Wiki
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Release Date
1 January 2003
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Length
10 tracks
Dead Letters (sometimes known as Feeling Guilty within the U.S.) 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. "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.
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". 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 ”
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). Their most popular single was "In the Shadows", gaining Top 10 chart placings in eleven countries.
Allmusic.com 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.
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