Rise (album)

***Rise*** is The Rasmus' tenth studio album which was released on September 23, 2022. The album title and artwork were confirmed when the band released a newsletter on June 10, 2022 when the single, *Rise*, was released. The track list was revealed later on July 18, 2022.

The album is produced by Desmond Child (who also produced 2008's *Black Roses* album) and Joshua. It features tracks with former guitarist, Pauli Rantasalmi, as well as recordings with new guitarist, Emppu Suhonen.

The album artwork was created by Henrik Walse and features photos by Venla Shalin. This is the first album since *Dead Letters* where the full band line-up are on the album cover.

*Rise* is available in digital, CD and LP formats. A special numbered box-set, limited to 1,000 copies, was also available that includes the CD and LP formats, a bonus 4-track CD, a logo pin, signed card and a 48 page 12" sized booklet containing photos, lyrics and linear notes (but this is now sold out).

Get your copy of *Rise* now!

## Background

In total the album took 3 years to make. The Rasmus had originally planned to record the new album in England in Spring 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they had to work and record remotely. During this time Pauli Rantasalmi had also made the decision to leave the band, but it wasn't publicly announced until January 2022. Because of how time consuming it was to write and record across three separate continents, as well as Pauli leaving, The Rasmus nearly made the decision to split up.

Lauri flew to Nashville, Tennessee to meet Desmond Child, (producer of 2008's *Black Roses*). The original plan was just for him to talk to Desmond about his concerns for the band, but they also ended up writing some songs together, including *Jezebel*, *Rise* and *Live and Never Die*. After this Lauri decided that the band will continue, even if it's without Pauli.

The Rasmus brought in new guitarist, Emppu Suhonen, put the album on hold to compete to represent Finland at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest on Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (*Contest for New Music* in English) with the song *Jezebel*. This was released as a single on January 18, 2022. They competed alongside six other Finnish artists and won with a total of 310 points.

The 2022 Eurovision Song Contest Final took place in Turin, Italy and was broadcasted on May 14th. The Rasmus came in 21st place with 38 points. After this the band resumed working on *Rise*, and released the single *Rise* on June 10, 2022.

In September 2022, in addition to releasing *Rise*, Lauri also mentioned that they had booked some studio time to begin work on their eleventh studio album.

## Singles

Jezebel
(January 18, 2022)Rise
(June 10, 2022)Fireflies feat. Charles Ans
(March 31, 2023)
## Tour

On May 11, 2021, The Rasmus announced a 2022 European Autumn tour spanning 28 shows.

On March 2, 2022, The Rasmus announced via their Instagram story that the 2022 Russian and Ukrainian tour dates had been cancelled.

> "It is with heavy hearts that we must cancel our upcoming tour dates in Russia and Ukraine. The Rasmus are sending love, strength and support to all people and our dear fans in Ukraine. We think about you and your safety every day and pray that peace is restored in your beautiful country. To our Russian fans, we know you are not responsible for the cruel acts of violence that are being committed by the Russian leadership and that they do not reflect the ideas of the wonderful people we have met over many years of touring there. We hope that this terrible situation is resolved and that we can all be together again."
>
>

During Summer 2022, they played Summer festivals all across Finland, as well as a couple of others in Sweden and Estonia. On September 30th they had a special show at the Helsinki Ice Hall, where they had special guests such as Michael Monroe (Hanoi Rocks), Triosis, Ellinoora and more.

On September 26, 2022, limited VIP upgrades were available to purchase for the European tour dates via therasmusstore.com, and they sold out within the first week of availability.

The European Autumn 2022 tour kicked-off on October 10th and concluded on November 3rd. They then finished off the year at the Mexican festival, Tecate Bajio, on November 5th.

The Rasmus have already began announcing shows for 2023. For tickets and venue info visit therasmus.com.

## Track List

### Limited edition box set bonus CD

 2
 3
 4

## Credits

### The Rasmus

* Lauri Ylönen - vocals
* Eero Heinonen - bass
* Aki Hakala - drums
* Emppu Suhonen - guitar

### Additional Musicians

* Pauli Rantasalmi - guitar
* Apocalyptica - cellos on *Venomous Moon*

## Trivia

* The album was originally going to be called *Night Division*, but they changed it after writing took a directional shift when Emppu Suhonen joined the band.
* Lauri went back to his trademark look of adding feathers to his hair after temporarily removing them for the *Dark Matters* era.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CYgViA4qxr9/
2. ↑ https://youtu.be/81yoMBXTfqM
3. ↑ https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/15/the-rasmus-lauri-ylonen-reveals-how-close-band-came-to-breaking-up-17178588/
4. ↑ https://eurovision.tv/story/congratulations-Ukraine-Kalush-Orchestra-win-eurovision-2022
5. ↑ The Rasmus oli hajoamisen partaalla ennen kitaristi Emppu Suhosen liittymistä bändiin – ”Euroviisut oli meidän bändille jonkinlainen pelastus” - MTV Uutiset, July 24, 2022
6. ↑ https://fb.watch/fJTFROpKM6/