THE RASMUS: Rise (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

20 years ago, 'In The Shadows' was a worldwide hit and propelled The Rasmus to the forefront of the alternative rock scene. And since then... not much. The albums releases have been spaced out and the band has fallen back into a relative anonymity despite a collaboration with Apocalyptica in 2021. The departure of Pauli Rantasalmi, guitarist and founder of the band at the beginning of 2022 was not a good omen. To relaunch themselves, The Rasmus decided to participate in the Eurovision contest that same year with the single 'Jezebel' from their new album "Rise". In spite of a mitigated result with a 21st place, to take part in this kind of event always remains a good publicity. Indeed the number of listenings of 'Jezebel' exceeded 10 million on Spotify, enough to relaunch a band in loss of speed.

'Rise' starts not with the Eurovision single but with a funky and nice 'Live And Never Die' despite its too artificial side with its ohohoho intended to be taken by the crowd in concert. 'Rise' which follows seems more in its place, slightly melancholic with a very effective chorus, trademark of The Rasmus. 'Be Somebody' starting on a good intriguing bass line hardens the tone and proposes perhaps the most rock title of the album, making forget the very bland 'Fireflies' bloated by electro effects not very inspired.

We find in the middle of the album the famous and dynamic 'Jezebel' which brings back to the best years of The Rasmus with its unstoppable chorus, last jolt before a succession of soft tracks and/or lacking of bite with the (too) religious 'Odyssey', the power ballad 'Endless Horizon', pleasant but already heard a thousand times, the soporific 'Clouds' followed by 'Written in Blood', a mix of The Weeknd and Dj Snake, saved by a light final acceleration. "Rise" ends with 'Evil' which started well with its rather dark atmosphere of a movie soundtrack before being spoiled by a chorus a little too maudlin.

Two tracks that stand out out of ten, it's not much, especially for a band approaching 30 years of career. Much less catchy than "Dark Matters", "Rise" is an album too mainstream and impersonal to leave a memorable souvenir. The more the years go by, the more the desire and the inspiration seem to dry up within The Rasmus. The band will have to find a new way. Maybe the arrival of Emilia Suhonen on guitar will give a new breath to an band that seems to struggle to stay in the game... - Official website

THE RASMUS

RISE

AUTRE LABEL

ROCK