The Rasmus

Members: Eero Heinonen, Lauri Ylonen, Aki Hakala, Pauli Rantasalmi

Active: 1994 - Present

HISTORY

The Rasmus formed at the end of 1994 when the band members were still in High School and were initially known as Rasmus. They recorded their first single, "1st" (released independently through Teja 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, Playboys, in 1997 which also went gold in Finland with the single "Blue". Rasmus' gruelling live schedule included 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". It made 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 Red Hot Chili Peppers when they toured Finland.

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

The band recorded Dead Letters in 2003 at Nord Studios in Sweden reuniting with Mikael Nord Andersson 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 went Top 10 in the UK, and its first single "In the Shadows" went Top 3. Both also went Top 50 in the Australian ARIA charts in 2004, as well as topping the New Zealand singles chart. The single also reached the top 20 of the American Billboard Heatseeker charts. "Guilty" was the band's second single for the American market. Recently, iTunes Music Store offered the second 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 with plastic bottles and mud until they eventually walked offstage due to immediate medical attention being required for Eero's eye.

Their newest album is Hide From The Sun, which was released in 2005. The singles taken from it, "No Fear", "Sail Away", and "Shot" have also been recently issued. On 28 April 2006 they received an exclusive statue at the ESKA Music Awards in Poland (it is their second ESKA statue, the first being in 2004) for the category Best World Rock Group.

Hide From The Sun will be released in the US on October 10, 2006

MEMBERS

Lauri Ylonen

The lead singer. He was born in Helsinki on the 23rd April 1979. He first wanted to be a drummer, but his older sister Hanna convinced him to be vocalist. Lauri is the main writer of lyrics for all the band's songs, although the rest of the band does help. He has two tattoos, one of Bj?rk, holding her arms up in a swan shape, and another one of a gothic text written Dynasty (A small brotherhood of people from different bands in Finland). His favorite bands are Bj?rk, Weezer, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse. Recently he has done collaborations with Finnish cello rock band Apocalyptica on their newest, self titled album.

Pauli Rantasalmi

The guitarist. He was born on May 1, 1979 in Helsinki. He has been a member since the band first performed. 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 on 28 October 1979. He joined the band after the former drummer, Janne, left in 1999. Aki originally sold band merchandise at their shows. Aki joined the band after 'jamming' with Pauli.

Eero Heinonen

The bassist. He was born in Helsinki, Finland on 27 November 1979. He is one of the original members of the band. He practices Sahaja Yoga twice a day. He is the most sensible in the group and often looks after the others, despite being the youngest.

ALBUMS

1996 - Peep

1997 - Playboys

1998 - Hell of a Tester

2001 - Into

2003 - Dead Letters

2005 - Hide from the sun

SINGLES

Shot (coming April 2005)

Sail Away (2005)

No Fear (2005)

Guilty (2004)

Funeral Song (The Resurrection) (2004)

First Day of My Life (2003)

In My Life (2003)

In the Shadows (2003)

Heartbreaker / Days (2002)

Madness (2001)

Chill (2001)

F-F-F-Falling (2001)

Swimming With The Kids(1999)

Liquid (1998)

Ice (1998)

Playboys (1997)

Blue (1997)

Ice (1998)

Liquid (1998)

Swimming With The Kids (1999)

F-F-F-Falling (2001)

Chill (2001)

Madness (2001)

Heartbreaker / Days (2002)

In The Shadows (2003) (2004- UK)

In My Life (2003)

First Day Of My Life (2003) (2004- UK)

Funeral Song (The Resurrection) (2004)

Guilty (2004)

No Fear (2005)

Sail Away (2005)

Shot (2006)