Listening session: The Rasmus [Germany]

Stockholm, Nord/Hansen-Studios, 20.05.2005
At the end of may the sky over Stockholm shows a nearly immaculate blue, just isolated harmless veil clouds slippes in front of the sun, which let the thermometer rises up to for scandinavian relations nearly midsummerly temperatures. Guitarist Pauli Rantasalmi stretches himself comfortable on two chairs in front of the 20 minutes from the centre of the swedish capital away, idyllic on a riverbank situated, Nord/Hansen studios, to enjoy the warm sunbeams, while Lauri Ylönen is reveling in memories of the evening before.
A friendly chinema-owner has invited the quartette for an exclusive private-show of Star Wars: Episode III, which bringes still a relaxed smile on the face of the singer and a shining in the deep-green, with black kajal bordered eyes – not only because the 26 years old finn is an enthusiastic Star Wars-fan, simultaneous was the chinema-visit a wellcome diversion of the studio-everyday, finally The Rasmus spent allready the whole spring in Stockholm to record her meanwhile 6th longplayer Hide From The Sun, from which the first listening-impressions shall be presented to a few of invited guests.
Like at their two last succes-works Into and the worldwide more than 1,5 million times sold Dead Letters, with which The Rasmus had their final breakthrough in Germany, the four young men counted again on the nose of the producter-duo Mikael Nord Anderson and Martin Hansen for their expected on 12 september releasing album. “We simply know that we can trust them”, explains Lauri the chose. “Allthough we have taken on much more responsibility for the recording, while at Dead Letters mostly the producters decided about the sound.”
A change like this let the supposition arise that the new songs will be in a at least partly changed style, which really was to be confirmed with the first track Lucifer’s Angel which sounds out of the boxes, which has still the typical The Rasmus sound and unmistakable hit-potential, but not only the horrorfilm-like intro which makes a mysterious basic mood suprises, but also the very rocky guitar-riffs, which put a strinking stamp on the catchy melody and the strong chorus. “Before we had the title, the song just called The riff-song”, smiles drummer Aki Hakala, who likes like his bandmembers the new, noticeable heavier style of The Rasmus, which is going on with the following Shot, which makes one listening with his in positive sense “weird” effects.
Precise drumming sees for accents and makes the speed, which brakes in the second third for a moment, before the track is regulary “exploring” with the cue of Lauri’s terse singing. At the same time are in the melody the traditionaly elements recognizeable, which let the possible single-candidat got bandinternal the worktitle “tango-song”. “Subliminal the song has such a certain tango-feeling”, means Aki. “In Finland you can’t avoid tango, because it’s the music which our parents listened to often at home and with which we grew up.”
But next to the parental listening-habits there are mostly sophisticated and dramatic films from which The Rasmus get their inspiration while the songwriting, like the next title Dancer In The Dark shows, which is dedicated to the Danish dogma-director of the film with the same name. The by Lauri adored Icelandic singer Björk playes the mainrole in it, but it was mostly the moving story of a gradualy going blind mother, who is fighting in all ways to make it possible for her son with the same illness to have a better life, which moved the frontman so much, that he took it up for his lyric.
Fitting to this is also the song of moving emotional intensity, provided with an atmospheric very dense and disreetly ajarded on the horror-classic “The exorcist” piano-intro, which is repeated motivic between the single singing-passages, which Lauri strikes up with the same passion like the very heavy on guitars and with a straigh going ahead chorus fitted out Night After Night (Out Of The Shadows), which does not only because of the obvious allusion to their greatest hit so far In The Shadows reminds clearliest of the earlier compositions of the four Finns.
In contrast to this Immortal turns out to be the probably unusualest track The Rasmus ever made, alltough it was allready made two years ago while the common jamming on tour. The structur is nearly complex, with slight distorted guitars in the instrumenat-passages and heavy riffs in the intro, which contrast effectful with the at the beginning nearly breathed, contionally in the intensity increased singing, this nearly epic and dramatic song needs as one of the not many ones probably at least two times of passing to be opened up to the listener, what Immortal not only makes very exciting, but also let it become the secret favourite of the four guys, who presents at the end of the Listening Session unexpected with Dead Promises another one of her new pieces, which is announced by the A&R-manager Lars at first as Hide From The Sun.
“Admittely this line is found in the text, but somehow I don’t like it when a song has the same name as the album and as it were represent it”, explains Lauri the renaming later. Far better he likes the prominent guests, which are found on Dead Promises, because it are the friendly countrymen and metal-virtuosos from Apocalyptica, who reciprocate for the succesful cooperation at their last longplayer, at which Lauri sang on the last two singles Bittersweet and Life Burns, with beautiful and mystic cello-passages, which gives the mostly very rocky track a very special goosepimples-feeling, which is strenthened by Lauri’s here specially variable made singing, at which he playes effectful with the different facets of his irresistible harsh voice – a furious final, which makes inevitable desire for more and allready now curious of the whole album, for which the frontman Lauri himself doesn’t want to say yes or no to the question for more prominent guests with an mysterious smile in his face.
But at the time The Rasmus still are in their creative making-process. Various parts have to be practiced and recorded, also the mix and mastering has to be done, before all of the prospective 15 titles are completely done and the choosing of the ones, which will actually come on Hide From The Sun will start, because it shouldn’t be more than 12 ones. “Around 45 minutes is exactly the right lenght for a cd”, means bassist Eero Heinonen. “Everything which is going over this limit is just straining while listening, allthough it would be the greatest-hits-cd of your favourite band”. Allthough the arrangement of the final tracklist is hard for them, just like the decision, which song was the best for the allready for the 29 august planned single-release, because after months of intensive work is in the end the needed objective distance missed.
“The ideal method was in our opinion to play all songs to our families and friends and let them choose”, suggests Lauri a possible solution. “With Dead Letters we had the luck to be able to release more than one single. It was nice, if we can do this this time again”. In view of the unbelieveable nose for presice songwriting and absolutly accurate melodies, which the Finns show again with Hide From The Sun, there should be nothing what could prevent this idea. And to hide have The Rasmus their new work surely not, not even for the sun…

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