Black Roses - Rasmus (The)

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02. _Ten Black Roses_ (3:54)
The best song on the album in my opinion, and actually ranking as one of my favourite Rasmus songs. It starts deceptively slow, but soon kicks in as a harder rocky track. The lyrics are beautiful; Ylönen’s voice really suits the theme well, promising to be a ghostly admirer to leave the object of his affection a bouquet of ten black roses whenever she’s feeling sad and can’t show it. It’s a very bittersweet ...
...out for me is Ten Black Roses, the album needed a few more catchier songs. Most of them wash over you. Usually I find myself singing Rasmus songs long after I’ve heard them, but I don’t think the same can be said for this album (bar Ten Black Roses).

Perfect for fans of the band, though, and I encourage people who have enjoyed their previous work to give it a try.
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The Rasmus...one of my favourite bands of all time. Funny how so many of my favourite bands of all time are off the wall Finnish rock bands...

Back on topic, The Rasmus have enjoyed several studio albums, but shot to fame after radically changing their style to a more emo sound for the album Dead Letters (many of you will be familiar with this) after the phenomenal single ‘In the Shadows’ literally covered the airwaves. You couldn’t escape the song, and while none of their others attained quite such popularity, it showed the band that this dark moody style was the formula to stick with if they wanted continued success.

So, after Dead Letters they set about making ‘Hide From the Sun’. While this wasn’t quite as popular, apparently it was enough to get them another stab at an album. Which brings us to the album in question; ‘Black Roses’. Being such a fan of the band as I am, you may think I rushed out to buy this album as I did their previous ones...not so. I didn’t even know it had been released. I thought the band had disbanded, to be honest. But a random search on Amazon proved the error of my ways, so I snapped this up. And now you get to read my review of it!

Discography
As mentioned this isn’t the bands first album, and before achieving major recognition the band had several other albums. Though these don’t have a remotely gothic-y rock feel like their last three albums. The first albums are like a different band altogether; fun, punky rock. Personally I love both eras of The Rasmus, but be warned. If you like the dark emo music you’ve come to enjoy, their pre-Dead Letters albums aren’t for you!
1996 ‘Peep’
1997 ‘Playboys’
1998 ‘Hell of a Tester’
2001 ‘Into’
2001 ‘Hell of a Collection’
2003 ‘Dead Letters’
2005 ‘Hide from the Sun’
2008 ‘Black Rose’

The Music
The Rasmus mainly deal with dark songs. They have a gothic feel, and very dark, deep and emotional lyrics. Unlike other Finnish bands that I associate with them (such as HIM) they don’t usually use many other instruments other than guitars, drums and keyboards, but their music is of very high quality, and hauntingly beautiful. Couple this with the lead singer, Ylönen’s, fantastically emotional voice, you’ll really think that the music is speaking to you.

The Album
Release date: 29th September 2008
Singles released from the album: ‘Livin’ in a World Without You’, ‘Justify’ and ‘Your Forgiveness’.
Highest UK chart position: 13 (in the rock albums chart)

The cover art is of a stylised rose. Since their mainstream ‘Dead Letters’ album the band have never appeared on the front cover unlike their previous works. This disappoints me, as the men from the band are rather aesthetically pleasing! In fact, throughout the booklet for ‘Black Roses’ there’s not a single picture of any of them...disappointing. But hey, that’s what Google image search is for! The booklet does, however, contain all of the lyrics to each of the songs which is great because The Rasmus lyrics are always very deep and beautiful, and it’s nice to know exactly what’s being said.

