The Rasmus - Eurotastic!!!

****1/2

The lights come out in London!!!

The Rasmus ****1/2 are at the London, Kentish Town, Forum, for the final date of a very long European tour that saw the band presenting their latest album 'Rise' in all the major cities. After an extensive summer Finnish tour, the 'Live…and never Die' show landed in Germany, France, Poland, Italy, The Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and finally the UK. The Rasmus have been around for more than twenty years, building a strong army of fans and followers... which has included me for a long time. But recently thanks to their participation in Eurovision Song Costest, 2022, they added a substantial number of new fans to their supporters.

Even though their result at Eurovision 2022 wasn’t the best they could expect, their first single 'Jezebel' from the new album 'Rise' was a huge success... and a great introduction to their new album. Their live show at the Forum was a perfect mix of old and more recent songs, some from the new album like 'Jezebel', 'Rise', 'Live and never Die' and 'Fireflies'. And older classics like the World hit 'In the Shadows', 'F-F-F-Falling', 'Guilty', 'No Fear', 'Livin' in a World without You' ext... Almost two hours of entertaining Rock / Pop music that saw a Sold Out!!! London, Forum singing along to all their hits. 

The new guitarist Empu who replaced Pauli at the beginning of this year, was really on fire and full of energy. She fits perfectly in the band and definitely looks like she’s been with them since day one, and has really brought something special to The Rasmus. The show was also pleasant from a visual perspective, since the band decided to add more effects to their stage background (instead of a plain, and sometimes bland, band logo background). The setlist also included three acoustic songs 'Still Standing', 'October and April' and 'Sophia' which was Lauri's choice. This segment brought a chance for the band to get intimate with fans, and make a stronger connection with the new people that saw them on Eurovision.

Of course some of the bands highlights in their set, were their biggest hits 'Immortal', 'Livin’ in a World without You', 'F-F-F Falling' and 'In the Shadow'. These looked so good as well, because each had special lighting or big images on the giant screens that where behind them for this tour. The band completed their set with their Eurovision hit 'Jezebel', and fan favourite 'Sail Away' before promising some surprises for 2023 to their fans (maybe another tour? Let’s hope so!).The final date in London was a great success for all the old and new fans, and I will be going to see them again next time they play.

In the meantime, kiitos to Lauri, Empu, Eero and Aki !!!

Review by Roberto Melli and Photos by Luca Viola

The Rasmus - Setlist
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First day of my Life
Guilty
In my Life 
No Fear 
Emppu Solo + Paradise
Fireflies
Time to Burn 
live and never Die
Wonderman
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Not like the Other 
October and April 
Sophia
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Rise
Immortal 
Ghostbusters (Ray Parker Jr. Cover)
Chill
Livin' in a World without You
F-F-F-Falling
In the Shadows
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Jezebel
Sail Away

Check Out! the Video for 'Jezebel' Below...