Dead Letters

For the concept of undeliverable mail, see dead letter mail. For the 2007 film, see Dead Letters (film).

"Not Like the Other Girls" redirects here. For the album by S.O.A.P., see Not Like Other Girls.

Dead Letters
Studio album by The Rasmus
Released	21 March 2003 (EU) See release dates below
Recorded	June - December 2002 at Nord Studios in Stockholm, Sweden
Genre	Alternative rock Gothic rock
Length	39:24
Label	Playground Music
Producer	Martin Hansen Mikael Nord
Professional reviews
The reviews parameter has been deprecated. Please move reviews into the “Reception” section of the article. See Moving reviews into article space. Allmusic link Artistdirect Melodic.net link
The Rasmus chronology
Into (2001) Dead Letters (2003) Hide from the Sun (2005)
Singles from Dead Letters
"In the Shadows" Released: 3 February 2003 "In My Life" Released: 1 August 2003 "First Day of My Life" Released: 15 October 2003 "Funeral Song" Released: 25 April 2004 "Guilty" Released: 4 August 2004

Dead Letters (sometimes known as Feeling Guilty within the U.S.^{[citation needed]}) is the 2003 album by Finnish alternative rock band The Rasmus. It was released in 2004 in the US, UK and Australia. Their previous album, Into, had been a success in some parts of Europe, particularly Scandinavia and Germany, but Dead Letters signified the band's major break-through. "Dead Letters" received 8 gold and 6 platinum Awards, while "In the Shadows" received 6 gold and 2 platinum awards.^[1] "In the Shadows" which sold over 1 million copies reached historically number one on the list of Finnish compositions earning performance royalties abroad and so overtakes the works of Jean Sibelius.^[2]

Making of the album

The Rasmus recorded Dead Letters in June–December 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".^[3] On the back side of the album booklet there is a quote:

“

A dead letter is a letter that has never been delivered because the person to whom it was written cannot be found and it also cannot be returned to the person who wrote it.[4]

”

Chart success

It was released in Europe in early 2003 and sold 1.5 million copies worldwide. It reached the top of the album charts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as in Finland, where it stayed in the Top 20 Album chart for over a year. Dead Letters was the first of the band's albums to be released in the UK and was in the Top 50 bestselling albums of 2004. 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 American Billboard Heatseeker charts. Dead Letters received several gold and platinum awards and the band won five Emma Awards (Best Group, Best Album, Best Video (In My Life), Best Artist, Export Emma).^[5] Their most popular single was "In the Shadows", gaining Top 10 chart placings in eleven countries.

Critical response

Allmusic rated the album 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 the re-recording of "F-F-F-Falling", of which the original version appears on the Into album, and was added to the UK release as a bonus track.

Track listing

All tracks by The Rasmus

1. "First Day of My Life" – 3:42
2. "In the Shadows" – 4:08
3. "Still Standing" – 3:27
4. "In My Life" - 4:01
5. "Time to Burn" – 4:32
6. "Guilty" – 3:40
7. "Not Like the Other Girls" - 5:43
8. "The One I Love" – 3:14
9. "Back in the Picture" – 3:41
10. "Funeral Song" – 3:17

USA/UK Bonus Tracks

1. "F-F-F-Falling"
2. "If You Ever"
3. "What Ever"

China/Taiwanese Limited Edition Bonus VCD

1. "In the Shadows (Original Version)" - Video
2. "In the Shadows (European Version)" - Video
3. "In the Shadows (American Version)" - Video
4. "First Day of My Life" - Video
5. "Funeral Song" - Video
6. "In My Life" - Video
7. "Epk (Interview)

Dead Letters Finnish Edition

1. "First Day of My Life" (US Remix) – 3:44
2. "In the Shadows" – 4:05
3. "Still Standing" – 3:31
4. "In My Life" - 4:01
5. "Time to Burn" – 4:32
6. "Guilty" (US Remix) – 3:41
7. "Not Like the Other Girls" - 5:43
8. "The One I Love" (US Remix) – 3:15
9. "Back in the Picture" – 3:41
10. "Funeral Song" – 3:17
11. "F-F-F Falling" (Us Remix)- 3:52
12. "If You Ever" - 3:48
13. "What Ever" - 3:11

