Collaboration counts
Members of Rosetta balance in intricacies in band’s music
Eric Jernigan is enjoying the fall weather while out on tour, although there was a moment while in Canada where it wasn’t so.
“We hit a couple of snowy patches,” he says in an interview en route to Bozeman, Mont. “Now we’re enjoying the great weather forecasted through the rest of the tour.”
Jernigan is a member of Phial delphi a based metal band Rosetta.
The independent band is touring in support of its sixth album, “Utopioid.” Rounding out the band is Michael Armine, David Grossman, Bruce McMurtrie Jr. and J. Matthew Weed.
Written as a four-part song cycle that treads multipolar extremes of texture, dynamics and harmony, Jernigan says the album reaches the highest heights and the deepest lows of the band’s career.
Formed in 2003 as a four-piece, Rosetta’s first two albums — 2005’s “The Galilean Satellites” and 2007’s “Wake/Lift” — pulled together elements from ’90s hardcore, drone, doom and atmospheric sludge metal. The band’s 2010 album, “A Determinism of Morality,” moved on from celestial themes, focusing on increased melodic sophistication while honing a confrontational urgency.
On “Utopiod,” the band collaborated on every element.
“The foundation to the story, we all developed the melodic ways,” he says. “When it comes to lyric writing, a lot of people take it personally. We were able to work that kind of stuff. We also worked on a quiet version of ‘Détente,’ and we perform it live. And there’s one more song that didn’t make the album called ‘Alternate Ending.’”
With six albums, Rosetta has plenty of music to pull from. Yet it’s difficult to put together a set list.
“It’s not possible to pull from every record,” he says. “A lot of the songs are a bit on the long side. We try to do a good job in representing a little bit from each era of the band. We’re throwing in some new stuff, as well. We realize that the fans want to hear stuff from back in the day. It’s a balance, for sure.”
Jernigan credits the band’s longevity to each member not treating it as a job.
“We all hold this pursuit in a special place in our hearts and minds,” he says. “Nobody dreads this. As long as we continue to release albums and make sure we have a balance in our personal life, we can continue to do this for a while.”