Customer Reviews

Adrenaline

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of me being a real gothic! Rosetta Stone are indeed still going strong as a band, still sounding great. This CD is a short but sweet collection of their singles from around 1991-1992 and the b-sides. ADRENALINE even got daytime mainstream radio play and almost hit the top 40 in the UK at the time, when considering most adolescents were feeling fake-suicidal along to the likes of Nirvana and Soundgarden and not bothering with goth was a damn fine achievement! This track is pure Sisters of Mercy mixed with the industrial dance techno of Cassandra Complex and Front 242, an inspired combination. THE WITCH is a rocky cover of an old 1970 hit by THE RATTLES, COME HELL OR HIGH WATER reeks of The Mission, but who cares? These guys rock big time! Check it out, all you goths (or has-beens like me)iof all ages!

Rosetta Stone took a sharp turn a while back and headed into more industrial material with less memorable songs. However, back in 1993 they sounded like The Sisters when the real Sisters were in limbo.

For the most part though, it's not obnoxious. There are elements of the Sisters everywhere, yet the Stone create their own energy on songs like Adrenaline and The Witch that are still very catchy, dark and fun. There are no overly Eldritch lyrics. The vocals are deep, the sound is shiny, there's enough variation to keep it fresh. Think Hussey Sisters with some industrial updates and you're getting there.

Few CDs have such a high percentage of good songs. Do they sound like the Sisters? I guess in a way, but the music is different and so is the subject matter. Do they sound like the Mission? No, this CD has 8 really good songs on it, and I believe the Mission only have about 3 good songs all together. This is goth at its poppiest. All of the songs are catchy with grooving bass lines and thrashing drum machines. Every song except Shadow and Forevermore is incredibly good, and even the two track I mentioned aren't bad.
A warning to people just getting into Rosetta Stone. Just because you like the material on this CD and other early releases, doesn't mean that you will like any of their new stuff. The band made a complete 180 and started making repetitive industrial music with no melody and filtered lyrics. Just a warning.

Just a heads up, from the track listing it appears that this is a compilation of 3 separate releases. On the first disc you get the full Adrenaline album plus the live tracks off Foundation Stones (which aren't that great really). On the second disc you get the Epitome E.P. plus the rest of Foundations Stones. Not a bad deal considering these are the bands strongest releases.

Rosetta Stone is a blatant rip-off of the Sisters of Mercy. Rosetta Stone's riffs, singing, even their cover art smacks of the Sisters. Now on the lighter side, their are many bands which attempt to play in the style of the Sisters of Mercy and fail miserably - Rosetta Stone is not one of these bands. Their music is tight and professional sounding. In the song Adrenaline in particular there is an amazing, original bass line. The singing doesn't sound contrived and feels full of genuine emotion. So, in short, if you like the Sisters of Mercy, you'll either love this band or hate them. Rosetta Stone Adrenaline loses one star for originality, but gets 4 because they somehow manage to put out good music anyhow.

This cd is great to have if you want the best of the music from this band. The industrial stuff that came after this is not worth the money or time.Another good thing to own is the Chemical Emissions cd that has live studio tracks that are better and different than the ones on this cd and it also has hidden bonus tracks as well.Overall they sound very old school and this is definitly their shining moment.

It took me a long time to get a hold of this album, but I'm glad that I finally got it. There are a lot of great songs ("Shadow", "Adrenaline", "The Witch", "Darkside", "Leave me for dead", "Subtrefuge"...) and they're all catchy...Of course am I aware that a lot of people compare this band to The Sister of Mercy (which I can understand) but in my opinion Rosetta Stone ARE better. And this album proves it.

If you like gothic/industrial music then you'll love this album! Rosetta Stone is an amazing band. The music is great to dance to and the lyrics have great insight on many different subjects. So, if you are a fan of Rosetta Stone or you just like gothic/industrial music, I would definitely check this album out.