Rosetta Stone – Seems Like Forever (CD Album – Cleopatra Records)
Genre/Influences: Gothic rock, Post-punk.
Background/Info: The British band Rosetta Stone was for sure one of the leading Gothic rock acts of the ’90s. After the band was disbanded in 1998 founding member Porl King started releasing music in between 2007-2012 under the name Miserylab and later on as In Death It Ends. Porl wrote and produced this entire album, which consists of remakes of earlier released Miserylab tracks, with mixing duties by Jurgen Engler of DIE KRUPPS.
Content: The songs sound all very depressed and it seems that Porl is still very disappointed in this world and what’s all happening around us. All tracks are built up in the same simple way including drumcomputer, melodic guitar lines, very deep lyrics and heavy atmospheric vibes. Best songs of this 45 minutes-album are: “Children Of The Poor”, a nice uptempo song with the complaining voice of Porl all over it. On “People” Porl’s voice sounds more melodic while this very danceable song is driven on a nice bass-line. “Escape” is very atmospheric, a song that makes you dream away by daylight. The melodic guitar-riff on “When You Turn Away” is something that might stay in your head for a while. The last track “Tomorrow For Us” sounds very dark, depressive and melancholic, a typical Miserylab-product.
+ + + : Porl proves that he knows very well how to write good songs and that he’s a very good musician, playing all instruments by himself. If you don’t own any of the Miserylab releases, here’s your chance!
– – – : Some fans might be disappointed because this is not a real Rosetta Stone reunion in the original line-up and they might already know the songs from Miserylab before. I personally miss the excellent track “No Cure For Life” on this album.
Conclusion: Fans of old-school gothic rock bands will enjoy this 11-track album, which is released on cd, (limited) vinyl and high-quality digital download. This album sounds like a stripped, minimal (read: less bombastic and cleaner produced) version of the earlier Rosetta Stone.
Best songs: “Children Of The Poor”, “People”, “Escape”, “When You Turn Away”, “Tomorrow For Us”.
Rate: (8) WH.
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