Dart, a relentless punk-infused rock outfit hailing from Oulu, Finland, came together in 2021 when longtime collaborators Emil “Emppu,” Hiski, and Joonas “Joe” Joki finally took their barstool band concepts into the practice room. Now a five-piece powered by Samppa’s driving drum style and guitarist-organist “Tuoppa,” they deliver raw, high-speed energy that draws on years of hardcore and metal experience.
Today, we’re premiering their second single, “Burnin’”—a breakneck track capturing the thrill of tearing down highways, flirting with danger, and slamming into walls. Influenced by the fervor of Zeke, Inepsy, and Motörhead, “Burnin’” sets the tone for Dart’s forthcoming album, Speed Days, set to drop April 4, 2025, via Agipunk (Italy) and SPHC (USA).
Dart emerged from Oulu, Finland, in the autumn of 2021 when three longtime friends—bassist Hiski, guitarist and backing vocalist Joonas “Joe” Joki, and vocalist Emil “Emppu”—finally decided to put all their half-formed pub ideas into action.
“We didn’t really discuss what kind of music we would play,” the band recalls. “Over the years we had set up a lot of bands in pubs—sometimes inspired by Poison Idea, sometimes by Leatherface, sometimes something completely different. But we never got around to trying them out. Finally, in the autumn of 2021, we got ourselves together and the three of us went out and played without any idea of what kind of music we were going to make.” Very quickly, they found themselves writing brash, punk-driven songs in English—often faster and more direct than anything in their previous hardcore and metal projects.
Early in 2022, the band solidified its lineup. They asked Samppa, of Terveet Kädet and Bonehunter, to join on drums. “He’s a really talented and stylish drummer,” they say. For lead guitar, they brought in a friend named “Jeppu,” who bowed out after the first practice, deciding it wasn’t the right fit. Soon after, they reached out to another local virtuoso, guitarist and organist “Tuoppa” from Konari. “He didn’t know any of us,” Dart admits, “but he was impressed by the recorded rehearsals. Later, drunk, he told us that he was particularly impressed by the drums, haha.” The five-piece clicked, and the matter of choosing a name was settled when Hiski noted that “Charger” was taken, so they went with “Dart,” a nod to the classic Dodge model—and to slang in Australia and Canada for a cigarette.
By the time the band’s first show approached at the DIY Hässäkkä-Päivät festival in Oulu in July 2022, they needed a demo. They asked their friend and trusted collaborator, Otto Joki, to record, mix, and master it. Samppa had just returned from a week of partying in Berlin, “He seemed exhausted at the beginning of the recording sessions,” the band jokes, “but once he got recovered from hangover, the songs started being nailed on the first try.” Dart released the demo on Bandcamp, then on cassette (No Fuss Tapes in Austria) and CD (For Victory Records in Japan, under the title World Beyond Intoxication).
Their first show at Hässäkkä-Päivät was well received, and they continued to write new material.
Tours started flowing. At the end of 2022 and into early 2023, Dart embarked on a short run with Finnish hardcore outfit G.A.Z.E, traveling through Joensuu, Mikkeli, Helsinki, Tartu, Riga, and Tallinn.
“We already knew some of them from the punk scene,” Dart says. “Their biggest influence is the Japanese band Paintbox, and their music has also inspired us a lot.” In Mikkeli, they shared the stage with heavy metal band Lord Fist, whose twin guitar harmonies left an impression: “We immediately fell in love with it and said that we must include harmonies in our music too!”
In spring 2023, Dart paired up with Häpeä—Joe’s other band—for a European tour.
“We would like to thank Joonas Vetämäjärvi from Häpeä, who planned and booked most of the tour,” they say. Samppa flew straight from a three-week Terveet Kädet and Rattus tour in Brazil to join the rest of Dart in Stockholm, and from there the two bands cruised around Europe for a couple of weeks. The following summer brought a set at Puntala-rock, the largest punk festival in the Nordics. Despite torrential rains that ruined cheap tents, Dart calls it a great experience.
In 2024, the band focused on a full-length album, Speed Days, again choosing Otto Joki to record and mix.
“Our new songs had become more complex,” Dart notes, “so we decided to record all instruments separately. Some of the instruments were recorded while drunk—and that’s probably the secret why the songs sound pretty much like they do live! Haha!”
Lead guitarist and solo specialist, “the most talented and fastest guitarist we have ever met,” as they describe him, took time to lay down melodic flourishes influenced by NWOBHM, speed metal, and even the Japanese hardcore heroes G.A.Z.E introduced them to. In May 2024, Dart performed at Sonic Rites festival in Helsinki alongside Discharge, Eyehategod, and Godflesh. Later that August, they played Fragile Mountain Punk Festival in Gothenburg, plus a show in Stockholm to make the long drive from Oulu worthwhile.
Autumn 2024 found Dart on a mini-tour with Military Shadow—an influential Japanese band touring outside Japan for the first time—alongside G.A.Z.E and Bonehunter. Stops in Oulu, Tampere, and Helsinki drew big crowds and plenty of energy from each group. Dart appreciated how friendly Military Shadow were behind the scenes, and the exchange left everyone looking ahead to more international connections.
As the band now approaches the spring of 2025, they’re set to unleash Speed Days on vinyl via Agipunk in Italy and SPHC in the USA.
The first single, “Nothing to Lose,” came out November 1, 2024, and the second single, “Burnin,’” is premiering today!
With the album due out on April 4, 2025, Dart has release shows already in the works, while they continue writing new material and reflecting on just how quickly the band’s raw, spontaneous inception turned into something bigger.
