The Rasmus in the Shadows 'Dead Letters' album

At the sprouting age of sixteen, they reached their goals quickly and their dreams of rock stardom become a reality. The four friends made a conscious conclusion that the music scene in Finland sucked and needed a change or at least a fresh approach.

In 1996, The Rasmus released their debut album Peep. It did not take long for the album sell gold. The timing was right for this new generation of rock bands and The Rasmus took the listening public and critics by storm. "We were just kids who were let loose on a playground", singer Lauri remembers.

The band passed the grueling limit of performing over one hundred gigs in a year's time. Shortly after this, the band crawled back into the studio to record their second album Playboys. Yes, it also sold gold very quickly. By then, The Rasmus had established themselves as a household name in Finland. Soon after, The Rasmus received their first Finnish Grammy, (called Emma in Finnish), in the category of Best New Act. The tempo of success built momentum and The Rasmus supported shows with Rancid, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Garbage during at these artist's shows in Finland.

In 1999, The Rasmus, as energetic and productive as they are released their third album Hellofatester. The Single, Liquid, was voted, by both critics and fans as The Year's Best Single.

In 2001, The Rasmus were ready for a major breakthrough. After signing to Playground Music Scandinavia in Stockholm, Sweden the band came back with a smash hit single F-f-f-falling.

"We were so nervous about that song. It was obviously either a hit or a flop", The Rasmus' members remember.

A flop it was not! The single shot like a bullet straight to number one, selling Platinum and being the biggest hit of the year in Finland. The album Into followed a couple of months later and charged the charts like a rocket. Into has sold over 67 000 to date, which is well over double platinum! After the success of Into and F-f-f-falling, The Rasmus performed at every major music festival in Finland.

Up to this point, any international releases had been minimal. With the great story building in Finland, The Rasmus went abroad supporting acts such as: HIM, Roxette and the Spanish rock band Dover in Germany, Scandinavia and Latvia. The Rasmus traveled in Europe, did promotion and performances on TV shows and were interviewed by European music press and they sure charmed everyone they met.

Following the tour with the Spanish rock band Dover the band flew to Italy to record a live acoustic performance with Viva TV and do several interviews. The Rasmus then flew quickly to Finland for the Finnish Grammy Awards Show where they performed a song and swept all the major categories by collecting new Grammies for:
Best band, Best single (F-f-f-falling), Best rock/pop band and Album Of The
Year.

THE BAND

Energetic, rambunctious and powerful are three words that describe The Rasmus best. Lauri, a singer whose voice is full of fire and soaring beauty, is also one of the most appreciated composers in Finland today.

"My lyrics are always personal and every word has a meaning that reminds me of something that has happened", the singer says. Pauli is an excellent guitarist, but he has also been recognized as a producer (Producer of the year at the Finnish Grammy 2001). He has helped Finnish bands like Killer and Kwan to create number 1# hits!

"The best advice I've been given is that if you have knowledge, share it", Pauli answers, when asked why he wanted to become a producer. Aki joined the band in 1999. Before that, he was selling The Rasmus merchandise at their shows.

"Pauli asked me to join after we had jammed together. Which is great, because I pretty much suck in everything else but playing the drums", Aki laughs sarcastically.

Eero, who is definitely the calmest man in the band, plays the bass. He finds his strength in meditation and music. "Sahaja yoga gives me a peace of mind", the soulful bass player explains.

THE ALBUM

The first single from the album is entitled: In The Shadows, released January 10th 2003 in Finland and a few weeks later in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Baltic countries.

"Each song is a letter to somebody. It could be an apology, confession or cry out for help", singer Lauri explains his lyrics on the album, entitled: Dead Letters.

The Rasmus returned to Sweden to record, because they wanted to work again with Mikael Nord Anderson and Martin Hansen at Nord Studios, who were also responsible for producing the massively successful album Into.

"Martin and Micke made me smoke cigarettes, if my voice didn't sound rough enough", Lauri says with a wink. In addition, the band endlessly watching horror movies colored the making of the album.

"We watched so many horror movies that each of us had nightmares", the band members laughed.

The Rasmus play rock, but in every song there is a strong melody flavored with a catchy chorus. Dead Letters touches with its raw and naked sounds. "The album is darker, moodier and dreamier than anything we have done before", Eero (bass) concludes.

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The Rasmus in the Shadows - Dead Letters