Melbourne this time of year has a buzz to it. We have the Australian Open filling our streets with tourist and speaking of tourists The Rasmus are in town tonight too and what a buzz surrounds this show. On their first ever tour to Australia, the tour is twenty-two years in the making. For the first time ever the Finnish quartet get to show their wares on our soil. Their mega break through hit “In The Shadows” was one of my favourite songs of 2003 and the ‘Dead Letters’ album a standout.
Aside from a catchy as hell hook and riff “In The Shadows” had a depth to it that just stood out. Lyrically it’s deeper than the title suggests but is the dawning of a theme of self-awareness, being different and not fitting in which is something that has been a constant message in their music and it is no wonder the band despite being relatively ignored past this album. Their 2025 album ‘Weirdo’ continues to explore and offer tales of comfort in being different, a weirdo so to speak. This is a title that Lauri Ylonen wears proudly and boldly.
Supporting The Rasmus tonight is Melbourne’s own Nth Rd. Now Nth Rd I haven’t seen since I first moved to Melbourne in 2022. It must have been early 2023 when I caught them at Singing Bird Studio’s, if my memory serves me right. They caught my attention then and I was keen to see what has changed in three years. Keen to see how they have grown.
Nth Rd’s blend of post hardcore, pop rock infused songs put them in good company with The Rasmus although a little heavier than the headliner there is that cross over and that comes from the solid songwriting of Nth Rd and those catchy engaging moments. As a band and performance, they are polished and incredibly tight. They exude an energy that simply won over the room within the first couple of songs. As the crowd built during their set you could almost see people pause in their steps as they were struck by what was coming from the stage. Vocalist Dan Charlton is engaging and high energy wasting no time to remove his shirt. Guitarist Billy Balassis and bassist Lucas Banim are active and full of energy too tonight while drummer John Mihaloudakis is precise and powerful. Even though it’s only been three years, Nth Rd have levelled up significantly since I last saw them.
In talking to punters after their set Nth Rd certainly made a statement with the crowd, those that I spoke to hadn’t seen the band before but rest assured Nth Rd made an impact on a whole quite a few including myself. I can’t wait to see what these guys are capable of in the next twelve months. If you are a fan of Dayseeker, Thornhill, Amity Affliction and Holding Absence this is a band you need to check out.
Setlist : River, Embrace, The Death Of Us, Making Memories, Feel, Remember, Endlessly
NTH RD GALLERY
As the stage was cleared we had an array of massive new millennium tunes put us further in the mood, with the crowd singing along to the likes of Linkin Park. There is such a great energy in the room. With The Rasmus sold out of merch before they even started it was easy to tell the crowd was there really for one reason. Let’s face it the merch line for The Rasmus was the biggest I have seen for any band in Max Watts.
As the lights dimmed on Max Watts and the intro tape ran you could feel something in the room. It pulsed and energy touched you; it’s such a hard feeling to put into words and then the almighty roar from the crowd as the band lunched into “Rest In Pieces” put hairs on end. The crowd here have waited such a long time for this. The age demographic was quite clear, almost segmented into two, the ones that were in their teens/twenties when they first heard the band and then the new generation, those that were most likely introduced to The Rasmus by their parents.
Again, The Rasmus have never gone away, their music has reached so many by so many different forms, whether it be their Eurovision performances on TV or the placement on social media platforms, The Rasmus have connected with a younger crowd. Perhaps it’s the messages and the purpose behind the band, maybe it’s the comfort found in the messages of hope and positivity through being different and it being Ok. I feel that the following The Rasmus have shows no boundaries and connects in such a different way; a positive way.
“Guilty” from the ‘Dead Letters’ album took me right back to the just how important a record it was. How it ruled my stereo on high rotation. I was taken back to where my introduction to the band started.
The set that The Rasmus played tonight had a primary focus on the ‘Dead Letters” and ‘Weirdo’ records with six songs from each. The visits to ‘Hide From The Sun’ and ‘Black Roses’ was great and highlighted just how consistent the band has been. The beautiful thing about tonight was regardless of the album or song it was evident that the fans here knew it all. Singing, dancing, jumping, connecting it was a beautiful thing. The way music connects us all in some way is an incredible thing. Wherever I looked there were million-mile-wide smiles and that is an incredible thing.
The band are simply on fire. Guitarist Emilia Suhonen is mesmerising and so much fun. She is an absolute gun of a player and adds so much energy to the band. She becomes one with her guitar and got my MVP for the night. Having said that Lauri Ylonen is a fantastic frontman who knows how to work a room, the smile on his face tonight lit up the room and vocally he is sublime. The rhythm section of Eero Heinonen (Drums) and Aki Hakala (Bass) are so dialled into each other. It is the energy within this band that makes them such a great experience. The harmonies from Hakala and Suhonen are full and just add that special glaze, allowing the song to live and breathe to a point where I enjoyed them live more than I do on record and that’s the sign of a truly great band.
From the tender moments in the show, the most incredible being ‘Sail Away’ to the biggest reaction from ‘In The Shadows’ which had every voice singing along. The bounce in the pit was epic.
While it has taken twenty-two years for The Rasmus to finally make their way to Australia, the energy and reaction from the packed room will ensure The Rasmus will be back. If you lost the band along the way, treat yourself to the back catalogue and check out “Weirdo”. Here’s to counting down the days until their return. It was a show I thought I would never see and I am so glad I did.
Setlist : Rest In Pieces, Guilty, No Fear, Time To Burn, Justify, Bullet/Still Standing/Shot, Break These Chains, Immortal, October & April, First Day, Creatures Of Chaos, Not Like The Other Girls, Falling, Banksy, Livin’ In A World, It’s My Life, In The Shadows, Weirdo.
Encore : Sail Away, Bitch
With thanks to Chris Maric from Maric Media and ThePhoenix.au for the media access.
THE RASMUS GALLERY
