Rock stars in their homeland of Finland since their first album, Peep, went Gold when they were just 16 years old, The Rasmus have built a legacy that stretches across 11 albums. Their music and engaging approach to life have won them legions of fans the world over, but it was with last years chart topping release, Weirdo, that things came full circle for the band.
Weirdo was a blast back to the roots of The Rasmus, tapping into the psyche of the underdog which has been the band's hallmark throughout. Underdogs, outcasts, and perceived weirdo's themselves, The Rasmus have stood up for the underdogs their whole career, even when the band became far from that themselves.
The fact their have never set foot in Australia has not been lost on them or their fans. It is something that will be remedied later this month, as The Rasmus touch down in this country for three select shows. Frontman Lauri Ylönen joined HEAVY to talk more. We start by asking if he is packed and ready to go.
"No," he laughed. "I always pack like one hour before I leave, so I'm pretty used to doing that. But yeah, it's exciting. You know, the first time can always happen once. And now, after a couple of decades, we are coming over to play there, which is kind of sad that it didn't happen before. But, you know, it's happening now, and we're happy. We're going to play quite intimate shows in these rather small clubs, so I'm expecting that to be really good. We've been playing this tour with this album for three months now, and the band is in really good shap,e and we're having an incredible feeling within the band, and now hitting smaller clubs… it's gonna be really intense. And it's going to be really interesting to finally meet these fans that have been writing and contacting us on social media for years and years. It's going to be so emotional."
In the full interview, Lauri spoke more about the tour and what to expect. Reflecting on the band's three-decade journey, he noted that themes of individuality and feeling like a "weirdo" remain central to their music. Lauri also mentioned the positive reception of their latest album, "Weirdo," and confirmed plans to enter the studio for new music after the tour, aiming to evolve while remaining true to their roots and more.
Fri, Jan 30: The Triffid, Brisbane
Sat, Jan 31: Manning Bar, Sydney
Sun, Feb 1: Max Watts, Melbourne
Tix: https://thephoenix.au/
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