroyed by poor parenting. I seriously believe people should legally need to have a dog for three years before having a child. I've seen my knuckles turn white at some of the things parents do and say to their kids in the name of guilt, denial, power, and neglect.
SF: You’ve already publicly stated that Wake/Lift will not be formatted like The Galilean Satellites, which was most notable for its inclusion of 2 separate discs that could be played together simultaneously. You are, however, releasing a companion disc called The Cleansing Undertones of Wake/Lift. How will this supplement relate to the actual album?
Mike: It will be a sad day for anyone who plays those disks at the same time. I purposely designed The Cleansing Undertones of Wake/Lift to make Wake/Lift sound terrible if played together. TCUOWL is 20 minutes shorter than Wake/Lift, and only 3 tracks long. If anyone thinks you can stretch TCUOWL to match Wake/Lift and magic will happen: you are mistaken. TCUOWL is a piece using all the samples from Wake/Lift as a base. From there, I added every sample I ever stole, manipulated, or made over the last 7 years and layered them all together. No one in Rosetta wanted to do a companion disk this time around for good reasons. But a part of me knew I was sitting on a lot of samples that I need to close the door to and never look back on, a part of me needed to start making a new catalog of fresh sounds. That is why I did TCUOWL.
SF: Over the course of your career you’ve collaborated and toured with a diverse number of bands. Can you describe what (and with whom) has been your best experience so far?
Mike: Both times we toured with Balboa were amazing. The Battlefields tour was also a stellar time. Touring with The Minor Times has always been the silliest, but for me personally, the more humbling. It has nothing to do with the music they play, it has only to do with their personalities. Each band is made up of different people who live for and love different things. But they all share a quality that is somewhat untouchable with words, they are all "good people" who don't care about "the scene", or the money, or the politics, they are about having a good time and enjoying the moments we have to the fullest. Much love. 
ROSETTA Official MySpace
PRE-ODER Wake/Lift from Translation Loss Records
Photo by Scott Kinkade
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