The cult goth band Rosetta Stone returns this month with a new album on Cleopatra Records on August 30. It is 25 years since the group debuted with the EP “Darkness and Light” after having released five cassette tapes and having developed a loyal following around their hometown Liverpool.

Now they release “Under The Weather”, which will be Rosetta Stone’s seventh studio album, and their first since 2020’s “Cryptology”. The new full length will be out on CD and vinyl.

The band’s new single and video for the title track “Under the Weather” is released today.

About Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone emerged from the vibrant musical landscape of the late 1980s in the UK. Founded in 1988 by Porl King and Karl North, the band quickly garnered attention for their dark, atmospheric sound and compelling live performances.

Porl King, the creative force behind Rosetta Stone, played guitar and took on vocal duties, while Karl North handled the bass. The band’s lineup saw various changes over the years, but these two remained the core members during the formative period. Drawing inspiration from gothic pioneers like The Sisters of Mercy and The Mission, Rosetta Stone carved out a niche with their ethereal melodies and brooding lyrics.

Their debut album, “An Eye for the Main Chance”, was released in 1991. Throughout the 1990s, Rosetta Stone continued to evolve, experimenting with electronic elements and darker, more complex compositions. Their subsequent albums, “The Tyranny of Inaction” (1995) and “Chemical Emissions” (1998), reflected this progression.

Despite lineup changes and the shifting musical landscape, Rosetta Stone maintained a dedicated following. After a brief hiatus in the early 2000s, Porl King revived Rosetta Stone, releasing new material and performing live again.

In 2019, the band released “Seems Like Forever”, marking a return to their roots while embracing contemporary production techniques. It was followed by 2020’s “Cryptology”.

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Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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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.

Artist: www.facebook.com/RosettaStoneOfficial

Label: www.cleorecs.com / www.facebook.com/CleopatraRecords

The new digital single from the legendary UK post-punk band Rosetta Stone is called “Tomorrow For Us” and is released today! It is the last track from the upcoming album “Seems Like Forever”, which is scheduled to be released on May 17th via Cleopatra Records.

The album can be pre-ordered via this link. The digital single can be found here on Spotify and here on bandcamp!

Watch the video first on Side-Line here:

The iconic UK gothic rock band Rosetta Stone will release a new album called “Seems Like Forever” on May 15, 2019. Founding member Porl King wrote and produced the entire album, with mixing duties by Jurgen Engler of Die Krupps. The new album will be released on both cd and vinyl via Cleopatra Records and contains 11 tracks. The video-premiere will be right here on Side-Line next month!

Track List:

1. Be There Tomorrow
2. Children Of The Poor
3. People
4. Dark Times
5. Making A Bomb
6. Escape
7. When You Turn Away
8. Downplay
9. What Is The Point
10. Say What We Mean
11. Tomorrow For Us

Rosetta Stone was originally formed in the eighties by Porl King and Karl North, and was one of the biggest names of the gothic rock scene in the nineties. The band split up in 1998 after which Porl went on to be a remixer and producer. He also wrote music under the name Miserylab and In Death It Ends.