5

The Rasmus: No Fear review

The band that shot to fame and fortune with 'In The Shadows' and the torment wrapped 'Guilty' return with their unique brand of Goth inspired metal with a sprinkle of Finnish charm. No Fear is a verse that thought of itself as a song. Lyrically this new single is uninspired, dressed without flare and gone from the memory in a matter of minutes. Listening to the song over and over again gives the listener the impression that The Rasmus managed (intentionally or otherwise) to parody not only their previous songs but also their entire genre. The song is unintentionally comic with lyrics talking about lovers resembling swans and background vocals echoing ad nausea throughout the track. "Destination Darkness" is a ludicrous lyric that means nothing and therefore inspires nothing. The song constantly returns to the verse as a calf would return to it's mother for succour. The song returns to its fuel but finds the oil of inspiration has spilled out into the street. The sentiment in the song feels false and tacked on. As if someone wanted to staple an emotion to your forehead rather than ask you to empathise with a situation, event or angst.

As comeback singles go this is one of the weakest seen in a long while and The Rasmus will need to work a lot harder before they return to the top of the tree upon which they sat all those years ago. If you want to always be the next big thing it pays never to leave the throne vacant.