The album Weirdo (2025) is The Rasmus’ 11th full-length outing, produced and co-written by Desmond Child and Marti Fredriksen. The band was formed in 1994 while the members were still in high school. Their debut, Peep, rapidly went gold in Finland, making them rock stars at the age of 16. The follow-up, Playboys, also went gold and earned the group an Emma, Finland’s version of a Grammy. Their third album, Hell of a Tester, included “Liquid,” a track voted Best Single of the Year by Finnish music critics. 2001’s Into went double platinum, with its debut single, “F-F-F-Falling,” topping the charts. An international audience started to build, and the band toured Europe. Their fifth album, Dead Letters (2003), became their breakthrough, due in large part to the single “In the Shadows.” 2005’s Hide from the Sun went platinum in Finland. Their fourth Finnish chart-topper, Black Roses, was released in 2008, also produced by Desmond Child. After the Best of The Rasmus: 2001–2009 compilation, they released their self-titled eighth album in 2012. The band returned in 2017 with Dark Matters. In January 2022, they announced the departure of founding guitarist Pauli Rantasalmi and introduced new guitarist Emilia ‘Emppu’ Suhonen. The album Rise was released the same year, including “Jezebel,” Finland’s entry in the Eurovision competition. The Rasmus are vocalist Lauri Ylönen, bassist Eero Heinonen, guitarist Emppu Suhonen, and drummer Aki Hakala.
