G.A.Z.E. is a band from Helsinki that embodies the essence of classic hardcore punk in their sound, yet consistently weaves a thread of melodicism throughout their music. "Back in early 2020, I was thinking it'd be cool to start a hardcore band that sounded like traditional Japanese hardcore, but with Finnish lyrics," vocalist Yani tells me.
"I knew right away who I wanted to ask to join, and everyone was into it — songs started coming together super fast. Yeah, since then we’ve put out the Sielun Tuli cassette EP, Living the Life 7-inch, Omnibus collection tape and now, finally, our first 12-inch."
But back to G.A.Z.E.'s aforementioned aggression-meets-melody stylistic approach. "We feel that this kind of hardcore is a natural way for us to express ourselves," explains Yani. "We always try to maintain a positive and upbeat mindset, and that really comes through in the music as well. I’m a also huge film enthusiast myself, so I want the music to feel like you’re watching a movie — full of dynamics, atmosphere, and drama."
The self-titled G.A.Z.E. EP just came out through D-takt & Råpunk Records, a Swedish label also behind recent releases by Mob 47, Contrast Attitude, and Languid. "Jocke, who runs it, is a good friend of ours — he plays bass in 偏執症者 (Paranoid), and we did a mini-tour with them in Finland. He’s supported us from the very beginning, so we asked if he’d be interested in releasing the record. [Laughs] He just said, 'Sure, I’ll send it to the pressing plant next week.'
"There really isn’t a label in Finland that focuses on this kind of hardcore, so it was clear we had to look elsewhere — and luckily we found one just across the border. Of course, it’s a huge honor to be on a label that’s released bands like Mob 47, Zyanose, Contrast Attitude, Paranoid, Languid, and so on."
G.A.Z.E. includes some guest musicians across its eight songs, and there are even saxophone and violin parts squeezed into the madness. "We aim to push boundaries with every release," Yani proudly states.
"I heard that a friend of ours had started playing the saxophone, so we asked him to contribute. I also found out that Helena from Kohti Tuhoa plays the violin, and her daughter plays the double bass — so of course, we wanted them on the album as well. Also, all the guests are good friends, so it felt pretty natural to ask them to jump in whenever we thought a song could use some instrument or something we couldn’t really do ourselves."
Listening to Yani talk shop, it's not surprising the G.A.Z.E. EP takes some unique musical turns. "Personally, I listen to a wide range of music — things like Krautrock (Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, etc.), Dead Can Dance, psychedelic rock, film soundtracks, and so on. Those influences definitely find their way into what we do."
Yani leaves us with some parting words: "We’re definitely interested in playing shows abroad, so feel free to reach out. Stay safe and stay hardcore!"
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The G.A.Z.E. EP is available on vinyl via D-takt & Råpunk Records.
G.A.Z.E. on social media: Instagram
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