The Rasmus

Formed in Helsinki in 1994 by high-school friends, The Rasmus initially performed as Rasmus, playing a taut, energetic rock that mixed funk, punk and alternative pop on Peep (1996), Playboys (1997) and Hellofatester (1998). With Lauri Ylönen, Eero Heinonen, Pauli Rantasalmi and drummer Janne Heiskanen — who was replaced in 1999 by Aki Hakala — the band later moved toward a more melodic, darker sound on Into (2001), then broadened its audience beyond Finland with Dead Letters (2003) and the single "In the Shadows." The Rasmus developed an aesthetic between alternative rock, pop rock and hard rock with gothic overtones, continued on Hide from the Sun (2005) and later enriched with electronic elements on Black Roses (2008), The Rasmus (2012), Dark Matters (2017) and Rise (2022). Over the years they have toured Europe, the Americas and Japan and undertaken a few targeted collaborations, notably with Apocalyptica and Anette Olzon. After Pauli Rantasalmi left in 2022, guitarist Emilia Suhonen joined The Rasmus, who represented Finland the same year at Eurovision with "Jezebel."