Rasmus line-up: Eero Heinonen, Lauri Ylonen, Aki Hakala, Pauli Rantasalmi
Date of foundation: 1994 - present
History of the Rasmus Group
Rasmus formed in late 1994 while the band members were still in high school and were initially known as Rasmus.
They recorded their first single "1st" (released independently by Teja G. Records in late 1995) and then signed a contract with Warner Music Finland to release their first album Peep when the band members were only 16 years old, playing over 100 concerts in Finland and Estonia.
Rasmus released their second album Playboys in 1997, which also went gold in Finland with the single "Blue".
The band's grueling active schedule included supporting Rancid and Dog Eat Dog and playing a festival at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki.
The band will also receive a Finnish Grammy Award for "Best New Artist" in 1996.
The band's third album, Hell of a Tester, was released in 1998 with a video for the single "Liquid". It was regularly featured on Nordic MTV. The song would be voted "Song of the Year" by Finnish music critics.
The band achieved further recognition by supporting Garbage and the Red Hot Chili Peppers as they toured Finland.
They released Into in 2001, which went double platinum in Finland, debuting at number one. The first single, "FFF-Falling", was number one 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 northern Europe supporting HIM and Roxette.
The band recorded Dead Letters in 2003 at Nord Studios in Sweden, reuniting with Mikael Nord Andersson and Martin Hansen who produced Into. It was released in Europe in early 2003 and reached the top of the charts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as Finland.
Global success Rasmus
Its European success led to the album being released in other parts of the world. Dead Letters reached the UK Top 10, with the first single, "In the Shadows", reaching the Top 3.
Both also reached the top 50 on the Australian ARIA charts in 2004, as well as number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart. The single also reached the top 20 on the US Billboard Heatseeker charts. "Guilty" was the band's second single for the US market.
The iTunes Music Store recently offered the second track on Dead Letters, "In the Shadows", as one of their free singles, and the positive public outcry prompted many listeners to purchase the remainder of the album.
Their new album, Hide From The Sun, was recorded in 2005. The singles "No Fear", "Sail Away" and "Shot" have recently been released. On April 28, 2006, they received an exclusive statuette at the ESKA Music Awards in Poland (their second ESKA statuette, the first was in 2004) in the Best World Rock Group category.
Hide From The Sun will be released in the US on October 10, 2006
Members of the group
Lauri Ylonen - Lead Singer. He was born in Helsinki on April 23, 1979. He initially wanted to be a drummer, but his older sister Hanna convinced him to become a vocalist. Lauri is the primary lyricist for all of the band's songs, although the rest of the band contributes.
He has two tattoos: one of Björk holding her hands in the shape of a swan, and the other is the gothic text "Dynasty" (a small brotherhood of people from different bands in Finland). His favorite bands are Bj Rk, Weezer, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse. He recently collaborated with Finnish rock band Apocalyptica, working on their new album of the same name.
Pauli Rantasalmi — Guitarist. Born May 1, 1979 in Helsinki. He has been a member of the band since its first gig. Pauli plays not only guitar but also other instruments.
He produces and manages other bands such as Killer and Kwan.
Aki Hakala - Drummer. Born in Espoo, Finland, on October 28, 1979, he joined the band after former drummer Jann left in 1999. Aki initially sold merchandise at their concerts.
Eero Heinonen – Bassist.
Born in Helsinki, Finland on November 27, 1979, he is one of the first members of the group to practice Sahaja Yoga twice a day. He is the most sensitive of the group and often cares about others despite being the youngest.
Rasmus today
In May 2021, the Rasmus band presented a new track called Bones. Recall that this is the team's first piece of music in the last three years.
Rasmus at Eurovision 2022
On January 17, 2022, the Finnish band released the unrealistically cool single Jezebel. Note that the piece of music was released in lyric video format. The song was co-written and co-produced by Desmond Child.
“The new work is a sign of respect for strong women who own their bodies and are responsible for sensuality and sexuality,” the band’s frontman commented on the release of the song.
With this composition, the musicians are going to participate in the Finnish selection for Eurovision 2022, which will be held at the end of January 2022 on Yle TV1.
