• Song: Carnival of Rust
• Artist: Poets of the Fall
• Year: 2006

I debated for a long time with myself if I should include this song on the list or not. I said that everything older than 5 years qualifies, but the first time I heard this song was in 2013. In the end I couldn’t leave this out, it’s just simply too good.

Back to the discovery, it’s a sad story, but it has nothing to do with how I feel about this song. In November 2013, my mother was dying in cancer. I had to temporarily move to Finland so I could be close to her during her last days, and I actually made it there just one day before she passed away, and then stayed there until her funeral. If you remember what I said earlier, that I use music as a distraction, this was a time when I needed a distraction more than ever before. So I listened to Radio Nova every day, and every time I heard a good song, I noted it down to get it later. Carnival of Rust was one of those songs, and I have been listening to it ever since.

Everything about this song is beautiful. I absolutely adore his voice, and I don’t say that lightly. There are not many artists in this world who I respect purely for their voice, and Marko Saaresto is one of them. But the voice is just the icing on the cake with layers built on a gentle acoustic guitar, strings, powerful chorus and lyrics worthy of the band’s name.

Poets of the Fall has remained mostly a Finnish phenomenon, even if they have had some success abroad. Their latest album Clearview is a serious attempt at an international breakthrough, but I was a little bit disappointed and I’m not sure if it will work. In my ears, there is only one stand-out track (Once Upon a Playground Rainy), and Carnival of Rust remains unsurpassed. If you’ve never heard it before, then you’re so very welcome!

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