The Rasmus is a Finnish alternative rock band popular in Europe. Their most recent singles are "Guilty", "Funeral Song", "In My Life", "In the Shadows" and "First Day of My Life". Like other European bands they write and sing mostly in English.

Career History

The Rasmus formed at the end of 1994 when the band members were still in high school and were initially known as Rasmus (rasmus being the Swedish word for snake.) They recorded their first single "1st" released independently through Tega G. Records in late 1995 before signing with Warner Music Finland to release their first album Peep when the band members were only aged 16. It went gold as the band played over 100 shows in Finland and Estonia.

Rasmus released its second album Playboy in 1997 with it again going gold in Finland with the single "Blue" also going gold. Its gruelling live schedule continued supporting Rancid and Dog Eat Dog and appearing at a festival at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. The band would also win a Finnish Grammy Award for "Best New Artist" in 1996.

The band's third album "Hell of a Tester" was released in 1998 with the video for the single "Liquid" making a regular appearance on Nordic MTV. This song would be voted song of the year by Finnish music critics. The band achieved further recognition supporting Garbage and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Finland.

Rasmus became The Rasmus in 2000. It released Into in 2001 which went double platinum in Finland debuting at #1. The first single "F-F-Falling" which was #1 in Finland for three months in early 2001. The second single "Chill" was released through Scandinavia and reached #2 in Finland. The Rasmus toured throughout Scandinavia and Europe supporting the album supporting HIM and Roxette.

The band recorded Dead Letters in 2002 at Nord Studios in Sweden reuniting with Mikael Nord Andersen and Martin Hansen who had produced Into. It was released in Europe in early 2003 reaching the top of the album charts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as Finland. Its European success led to the release of the album in other parts of the world. Dead Letters and its first single "In the Shadows" both reached top 10 and top 3 in the UK charts respectively, and both going top 50 of the Australian ARIA charts in 2004 whilst topping the New Zealand singles chart. The single has also reached the top 20 of the Billboard Heatseeker charts. "Guilty", the band's second single for the American market, has also been successful. Recently, iTunes Music Store offered the first track on Dead Letters, "In the Shadows," as one of its free singles, and positive public response prompted many listeners to buy the rest of the album.

The Rasmus tend to provoke strong opinions in people. They made a notable appearance at the Reading Festival in 2004, where they were pelted by plastic bottles until they walked offstage.

Band Members

As of 2004, the Rasmus consists of the following people.

Lauri Ylönen

The lead singer. He was born in Helsinki on the 23 April 1979. He first wanted to be a drummer, but his older sister Hanna conviced him to be vocalist. He is the main writer of lyrics for all the band's songs, although the rest of the band does help in writing. He has two tattoos, one of Björk, whom he considers to be his guardian angel, and another one of a gothic text written Dynasty. His favorite bands are Björk, Weezer, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse.

Pauli Rantasalmi

The guitarist. He was born in 1 May, 1979. He has been a member since the band first formed. He not only plays guitar but other instruments as well. He produces and manages other bands such as Killer and Kwan .

Aki Hakala

The drummer. He was born in Espoo, Finland in 28 October 1979. He entered the band after former drummer Janne left.

Eero Heinonen

The bassist and backing singer. He is a practitioner of yoga.

Discography

• Peep, 1996
• Playboys, 1997
• Hell of a Tester , 1998
• Hell of a Collection , 2001
• Into, 2001
• Dead Letters 2003 (U.S. release 23 March 2004)

External links

• Official Website
• All Music Guide the Rasmus article
• The Rasmus International Fan Forum