In 2008, The Rasmus performed at the 50th anniversary celebration of Chupa-Chups, right before a debutante and an energetic Katy Perry. A pairing that was at least curious, but there they stood: the Finns, with Lauri Ylönen sporting bleached blond hair, and dozens upon dozens of fans awaiting their arrival. One fan, sprinting toward the stage as fast as he could, ended up smacking his nose on the floor. Several years had already passed since the colossal success of “Dead Letters,” but that moment proved the phenomenon had been far larger than what we tend to recall today.
Almost twenty years later, The Rasmus returned to Barcelona. On July 2 they played at the Sala Apolo, delivering a set that, in addition to presenting tracks from their latest album, resurrected classics such as “Guilty,” “Justify,” “F-F-F-Falling,” “Livin’ in a World Without You,” “Sail Away” and “In the Shadows.” It’s curious to see a band that sold millions of records and place “In the Shadows” into the 2000s pop imagination, returning to the intimate concert venues circuit. Curious, yes, but not rare or unusual. In 2025 they released “Weirdo,” an album that largely drifted by without much fanfare.
They have also experimented with comebacks. In 2022 they represented Finland in Eurovision with “Jezebel,” but ended up in a modest 21st place in the final.
Their most commercial era had already faded. “The Rasmus,” issued in 2012, did not come close to the impact of “Dead Letters,” and after that there was a five-year silence. In 2017 they returned with “Dark Matters,” but by then they sat in a far more modest phase of their career. Since then they have continued releasing albums and touring regularly, maintaining a loyal fan base that still responds to their songs.
Why did The Rasmus become so big? This September marks 30 years since “Peep,” their debut, released in 1996. Few groups have inhabited such a peculiar chapter within mainstream pop: a Finnish rock band with a dark aesthetic, a raspy vocalist, a gothic look, feathers in the hair, and rock songs, suddenly turning into an international teenage phenomenon. It didn’t last long, but it was beautiful nonetheless.
“F-F-F-Falling” had already hinted at the direction things could take. There were echoes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, one of the influences Ylönen has acknowledged alongside Nirvana or Metallica. Then came “Into” in 2001, and finally “Dead Letters” in 2003, the album that propelled them into global stardom. “In the Shadows” became a huge hit across Europe, and in Spain it was played on Los 40 Principales to exhaustion.
Why did that phenomenon work so well, quite suddenly, roughly between 2001 and 2008, and above all, why hasn’t a similar phenomenon materialized since? Evanescence, Within Temptation, HIM, Linkin Park, or The Rasmus themselves sold millions with their dark aesthetics and teenage imagery. Did the mood after 9/11 have something to do with it? It’s hard to say, but it’s true that those early 2000s carried a mood far gloomier than the pop that preceded or followed. Nu metal, gothic metal and alternative rock, or names like Tokio Hotel and My Chemical Romance, coexisted perfectly with Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, or Coldplay’s early successes.
Perhaps the explanation isn’t much more complicated than the music itself, because The Rasmus had great songs. Let’s celebrate them once and for all. Their productions weren’t necessarily the most sophisticated or elegant in the world, but they had melodies. Very good melodies that were easy to remember. They were builders of bridges bigger than Brooklyn or the Golden Gate: those in “Guilty” and “Sky.” Lethal melodies like “Sail Away,” “Justify,” “Livin’ in a World Without You,” “First Day of My Life” or “In the Shadows,” which their fans still find themselves able to sing decades after first hearing them. Even now, when many of those songs inevitably sound like 2003, they still work.
Laurel’s voice contributed enormously to The Rasmus’ success. Raspy, nasal, it was the product of smoking like crazy—as he himself acknowledged in interviews—to achieve that timbre so appealing. The Rasmus were, after all, an ideal product for teenage consumption: dark aesthetics, the feathers, the melancholy, the guitars, the outsider feeling… But what band would dare call themselves The Rasmus and not feel out of place? In that era, and still today, the “No Fear: destination darkness” of No Fear remains an anthem.
So let us say it plainly: it is unfair to remember The Rasmus only as the band behind “In the Shadows.” That was a huge hit, yes, but it’s not harmful to recall the strange phenomenon they represented for at least a brief moment: a Finnish rock band that managed to slip for a few years into the very heart of European pop and leave a lasting impact. They wouldn’t have achieved it without songs, and they had plenty to give. They didn’t win Eurovision like Lordi, but with The Rasmus nostalgia doesn’t misfire.
