INTERVIEW: DART: Fuel on Thin Ice

From the chaos of punk basements to the relentless energy of speed metal, Dart embody a spirit that’s reckless, raw, and real. Their debut Speed Days is more than an album—it’s a headlong dive into friendship, rebellion, and the thrill of not playing by anyone else’s rules. Between political jabs, tongue-in-cheek anthems, and pure sonic adrenaline, Dart prove that heavy music in 2025 doesn’t have to choose between rage and joy—it can be both, and it can be alive. This interview rips through the band’s DNA: the chaos of punk roots, the freedom of refusing to fit a mold, and the belief that music should sound like what it is—friends making noise and loving every second of it.

Thanks for your time! Your first album is out in the world—what’s scarier: sharing your music with strangers, or the silence before you hit play for the first time?
No problem! And thank you for having us! Funny question. Honestly, we weren’t really scared of either moment. We make music first and foremost for ourselves, and we worked on this album for so long that when it finally came out, the main feeling was relief. Sure, we wondered how people would react, but when you’ve given it your all and you’re happy with the result, you shouldn’t stress too much about what anyone else thinks.

Speed Days feels like a rush, but there’s melody and hooks too. How do you balance raw aggression with something listeners can hang onto?
Thanks! For us, the most important thing is that the song has a hook, even if it’s really fast. Usually, one of us brings a few riffs to rehearsal, then we build the song together. That’s when the tempo almost always goes up. Our lead guitarist Tuoppa ends up playing some pretty wild solos and cursing the speed, but he’s a great player, so it works out.

Some of you come from punk, a world that thrives on chaos and tearing down walls. How does that mindset shape the way you write heavy metal in 2025?
Originally, Dart was supposed to be a hardcore punk band, something like Poison Idea or Gas Rag. But as the line-up grew, we didn’t want to fit into any specific mold. It ended up becoming quite metal when we added double kick drums, Children of Bodom-style leads and Iron Maiden-style drum beats. Haha!

Punk often says “everything is broken,” while traditional metal loves the idea of glory. Where does Dart sit on that spectrum—cynical, hopeful, or somewhere in between?
I’d say we’re probably somewhere in the middle. We’ve got songs that are political, songs that make fun of violent jerks, songs about driving cars, drinking beer, and just rebelling in general.

Every debut says something beyond the music—“this is who we are.” What does Speed Days say about Dart as a band, and about you as people?
I think the album shows that you don’t have to be tied to one style. There’s a mix of a lot of things we love in music.
It also shows that not everything has to be super serious. We take what we do seriously, sure, but I’ve heard people say our music sounds like we’re genuinely having fun, and that’s exactly what it is.

If this album were a night out, how would it go? Who’s at the bar, who starts the fight, and what song plays when the sun comes up?
Haha! Great question! I could pick something from every song, but here’s a few:
First Bite is definitely that first pint, the first sip you take.
Speed Days is when your friends join you at the bar and things start to escalate.
Nothing to Lose is pure drunken chaos.
Thin Ice is the one that starts the fight.
And then Speed Days again when the sun comes up!

There’s a sense of risk and thrill in these tracks, but what about vulnerability? What’s the most personal moment hidden in Speed Days?
We already touched a bit on our lyrics, but yeah, there’s definitely stuff in there about personal struggles and frustrations with life and its difficulties.
Making the album together had a lot of good, personal moments. One that stands out is when we decided to add those Deep Purple-style organs late in the process. At first, we wondered, “Is this too much?” but we trusted the feeling, and it turned out to be the right call. Even now, every time we hear them, it makes us smile.

You chose to keep things fierce and lean instead of polished and overproduced. Was that a creative decision—or a philosophy?
We’re just not into overproduced metal, it’s usually boring as hell. Of course, what matters more than the sound is whether the song is good. The choruses and hooks are what make it. Speed Days was recorded in rehearsal-room conditions with the help of our friend, which came with certain limitations, but we’re used to that from our punk/DIY background and we’re happy with how it turned out. We didn’t have a set concept for the record during recording, though the cover art was already done, and we just wanted to make an album that would fit inside that sleeve. It took a long time to finish, but we learned a lot along the way.

Imagine someone hearing Speed Days in 20 years. What do you hope they feel, even if the world sounds completely different by then?
It probably won’t be a shock that the cover art was inspired by ’80s heavy metal albums. I like to think that if someone finds it 20 years from now, with the sleeve a bit worn, they might think it’s way older than it is. I imagine their first reaction would be, “Why does this sound so turbocharged?” Or maybe they’ll be pissed off: “Why the hell did someone waste plastic on this crap?!” Hahaha!

Thanks for sharing all this. Before we wrap up, what’s one thing you want people to know—not about the album, but about what keeps Dart alive as a band?
No problem, and thanks for the great questions! The biggest thing that keeps Dart alive is that we’re genuinely really good friends. We spend time together, do all kinds of stuff outside the band, and we actually listen to each other. We love being in this band and we take it seriously. We’re always up for gigs and tours, we’re constantly writing new songs, and we’ve already been working on the next album for a while. But more on that later!