Checking out Negative's second album Sweet & Deceitful from 2005 - released on GBFam Records, this one refines their sound into slick, hook-heavy hard rock. Twelve tracks that lean into contrasting moods: icy verses building tension, soaring choruses releasing it.
Opens with an 'Intro' that sets the atmospheric stage, then moves through singles like 'Frozen to Lose It All' and 'Creeping Inside.' The album includes a cover of Neil Young's 'My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)' run through Negative's glam-rock filter, which shows their willingness to reinterpret classic material. Track titles like 'Locked in the Dark Side,' 'In My Heaven,' and 'Angels Won't Lie' give you the romantic-dramatic vibe they're working with.
Jonne Aaron's vocals navigate between melancholic storytelling and full dramatic delivery, backed by arrangements that prioritize modern hard rock polish. The production is notably cleaner than War of Love, emphasizing the hooks and maintaining that mid-2000s Finnish rock sound that reached international audiences.
This album came out during the peak years of Finnish melodic rock's visibility abroad. If you're exploring Negative's catalog, this shows them doubling down on the formula that worked. Available on Apple Music and YouTube.
