After returning last autumn from an extended break from releases and live shows, the Helsinki-based five-piece DIRT release their first single of the year, “Sunder”. The track offers a glimpse into the world of the upcoming second album, which they’ve been crafting carefully over the past few years. “Sunder” deals with a theme that is timelessly relevant to many: breaking free from a difficult and harmful relationship—and dealing with the aftermath.

DIRT released their debut album “Deadbeat” in 2022 and quickly emerged as one of the most interesting new names in Finnish heavy rock. After an active touring period, the circumstances within the group led to an extended break. During the past couple of years, DIRT focused on rebuilding their internal communication culture from scratch and began untangling long-standing tensions between members. Following these productive discussions, DIRT are now stronger than ever, and new material for the upcoming album has been flowing at an impressive pace.

“We had around fifty ideas sitting in the vault when we started outlining the direction for the second album. Just going through them was overwhelming. With this track, however, the choice was immediate—it stood out right away as one of the priorities thanks to its head-nodding, ’90s-inspired NYHC bounce groove,” the band says.

“We also broadened our horizons by trying co-writing for the first time. JC Halttunen (known from WOLFRAM) helped us refine the track. The idea originally came up years ago at the Music x Media conference between JC and our guitarist Kasper, and putting it into practice was absolutely worth it. With the final touch from our producer Juho Salaterä, we ended up with something we’re more than proud to present as DIRT à la 2026.”

The release of Sunder, produced by Juho Salaterä and mastered by Riku Kuikka, is celebrated this Saturday May 25th at Kuudes Linja in Helsinki, Finland. The extended set will feature DIRT’s most popular tracks from the years as well as new, yet-unreleased songs from the upcoming second album. The mood for the evening is set by promising newcomer Honey Juice.

Also listen to last year’s release “Born Again” here.

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Formed in 2018 and releasing their first singles that same year, DIRT blend rock aesthetics with heavier influences—a combination that has been praised since their debut EP Low Life. Their debut album Deadbeat was released in 2022 via Ranka Kustannus and was selected among the best albums of the year by Inferno, Kaaoszine, Tuonela Magazine, and Music Finland. Since then, the Helsinki-based five-piece has amassed over 3 million streams on Spotify and has performed at festivals like Tuska as well as alongside acts such as The 69 Eyes, Shiraz Lane, One Desire, and Danko Jones. The band is particularly known for their energetic live shows, which have even been discussed on the Access All Areas podcast.

Rock band DIRT, who made a convincing impression with their Deadbeat debut album, have just released their single Born Again. This is the Helsinki-based five-piece’s first release in over three years, and it also marks the end of their silence on the gig front, as the band took the stage at DIRT’s already traditional Halloween party last Friday at Helsinki’s On The Rocks.

“After the sold-out Danko Jones gig in 2023, we had a feeling in Tavastia that things weren’t going to get any better and that we had to move on,” the band comments, continuing: “We toured as much as we could for the debut album and got more back from the fans and the music industry than we could have ever expected. We ended the first album cycle there, put the tour calendar on hold completely, and started focusing on making the second album. From there, we insidiously fell into a vacuum that took us a long time to recover from.”

Over the past three years, DIRT has spent more time together without instruments than with them, which was a necessity for the band to continue. They focused on practically completely recreating the band’s culture of conversation and began to open up the knots between the members that had been simmering in the background for a long time.

“We have had to do an awful lot of work, both with ourselves on a personal level and also with each other, to get the will to work together back. There were internal conflicts under the surface, and things could no longer continue in the same way as before. Ironical in a way, since the band is still as tough as diamonds. But the joy of working had to be rediscovered. Fortunately, the starting point has always been that these five guys in particular want to continue together, because otherwise we wouldn’t be here.”

The Born Again single also has a particularly great weight in that it serves as a game-changer for the band’s expected comeback and opens the curtain on the world of the second album, which will be released in 2026. The new song therefore means rebirth in a very concrete way.

“Our common feeling is what the title of the song suggests. Now it feels good to work together and it was important that we took our time, even though many thought we were putting our heads in the sand. On the contrary; we made our best song so far, and now it’s yours.”

The single was produced by Juho Salaterä and mastered by Riku Kuikka.

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