Just like the title says.
This was in the editing stage for a
looooong time. I think I finally narrowed down my central thesis. I felt like I couldn't talk about
Rosetta without reflecting on the sub-sub-genre they are usually grouped into, being atmospheric sludge (or "Post Metal" but let's discontinue the use of that marker, eh?). That reflection turned into an enormous, unwieldy essay. I gutted that and started over.
In brief, rarely do I find groups within the constellation of this "P.M." genre
that good anymore (with the exception of
Isis and
Neurosis, who are often imitated with middling, unrefined results) -- which is odd, considering how much I typically like the pairing of
aggression and atmosphere [link -- case in point]. SO, I did some reflection, and remembered a discussion with a friend I had one time that is somewhat related to the matter.
Atmo-sludge bands typically play an aggregate style of heavy music that encompasses elements of sludge, doom, post-rock, and hardcore, which should be AMAZING -- Passionate, confrontational, heavy music with an atmospheric flair that you can headbang to -- yet rarely that's the case. Rarely do things "click" for me the way they did in 2008.
I present the example of the first (and only so far, come to think of it..) time I saw
Rosetta. In a hyper-condensed version of that set, they played "
Red in Tooth and Claw" and I got AMPED. That is, I got about as excited as possible and I thought "This is going to be the best show I've ever been to" and then the set continued for what felt like 45 minutes as I became exhausted, drained, and annoyed.
To me, this speaks to this style in general. First, thirteen minute hardcore songs are exhausting. There's only so much of yourself to give, which must be what
Neurosis figured out as they began to experiment with weirdo industrial textures and odd instrumental interludes in the 90s. So, the music (and this ultimately is what I'm diagnosing as what doesn't work for me with this style of music in general) wasn't as immediate or primal as normal hardcore, AND it lacked the pure grit and absurd heaviness of some good, modern harsh sludge/doom (such as
Grief or
Corrupted),
and lacked a developed sonic landscape that if I really wanted to, could find elsewhere, in any number of
Explosions in the Sky clone bands.
Finally, returning to that conversation I mentioned earlier, the issue that we agreed upon is that (and please forgive the very broad terms I'm speaking in...generally speaking) these groups that have one foot in the door in several places never fully commit to actualizing what's so good about the genres they're dabbling in in the first place, so you're typically left with an only half-decent hodgepodge that can be entertaining for a little while but will ultimately have you reaching for something better. For example,
"Quietly," [link] by
Mouth of the Architect is a pretty good song but then everything else I've tried to listen to from them has been totally forgettable and boring.
There was a definite period of time where this niche genre was in heavy rotation for me but then I got serious about listening to black metal as well as other things that were new to me at the time and suddenly I no longer saw the point. This is all, of course, dependent on my lived experiences and I'm not trying to suggest I have some sophisticated musical taste that makes these bands inferior and unimportant, or whatever. It's just that I've found very little I've cared to listen to in this stylistic family outside of
Isis and
Neurosis...well, except for the new
Rosetta.
I'm done writing. I'm going to get to what brought me here in the first place next time.
Put it on the Pizza
-W.F.
No, that is NOT heavy metal.
