• Best of 2020
  • Monthly Missive
  • Columns
    • A Gift to Artwork
    • Cool People Column
    • Death’s Door
    • Doomsday
    • Editors’ Picks
    • Genre Genesis
    • Grind My Gears
    • Into the Pit
    • Kvlt Kolvmn
    • Post Rock Post
    • Rotten to the Core
    • Unmetal Monthly
  • Genres
    • Metal
      • Black Metal
      • Death Metal
      • Doom Metal
      • Grindcore
      • Metalcore
      • Post-Metal
      • Progressive Metal
      • Stoner Metal
      • Sludge Metal
      • Thrash Metal
      • Trad Metal
    • Rock
      • Art Rock
      • Hardcore
      • Indie Rock
      • Math Rock
      • Post-Rock
      • Progressive Rock
      • Psych Rock
      • Punk
      • Shoegaze
      • Stoner Rock
      • Synthwave
    • Classical
    • Electronic
    • Folk
    • Hip-Hop
    • Jazz
    • Pop
    • R&B
  • Reviews
  • Listen To This!
  • Podcast
  • Store
  • Contact
Search
Heavy Blog Is Heavy logo
  • Best of 2020
    Random
    • VOTE NOW: Heavy Blog's First Annual Readers Poll

      Nick Cusworth
      December 28, 2020
      Best of 2020
    Recent
    • Music Journalism’s Top 50 Metal Albums of 2020

      Nick Cusworth
      February 9, 2021
    • Yearly Missive // 2020

      Eden Kupermintz
      January 25, 2021
    • Heavy Blog’s Favorite Albums of 2020

      Heavy Blog
      January 25, 2021
    • Unmetal Monthly // 2020 In Review

      Jonathan Adams
      January 25, 2021
    • Heavy Blog Guest List – Dawnwalker

      Eden Kupermintz
      January 25, 2021
    • Genre Genesis // Album of the Year Edition 2020

      Heavy Blog
      January 25, 2021
  • Monthly Missive
    Random
    • Monthly Missive // October 2020

      Heavy Blog
      October 5, 2020
      Monthly Missive
    Recent
    • Yearly Missive // 2020

      Eden Kupermintz
      January 25, 2021
    • Monthly Missive // January 2021

      Eden Kupermintz
      January 4, 2021
    • Monthly Missive // December 2020

      Heavy Blog
      December 7, 2020
    • Monthly Missive // November 2020

      Heavy Blog
      November 9, 2020
    • Monthly Missive // September 2020

      Heavy Blog
      September 2, 2020
  • Columns

    Recent

    • Unmetal Monthly // 2020 In Review

      Jonathan Adams
      January 25, 2021
      Best of 2020, Unmetal Monthly
    • Death’s Door // 2020 In Review

      Jonathan Adams
      January 25, 2021
      Best of 2020, Death's Door
    • Kvlt Kolvmn // 2020 In Review

      Jonathan Adams
      January 25, 2021
      Best of 2020, Kvlt Kolvmn
    • Into the Pit // The Best (And Worst) Years for Thrash Metal

      Joshua Bulleid
      January 25, 2021
      Best of 2020, Into the Pit
    • The Void Screameth // Goodbye 2020

      Eden Kupermintz
      January 25, 2021
      The Void Screameth
    • A Gift To Artwork // 2020 In Review

      Karlo Doroc
      January 25, 2021
      A Gift to Artwork, Best of 2020
    • A Gift to Artwork
    • Cool People Column
    • Death’s Door
    • Doomsday
    • Editors’ Picks
    • Genre Genesis
    • Grind My Gears
    • Into the Pit
    • Kvlt Kolvmn
    • Post Rock Post
    • Rotten to the Core
    • Unmetal Monthly
  • Genres
    • Metal
      • Black Metal
      • Death Metal
      • Doom Metal
      • Grindcore
      • Metalcore
      • Post-Metal
      • Progressive Metal
      • Stoner Metal
      • Sludge Metal
      • Thrash Metal
      • Trad Metal
    • Rock
      • Art Rock
      • Hardcore
      • Indie Rock
      • Math Rock
      • Post-Rock
      • Progressive Rock
      • Psych Rock
      • Punk
      • Shoegaze
      • Stoner Rock
      • Synthwave
    • Classical
    • Electronic
    • Folk
    • Hip-Hop
    • Jazz
    • Pop
    • R&B
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • Atramentus - Stygian

