Album Review: Rosetta - 'The Galilean Satellites'

18 August 2007 | 3:19 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

You’ll need a few listens to get your head around this one…

More Rosetta More Rosetta
If you’re wondering why I’m

reviewing an album which came out in 2005 it’s because I’ve only

just acquired a proper copy of it! Oh yeah, and it’s a fucking amazing

record and I felt it deserved to be written about! 


Rosetta is an experimental foursome

based in Philadelphia who have a knack for writing epic, earth moving

soundscapes, which are completely punishing one minute and then gentle

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and ambient the next. 


Taking their queues from bands

like Isis and Cult Of Luna, Rosetta have approached the genre (if you

can call it that, it’s experimental for a reason) in a way which is

both unique and intriguing to anyone who is prepared to give the band

a go. 


“The Galilean Satellites”

is a 2 disc collection which shows that Rosetta are happy to play around

at either end of the extreme music spectrum. The 5 tracks that make

up disc 1 contain nearly an hour of crushing, metallic music. At times,

the band’s sound is littered with abrasive screaming, at others, Rosetta

can spend 5 minutes building dense instrumentals. 


The five tracks on disc 2 run

at exactly the same length (barring some extra noise at the end of track

5) as the first, but with a major difference. All of these songs are

made up of samples and loops which make for an almost dreamy sound.

Some people may even argue that this disc doesn’t even qualify as

music, but for those with an open mind there is a lot to enjoy here. 


Now, if releasing a double album

of completely differing styles of music isn’t enough, there’s something

else on offer. Keeping in mind that the 5 tracks on each CD have the

same running time, these discs are designed to be played together.

That’s right, if you load each CD into a separate stereo and run them

concurrently, both pieces of music will overlap! After looking into

this a little further, your brain is actually forced to create a new

neurological pathway to fully comprehend what its hearing… that’s

some crazy shit!!!!


If you’re looking to purchase

some background music, then this record isn’t for you. If however

you’re looking for an album which might require some attention, this

is for you!


Disc 1  


  1. Departe
  2. Europa
  3. Absent
  4. Itinerant
  5. Au Pays Natal
 


Disc 2 


  1. Deneb
  2. Capella