Bonus CD

1. "Everything You Say" - 2:48
2. "In The Shadows (Meadows Remix)" - 4:38
3. "In The Shadows (video - Nordic Version)"
4. "In The Shadows (Making of video - Nordic Version)"
5. "The Rasmus Computer Stuff:

• Screensavers
• Desktops
• Photo Gallery
• Extra Video Material

Italian Edition Bonus DVD

1. "First Day Of My Life" (Us Remix)
2. "In The Shadows"
3. "Still Standing"
4. "In My Life"
5. "Time To Burn"
6. "Guilty" (Us Remix)
7. "Not Like The Other Girls"
8. "The One I Love" (Us Remix)
9. "Back In The Picture"
10. "Funeral Song"
11. "If You Ever"
12. "Everything You Say"
13. "What Ever"
14. "Since You've Been Gone"
15. "First Day Of My Life (Acoustic Demo)"

DVD

1. "In The Shadows (Nordic Version - Video)"
2. "In My Life" (Video)
3. "First Day Of My Life" (Video)

B-sides, outtakes and non-album tracks

Song	Releases
"What Ever"	B-Side of "In My Life"
"Since You've Been Gone"	B-Side of "First Day of My Life" UK Edition
"Everything You Say"	B-Side of "Funeral Song"
"If You Ever"	B-Side of "Funeral Song"

Release history

A list of countries and the date when the album was released.^[6]

Country	Date
Italy	26 November 2003
Spain	5 January 2004
U.S./UK	22 March 2004
Japan	Early 2004
Taiwan	June 2004

Music videos

• In the Shadows - Finnish "Bandit" version (2003)

Video directed by Finn Andersson for Film Magica Oy in Helsinki, Finland.

• In My Life (2003)

Video directed by Niklas Fronda and Fredrik Löfberg, Baranga Film/Topaz.

• In the Shadows - European "Crow" version (2003)

Video directed by Niklas Fronda & Fredrik Löfberg, Baranga Film in Stockholm, Sweden.

• First Day of My Life (2003)

Video directed by Sven Bollinger and produced by Volker Steinmetz (Erste Liebe Filmproduktion) in Lausitzring, Germany.

• In the Shadows - US/UK "Mirror" version (2004)

Video directed by Philipp Stöltzl in Bucharest, Romania.

• Funeral Song (The Resurrection) (2004)

Video directed by Niklas Fronda and Fredrik Löfberg, Baranga Film in Stockholm, Sweden.

• Guilty (2004)

Video directed by Nathan Cox in Los Angeles.

Personnel

The Rasmus

• Lauri Ylönen – vocals
• Pauli Rantasalmi – Guitar
• Eero Heinonen – Bass
• Aki Hakala – drums

Additional musicians

• Rutger Gunnarson – Strings
• Ylva Nilsson, Håkan Westlund and Anna Wallgreen – Cellos
• Jörgen Ingeström – Additional keyboards

Additional personnel

• Mikael Nord and Martin Hansen – Producing, Mixing, Programming, Keyboards and Additional sounds
• George Marino – Mastering
• Lars Tengroth – A&R
• Seppo Vesterinen – Business management
• Dina Hovsepian – Design
• Henrik Walse – Logo
• Henrik Walse and Nela Koenig – Photos

See also

• Live Letters, a live DVD released in 2004.

Notes

1. ^ Awards
2. ^ Rock piece by The Rasmus overtakes Sibelius in foreign music royalties
3. ^ Biography
4. ^ Dead Letters album booklet, original version (2003).
5. ^ Awards
6. ^ Dead Letters album release history The Rasmus - HellofaSite

External links

• Dead Letters on Playground Music
• Dead Letters review^{[dead link]} at Allmusic