Goth rockers from Finland? So we expect some dark, dirty, grungy, guitar thrashing and tortured outsider lyrics then? Well, anyone familiar with their recent Top 3 hit In The Shadows, and that means most people, will know that's not exactly what The Rasmus deliver. The guitars do sound raw but the vocals sound smooth and blemish free as we are told just how guilty and empty singer Lauri Ylönen feels about his crumbling relationship.
The slow drum beats, faux-moody strings, and whispered vocals midway through the song are an oft used pop cliché and the simplistic, memorable chorus only helps drag this further into the commercial rock middle ground. It may not reach the dizzy heights of their previous offering but it should prove inoffensive and accessible enough to provide the Finns with further success.
Guilty is a solid pop/rock tune but not quite the heartfelt outpouring it would like to be. Catharsis has never sounded so painlessly polished.
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