Dying are a two-piece hardcore metal band from Kuopio, Finland, built around the talents of Sami Taskinen on vocals and drums and Eetu Ihalainen on guitar and bass.
The pair initially connected through Instagram, where Ihalainen reviews releases from smaller bands. Taskinen sent him an EP from his previous band, Takezo, and the two gradually discovered a shared love of heavy hardcore, particularly Hatebreed. That connection eventually turned into Dying. “I’ve been playing drums and touring with different bands since I was 15, and for a long time, I felt the need to step out from behind the drum kit and get behind the mic to process my thoughts,” Taskinen tells me.
That impulse resulted in The House Always Wins, Dying’s five-song debut EP, which the duo wrote and produced themselves. Despite both members living in Kuopio, the record was put together almost entirely remotely over the course of roughly a year.
Musically, Dying pull heavily from Hatebreed, Terror, and Madball, with Ihalainen also pointing to Slayer as an influence. The pair work additional percussion elements into the material, but he says there isn’t much interest in following a predetermined hardcore formula. “We write what comes naturally and what sounds fucking good,” he says.
“There’s no checklist of how a hardcore song is supposed to sound. If it hits hard, feels real, and stays within the spirit of the genre, that’s all that matters.”
The instrumental tracks for The House Always Wins were recorded at Erkka Närhi’s place, while Taskinen handled the vocals, group vocals, and percussion at his rehearsal space. Sami Lustig of Hautajaisyö mixed the EP, with Janne Tuikkala of Muria and Verilehto handling the mastering.
Lyrically, The House Always Wins is rooted in Taskinen’s personal experiences, including toxic relationships and empowerment, alongside his perspective on the world around him. For Taskinen, finally moving from behind the drums to the microphone provided a different outlet for those thoughts.
Although Ihalainen couldn't point to many active bands in Kuopio itself, he sees plenty happening elsewhere in Finnish hardcore, singling out Hyljätyt, St. Hood, Ratface, and Bolt as bands worth checking out.
For now, Dying remain a two-person operation, but that's not intended to be permanent. Taskinen and Ihalainen plan to write a full-length album next, then recruit the additional members needed to take Dying from a recording project to the stage.
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