Who would dare to make a bad review for POTF, unless somebody pays him to...

Yeah, I only remember one bad review by some Danish magazine that said something liek:"Normal pop from Finnland. COR contains twelve simple songs about being happy."

The worst was that it was called the *quick go-through* or something, so apparently he listened to it only once and then reviewed it... loser...

Interview @ Finnbands.com

The German site Finnbands.com has a great POTF interview online, both in English and German. You can access the interviews from the front page or from the Interviews section. Enjoy!

Whisky-Soda.de

The Finnish trio Poets of the Fall doesn't exist for that long. Singer Marko, guitarist Ollie and keyboarder Captain met in 2003 and have released one record, "Signs of Life" up until now. Now with "Carnival of Rust" their second record is close to its release.

With "Signs of Life" they have won almost every Finnish musical award there is. They won the "Best Finnish Band" -Award at the MTV EMA's 2006 and also contributed the song "Late Goodbye" to the videogame classic "Max Payne 2" in 2004. The game (which means the song, too) sold over two million copies and made the band gain even more famosity.


"Carnival of Rust" makes three musical worlds come together. Rock-singing gets mixed with the riffs of a Jazz-guitarist and an "Industrial Machine Trance Man". The result is (soft) catchy rock which reminds of U2 and some songs are close to Metal. The record switches between heavy songs like "Locking Up The Sun", "Gravity" , "Delicious" and quiet songs like "Dawn", "Carnival of Rust"or (attention: neologism: the balladic hymn "All the Way / 4U" .

"Poets of the Fall"'s second record is a top-notch rock-album. Again and again it's astounding and also frightening how good Nordic music has become.

Wisky-Soda Rating: 2+ User Rating: 2

cdstarts.de

CD Review: Poets of the Fall - Carnival of Rust (7.5 / 10 )


Some gamers might know the Finnish band Poets of the Fall because their melancholic song "Late Goodbye" was used in the credits of the action-videogame "Max Payne 2" and made them gain a huge fanbase - that was three years ago. Their debut album "Signs of Life" went straight to number one on the Finnish album charts and made the guys win almost every Finnish music award there is. The successor "Carnival of Rust" which is released in Germany one year after the original release in Finland, was able to have the same or even greater success.


If you only know "Late Googbye" the beginning of the record will surprise you. Fire starts with an ass-shaking guitar-riff which doesn't sound like Finnish clumsiness, at all. Marko's warm voice kicks-in with the keyboard and you might think you're listening to a pop-record until the rousing, rocking chorus kicks in. The song develops into a true good-mood song with a cool guitar solo. The song "Sorry Go Round" is a little rougher, but just as catchy.

The album's title track "Carnival of Rust" proves that they have not unlearned writing overblown love ballads. Many strings and Marko's theatric way of singing are in the foreground. But the great chorus still makes the song a good piece to listen to. Then it's getting faster again with "Locking up the Sun" which contains some playing around with Industrial sounds, but the melody is not as catchy as it is in the other songs. The following song "Gravity" makes up for this with being twice as catchy. Just like in "Fire" elements of rock and funk are mixed together and create a highlight of the album.

It's a pity that the second half of the record can't completely keep up with the first one. Slower, more serious songs like "King of Fools" or "Desire" do not completely reach me even after a few listenings."Delicious" is kind of lost, standing right between these, being an uptempo song, but this kind of song has already been heard in a much better way at the beginning of the album. . In contrast to that stands "Roses" since its pop-like buildup is not close to rock anymore, but nevertheless it's one of the highlights of the album. A perfect, airy summer song. It proves that the Autumn Poets (they translated Poets of the Fall into German) are best when they just try to make good-mood music.

recommendations:

-Fire
-Carnival of Rust
-Roses

Score: 7.5 / 10

Average Fan Score: 10 / 10

Poets of the Fall - Carnival of Rust

The number of awards "Poets of the Fall" have won in their home country Finland is really impressive. They won the "Best Newcomer Award 2004", "Best Finnish Band 2006" and also won the G.A.N.G ( Game Audio Network Build) in 2004 because of their song "Late Goodbye" which ws used in the credits of the video game "Max Payne 2" so they were able tog ain recognition from people outside of Finland.

In songs like "Gravity", Marko's voice reminds of Lifehouse's Jason Wade and at the beginning of the record it seems like they've changed their style drastically. But you'll only think that way if "Late Goodbye" is the only POTF song you know. Looking at the album from a musical standpoint fans of "Nickelback" or "Theory of a Deadman" would really like the first half of "Carnival of Rust". The second half contains songs like "Desire" and "All the Way / 4u" which are closer to "Late Goodbye" and should be liked by fans of Stone Sour's "Bother" or "Through Glass". "Dawn" is the parting of the ways if it's produced overblownly or amazingly. The album's final song is very different fromt he one before, but it's one of my favourites .because in my opinion a little bit of drama with nice piano sound somehow always seems to work fine and Marko's voice really shows a great variety during that song.

Looking at the album as a whole you can say that this "fast Finnish threesome" (flotter Finnendreier) is not a musical milestone, but is a good piece of 45-minutes of entertainment, including the video of the song "Carnival of Rust" which makes you ask if the guys really are from Finland. - Petra Gentner

"Carnival of Rust" is "Poet of the Fall"'s second album and had greaat expectations to fulfill. Their debut album "Signs of LIfe" was the most successful one in Finland, ever so the trio had to prove that htey were able to create more than just one good album.

"Carnival of Rust" was released in Finland one year ago and proved that they were no "One-album-wonder". They have developed, still have a feel for good-sounding melodies. Compared to "Signs of Life " they even upped the ante. Alternative rock for the masses which can be compared to "Nickelback" or "Hoobastank". The album contains ballads, just like rocksongs which can be played inside a stadium.

In my opinion, the record is too glossy a few edges and corners would not have hurt the production. The guys are skilled and know what they are doing. They won't disappoint their fans for sure, but "Carnival of Rust" is not my cup of tea.


6 / 10

Poets of the Fall - Carnival of Rust

"Poets of the Fall" from Helsinki can book some successes. Many awards in their home country, the "B"est Finnish Band Award" aththe "MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS 2006" and the tour with "Sunrise Avenue". Now their second album "Carnival of Rust" which has already reached Platinum status in Finland gets released here. That was it about the press text which sounds promising made me curious. Sadly, commercial success does not always mean that the record is great, as well. The album is ok, but not outstanding. Actually there is not much to say about the songs. Radio-fitting ppoprock with catchy melodies without great surprises. You can find the usual mix of uptempo songs like "Fire" or quiter songs like "The Way / 4u" (wow this guy really pays attention to the tracklist -.- ) . The production is solid, but too glossy. I'm sure radio stations won't bother since "Poets of the Fall" for sure have the potential to rock the charts.

6 / 10 points