Dead Letters
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Dead Letters is the 2003 album by Finnish alternative rock band the Rasmus. It was released in 2004 in the US and Australia.
Contents |
Making of the album
The Rasmus recorded Dead Letters in 2002 at Nord Studios in Sweden reuniting with Mikael Nord Andersen and Martin Hansen who had produced their Scandinavian hit album Into.
Lead singer Lauri Ylönen has explained the title of the album on the band's website. "Each song is a letter to somebody. It could be an apology, confession or cry out for help". [1]
Chart success
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 and its first single "In the Shadows" both reached the top 50 of the Australian ARIA charts in 2004. It has also reached the top 20 of the Billboard Heatseeker charts. The Rasmus' 5th album also hung around in Finland's Top 20 Album charts for over a year.
Critical response
Allmusic.com rated the album as 3 stars out of 5. The review said "this finnish group is more than capable of presenting dark and moody yet very finely tuned rock songs". It rated the best tracks as "Time to Burn", "Not Like the Other Girls" and ""F-F-F-Falling" which had also appeared on the Into album and added to the international release as a bonus track.
Track listing
- First Day Of My Life
- In The Shadows
- Still Standing
- In My Life
- Time To Burn
- Guilty
- Not Like The Other Girls
- The One I Love
- Back In The Picture
- Funeral Song
- F-F-F-Falling
- In The Shadows (multimedia)
- If You Ever (UK Bonus track)
- Whatever (UK Bonus track)
Videos
The Rasmus have produced 3 different videos for the World-wide hit "In The Shadows"; all 3 of them being EUROPEAN, US and CROW versions.
"In The Shadows - US version" The Rasmus are performing onstage infront of many gothic fans. Lauri sings about a maid who feels 'in the shadows' for slaving after posh higher-classed people and being brutally punished for accidents. The maid sees into the future through mirrors (which often frightens her) and eventually she reaches a large mirror where she finds Lauri singing to her, holding out his hand. She grabs his hand and he pulls her through the mirror into 'his world'. The video ends with people barging into the maid's room; finding rumpled bed-sheets and an empty bed!
"In The Shadows - CROW version" The Rasmus are placed on a stage in the middle of no-where and they perform the song. Around them, there are crows flying around and they break through the small rectangular windows. Towards the end, one crow breaks a light on the ceiling with its wings and the band perform in a shower of electricity-particles. In the end, the band transform into feathers.
"In The Shadows - EUROPEAN version" The Rasmus are yet again performing on a stage. This time Lauri wears no make-up! The band are out trying to rob a bank when Lauri gets caught. He grabs onto a car and goes skidding down the road, holding onto it. He falls off and runs into the woods where police dogs find him. Aki then ushers him into the car where Lauri makes his lucky escape and the car drives off.
The Rasmus have also videos for released singles 'In My Life', 'Funeral Song', 'Guilty' and 'First Day Of My Life':
'Guilty' The Rasmus have said this video is 'their darkest yet'. The band are performing in a shadowed gloomy dark room where they sing about 'feeling guilty' and 'empty'...etc. A photographer takes numerous pictures of different people and the band and during the photographs' development something goes wrong! The photographs turn out into representations of their anguish, fear and pain towards different aspects of life.
'In My Life' Lauri is being pulled across the forest floor where he ends up getting very mucky as he jumps into a big pool of swampy mud. The Rasmus have hyper moments during every chorus as they jump around everywhere. Then, Lauri is dragged through a lake where all the mud washes off leaving him very soaked!
'First Day Of My Life' The band are in the middle of a race-track where cheer-leaders are dancing and racing cars are zooming past. The band play in a pool of water and on the track where cars screech past beside them.
'Funeral Song' Lauri is 'the angel of darkness' who sets out to take a girl's life as she is tragically knocked over. A big scene shows up with police everywhere and a gathering crowd. Lauri opens out his coat where crows fly out; conoting death. Lauri then kneels down where he strokes the dying girl's face and takes her life.