I’ve never had a favorite band and never thought I would have one. I appreciate many music genres and although Alternative Rock has been the top of my list for a few years now, I can still easily enjoy a nice rhythm by Akon, pour my heart out on a James Blunt, feel the heat of a Tiesto, or relax to an Andrea Bocelli song. I’m also pretty fond of English and French songs, which made it even harder to choose a favorite. That is until I discovered that The Rasmus are my favorite band.

I usually listen to music on iTunes on my computer while working, and when a great song catches me, I simply switch windows and mark it as a 5 star. A few weeks ago, while I was browsing through my collection, I noticed that every song from The Rasmus on my computer is marked as 5 star. Every single one. That opened my eyes to the fact that each of the 3 albums I have from them played on my stereo (back in the days) and mp3 players for a few months continuously.

Although “In The Shadows” was their first real hit and the song that introduced me to them, it was “First time of my life” that sealed the deal for me and pushed me to purchase Dead Letters. This is when I was blown away by a nice alternative band, that knew how to incorporate rhythm, lyrics, and a special signature that I really can’t put my finger on. Dead Letters was an album I could listen to when I’m blue or when I’m happy, when I’m relaxing or when I need to get work done. There simply wasn’t any song on the album that I would skip, and that says a lot about how much I liked it. The last song on the album, “Funeral Song”, is sheer genius. I can’t begin to count how many times I played and re-played it. I guess it hit my chords.

Many times, when you first listen to a new song and new album from your favorite band, you’ll be disappointed. The Rasmus managed to avoid that sentiment with me. When I got Hide From The Sun, I was expecting to be let down, at some point, after all no band can manage two consecutive strikes. Boy was I wrong. No Fear and Shot, which introduced me to Hide From The Sun, were just the tip of the iceberg. The album had more punch to it, more rhythm than Dead Letters, but was still very melodic. This is a very precise and dangerous mixture that only The Rasmus can manage to pull. Sail Away must be the song that touched me most in this album, and I guess it’s the song that opened the door to their following work.

I’ve read on several sites that The Rasmus have changed their style with their last album. That might be true, since Black Roses packs more sentiments and has less beat than Hide From The Sun. But the special signature is still there and when you hear any song, you can instantly recognize that it’s The Rasmus. Black Roses is a good soundtrack for life, if follows Dead Letters’ gift of being an album that you can play and enjoy in any situation. I really can’t pick any favorite song from it now, as I am playing it over and over, and each song is unique and brilliant.

So yes, I now know that I have a favorite band, two actually, The Rasmus and Kyo (french band, who have a pretty similar achievement in my book). The Rasmus know how to twist melodies, how to take probably known sets of notes and manipulate them in a way that makes you think “I’ve heard this before … oh no I haven’t … it’s brilliant, why has no one used this melody before?”. That and the fact that they have remained true to theirself, producing one amazing album after another, keeping their signature sound, makes me appreciate them even more.

I realize that not many people might like The Rasmus’ style, but if you have never heard any of their songs, I advise you to do so. You don’t want to go on thinking that you might have passed musical greatness without noticing.

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