Tracks
01. Livin’ in a World Without You (3:50)
A mid tempo track, that really doesn’t seem like a good hook for the start of an album. In my mind the first track should make you sit back and take note. Ylönen’s voice is husky at the start, and rather nice! Though usually I love Rasmus lyrics, and for the most part this song is no exception...the line ‘suddenly naked I run through your garden’ ruins the mood of the song entirely! I find myself suddenly laughing half way through what’s supposed to be a dark and bitter song! I would have possibly liked this better had it been in the middle of the album, but it simply isn;t strong enough for the first track.
8/10

02. Ten Black Roses (3:54)
The best song on the album in my opinion, and actually ranking as one of my favourite Rasmus songs. It starts deceptively slow, but soon kicks in as a harder rocky track. The lyrics are beautiful; Ylönen’s voice really suits the theme well, promising to be a ghostly admirer to leave the object of his affection a bouquet of ten black roses whenever she’s feeling sad and can’t show it. It’s a very bittersweet and emotional song...exactly what I like to hear from the band!
10/10

03. Ghost of Love (3:18)
This song starts off reminding me of ‘Shot’ from their previous album. But then it distinguishes itself more. It has a strong guitar running through, but that can get a bit repetitive. Quite a nice song.
7/10

04. Justify (4:27)
A slow ballad type song, and though I’m not usually a fan of slow songs Ylönen’s voice always makes them listenable. He puts so much emotion into them, and this song is no different. His voice saves this song in my opinion.
6/10

05. Your Forgiveness (3:56)
Starts slow, but then transforms to a mid-tempo song. Nice vocals, and the bridge has a nice melody, but nothing ground breaking.
5/10

06. Run to You (4:12)
Another mid-tempo song, and actually a bit dull. Nothing really stands out until near the end where a choir starts in a bit to give a haunting effect. Otherwise it doesn’t change in pitch or rhythm much at all throughout the song.
4/10

07. You Got it Wrong (3:17)
A more upbeat song, though you can feel a dark theme running through. There are nice guitar solo’s between the verses, and the lyrics are nice and bitter. A great Rasmus song!
9/10

08: Lost and Lonely (4:46)
Immediately I liked this song for the use of strings almost battling with the guitars (I love a good blend of classical instruments and rock). Otherwise it’s a nice song, but a bit samey throughout, bar the violins.
7/10

09. The Fight (3:46)
A bit more upbeat, except the chorus where it settles into a mid-tempo affair. Then the pace quickens again for the verse...a nice twist, but I do like my choruses to be epic! I think that’s a matter of opinion, though, and this still stands as a good rock song.
8/10

10. Dangerous Kind (3:47)
I really like the start to this one, and the start usually drags me into a song and lets me decide whether or not I can be bothered to listen to the track or not. The verse takes a while to gear up, but does sound like it’s building up to a big chorus...and it doesn’t deliver that well. Does have a fairly nice melody, though, and is quite nice if you don’t expect too much from it.
7/10

11. Live Forever (3:22)
Another slower ballad type song. Bittersweet lyrics and Ylönen’s voice once again stop this from being one I’d just skip over in a heartbeat, but even still it’s definitely not a favourite. There’s just nothing to keep your attention.
4/10

12. Yesterday You Threw Away Tomorrow (3:05)
Starts off rather similarly to track 10, Dangerous Kind, in terms of the guitar solo. I had to skip back to figure it out, but they are rather samey. It’s nice, though, and leads into a mid-tempo song. I was kind of hoping for something memorable but it’s not a song that will stick in your mind. Nice in it’s own right, but it’s a song that will just wash over your head, and definitely not one to end an album with.
6/10

Price
Play.com:
£9.99
£5.95 for mp3 download

Amazon:
£9.98
£7.99 for mp3 download

iTunes:
£7.99 for mp3 download

Conclusion
While not fantastic, the title track and superb quality of the music mean that I won’t be selling my copy on eBay. However it’s definitely not one of my favourite albums of theirs, so I think I’ll stick to their Dead Letters album if I want a CD that I can listen to all the way through without tuning out. The only track that really sticks out for me is Ten Black Roses, the album needed a few more catchier songs. Most of them wash over you. Usually I find myself singing Rasmus songs long after I’ve heard them, but I don’t think the same can be said for this album (bar Ten Black Roses).

Perfect for fans of the band, though, and I encourage people who have enjoyed their previous work to give it a try.
 

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