      Simon Handmaker
      September 2, 2020
      Reviews
    Recent
    • Humanity’s Last Breath – Välde

      Calder Dougherty
      February 12, 2021
    • Nervosa – Perpetual Chaos

      Pete Williams
      February 12, 2021
    • Dawnwalker – Ages

      Eden Kupermintz
      January 4, 2021
    • Deftones – Black Stallion

      Joshua Bulleid
      December 16, 2020
    • Wytch Hazel – III: Pentecost

      Pete Williams
      December 7, 2020
    • Tombs – Under Sullen Skies

      Pete Williams
      December 7, 2020
  • Listen To This!
    Featured
    • Hey! Listen to Let Us Prey!

      Joshua Bulleid
      July 28, 2020
      Listen To This!
    Recent
    • What We’re Really Listening To – 2/26/21

      Scott Murphy
      February 26, 2021
    • Release Day Roundup – 2/26/21

      Scott Murphy
      February 26, 2021
    • Release Day Roundup – 2/19/21

      Scott Murphy
      February 19, 2021
    • Hey! Listen to Froglord!

      Pete Williams
      February 12, 2021
    • What We’re Really Listening To – 2/12/21

      Scott Murphy
      February 12, 2021
    • Release Day Roundup – 2/12/21

      Scott Murphy
      February 12, 2021
  • Podcast
  • Store
  • Contact
Home
Listen To This!Heavy Delinquency

Heavy Delinquency – Rosetta’s Utopioid

Matt Sheehan
January 30, 2018
Heavy Delinquency

There was a distinct lack of post-metal in our end of 2017 round-up and, in some ways, this is unsurprising. The heyday of the genre happened over a decade ago, and its deceptively simple formula has now made it more and more challenging for bands to say something original with the sound. There have of course been exceptions to this rule, with releases like Cult of Luna’s Mariner garnering a lot of critical attention over the last few years. Still, even these standout albums have had to rely on external influences, like the vocal additions of Julie Christmas or an increasing dependence on prog metal and electronic ingredients, to reinvigorate post-metal’s now slightly tired recipe.

However, this is not to say that there weren’t any quality releases from the post-metal camp last year. One album that flew under our radar was Utopioid; the 6th full-length from veteran Philadelphia quintet, Rosetta. Rosetta were part of the original wave of post-metal titans, such as Pelican and ISIS, who established the genre’s sound with releases like their classic 2006 debut, The Galilean Satellites. Since then, they have quietly released one quality record after another and have tentatively begun to expand their own sound, as well the sonic potential of the genre itself. Rosetta have always been a band that placed notable emphasis on the atmospheric elements of post-metal, utilising passionate crescendos and spacey progressions to add emotional character and depth to their otherwise aggressive and often sludgy core sound. 2015’s Quintessential Ephemera saw the group make a concerted effort to frame their sound more than ever around their atmospheric qualities. The addition of clean vocals and a generally more patient and thoughtful feel translated into a fresh approach to a conventional sound, even if it left older, heavier fans slightly wanting. Rosetta’s latest effort pushes their sound even further into cerebral atmospheric territory, and has resulted in a thoroughly enjoyable album that lends itself to the project’s long-standing cosmic themes, while providing refreshing new possibilities for the genre.

