By incorporating unconventional dynamics and structuring, Jyväskylä, Finland’s based metallic, chaotic hardcore act RATS WILL FEAST successfully pushes the envelope of the genre and proves the Finnish hardcore scene is one to watch very closely! Today, we’re teasing their upcoming EP “Songs Of A Racehorse”, out this Friday, July 17th, with recently released single and music video “Racehorse”, as well as their first hand commentary about their project, local music scene, the pandemic, and some politics.
Pre-Order Songs Of A Racehorse EP now from Bound By Modern Age Records webshop HERE.
“We started really young, our drummer Aaron was 15 at the time of our first gig back in 2012. First we played more post-rock influenced hardcore. We wanted to just to combine cool musical styles together; post rock- atmosphere, good riffs and sinister hardcore. Then and also now there were no other bands like us in Finland, we were a weird band.
𝑊𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 “𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑘” 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑠, 𝑛𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 “𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑒” 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔.
First years we really played shows only in our hometown Jyväskylä. Our first show outside Jyväskylä was in 2014. We continued to shape our sound, and in reality I consider 2018 like a real beginning for our band. In 2018 our second guitarist Joona joined the band and we played our first shows as a four piece band in a long time. A show in Helsinki in summer of 2018 with the UK band Rough Hands was also a real fire starter for our new sound. Nowadays we are in a good place and we have exactly the sound we want.”
Video filmed in Sumiainen, Finland, directed and edited by Iiro Palva-aho
“Our new EP “Songs Of A Racehorse” is really like a continuum for our 2019 record Scarcity. We will continue to combine hard riffs, weird guitar tones and psychedelic guitar leads. Its better in every aspect compared to Scarcity; songs, sounds, riffs, song structures, hooks. We made it with same recipe than Scarcity, we worked with our recording engineer Oula Maaranen (New Waters, Mantaray, Unradiant) and went to same studio (Electric Fox) for drums and bass recordings. Some of the guitars and vocals were recorded in our practice studio.”
𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑏𝑦 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛
Everything Strays The Same – This song is moodsetter for the EP. It’s kind of emotional discharge for many things. Climate crisis is currently happening, people are reading self-help literature which tells you to organize your apartment etc. instead of looking outside, right-wing populism keeps growing once again. Feeling of powerlessness is actually quite powerful. This world is a burning house.
The Forked Path – As long as motive for consumption is not usage or utilization value of the purchase but the status value, the current system thrives. Consumption as a source of identity is feeble, bleak and easily controlled. Stray from the path that is blessed by the void.
Racehorse – Trends come and go but one thing stays the same: we are forced to live in a world of clichés. Routines for life can be predicted and counted. No rest no grace.
Jesus Mirror – This is quite personal song for me, so I don’t want to explain it too much. Other person is always a mystery (as it should be) and claiming to ”know someone” slips easily into trying to control or fit other people for your own purposes. Jesus is a reference for any kind of ideal what people seek from others. Image is broken.
Let Your Fingers Bleed – This is a counter-irony song. The atmosphere of constant irony feels exhausting. For example people say they like some songs ”unironically” or listen to music ironically. What’s the point? Just play from your heart and be honest with yourself. ”Punk rock should mean freedom” – Kurt Cobain
Asked about the recent anti-racist protests and the turmoil following the killing of George Floyd, the band offered:
“Years of killing people by a corrupted system built on blood from the very beginning. Then they wonder why people riot now? Let it burn. Although our legal system is a bit better here in Finland, we also have structural racism and oppression that needs lot of work from all of us to fix. It’s really important that people are showing solidarity around the world. Nevertheless, the real change happens by taking direct action and in everyday life. Instagram activism isn’t enough. Black lives matter, and we truly hope some permanent change emerges from these riots.”
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠.
“We have really cool new bands who are all doing their own thing. Our city is pretty small, and because of that there’s not so many hardcore bands around. We feel that our hardcore scene is spread around the whole of Finland, so lately we have played with hardcore bands from all around Finland. We have played with such awesome bands, like Gray State, Cleansing, Varjot and a lot of great shows organized by Circuit Breaker Bookings.”