Building on the forays of Quintessential Ephemera, Utopioid makes extended and effective use of clean vocals, which drone hypnotically throughout the mellower passages of the album before breaking out into the band’s trademark ragged scream as the music’s energy intensifies. Readers would be mistaken for thinking the scarcity of harsh vocals on this album means it lacks heaviness though, because when they do hit, they hit hard; providing powerful emotional climaxes as they ebb and flow in perfect synchronicity with the tone and intensity of the album’s hour-long run time.

Similarly, for the most part, the instrumental tone of the record is slow, brooding and pensive. Rosetta employ their signature progressions of floating, delay- and reverb-laden ethereal guitar passages, which are layered and interwoven to haunting effect. The tone of these passages, and of the instrumentals more generally, conveys an expansive sense of space and evokes feelings of both isolation and serenity. It also plays to the thematic elements of outer space that have comprised an essential element of the band’s sound since their inception. The album very effectively evokes the cold, unforgiving, desperate isolation and vastness of the cosmos, yet also its overwhelming grandeur and complexity. Like the vocals, the hypnotic spell cast by the airy guitars is only occasionally broken by moments of absolutely crushing heaviness, but once again the sparsity of these passages makes them all the more potent.

One potential criticism of the extended atmospheric passages and slow progression of the album is that tracks tend to blur together, although the natural flow between songs does add to the sense that the album is to be experienced as one larger, dynamic composition. That being said, the moments that do stand out tend to be on the heavier tracks. “King Ivory Tower”, “Détente” and “Qohelet” comprise the most memorable songs, and do so by finding the right yin-yang balance between vocal styles and by working compelling hooks into the guitar leads and vocal lines. Penultimate track “Qohelet” stands out as exemplary in that it subverts the expectation of the slow crescendo typically associated with post-metal. Just two and a half minutes in, it drops suddenly and uncompromisingly into one of the album’s most punishing passages, only to dissipate just as abruptly, leaving the listener stunned and reeling. Unfortunately, the malevolent intensity that builds throughout “Qohelet” is such that the album’s final foray – the slow and pensive “Intramorten” – feels somewhat redundant.

Utopioid is not a revolutionary album. Rosetta use the same solid foundation of post-metal tropes that they and many others have always employed, but with this release the band have successfully discovered fresh new territory in a genre that had appeared largely worn out. More impatient listeners might argue that the extensive quietude and lingering atmospheric passages must be endured, rather than enjoyed, in order to experience the cathartic pay-off of the few heavier climaxes. However, the subdued passages don’t come across as tension-building filler. They have their own engaging sense of depth and detail, and create immersive soundscapes that feed into the band’s long-standing space themes. Overall, this is a stellar release, and is well worth the time and attention of anyone with even a casual interest in music of the ‘post-‘ variety.

Comments

alternative rockambientatmospheric sludge metalCult of LunaIsisNoisepelicanpost metalpost-rockRosetta

About The Author

Matt Sheehan

Related Posts

  • Heavy Delinquency – Mamaleek’s Come and See

    Scott Murphy
    April 15, 2020
  • Heavy Delinquency – Wandering Oak

    Eden Kupermintz
    March 2, 2020

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Patreon

Ko-fi

Podcast

All the Heavy Lifting

Latest Reviews

  • Humanity’s Last Breath – Välde

    Calder Dougherty
    February 12, 2021
    Music is cyclical. Beyond the obvious patterns of write-record-release and press runs and tours and merch drops, there ... Read More...
  • Nervosa – Perpetual Chaos

    Pete Williams
    February 12, 2021
    It’s always cool to see bands grow and change over time. There are many different ways that can happen. It could mean a... Read More...
  • Dawnwalker – Ages

    Eden Kupermintz
    January 4, 2021
    Here's an age-old truth: fragile beauty is something that is aesthetically magnetic. The idea of the weakness, the flee... Read More...
  • Deftones – Black Stallion

    Joshua Bulleid
    December 16, 2020
    White Pony (2000) was the record that first introduced electronics into Deftones's sound. It is therefore suitable that ... Read More...