Tazer interview: ‘Taze Is The Rule is our manifesto, our creed, and our undeniable truth’
The members of the Norwegian trio Tazer introduce themselves only by their aliases: ‘CALICO’, ‘ONI-X01’, and ‘DRUMNIBAL’. Beyond that, they prefer to keep an air of mystery – something I won’t attempt to unravel here. Their focus is on the music rather than the people behind it, and rightly so. I first discovered Tazer through their earlier EP, but it is their self-released debut album, “Taze Is The Rule”, that truly demands attention. It has been a long time since a debut record has hit me with this kind of force. This is pure sonic aggression, forged from a relentless fusion of EBM, Metal, and Techno. Every track is crushingly heavy, leaving nothing standing in its wake. The songs strike with the intensity of an imaginary war machine, determined to conquer dark dance floors and every poor soul brave enough to step onto them. Tazer sounds like an explosion whose full impact has yet to be measured. Fortunately, the band took the time to answer a few questions and shed some light on the ideas, influences, and vision behind “Taze Is The Rule”. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Tazer ‘Taze Is The Rule’ interview
Q: Let’s start by clearing up a few things: where do Tazer and the project’s name come from? Who is behind the aliases, and what has your musical journey been like up to this point?
CALICO: The Tazer project officially kicked off in 2024 when we wrote our first EP, “9001 Volts”. We chose the name Tazer because we wanted something that felt high-voltage but was also instantly recognizable. A small taser can pack a massive punch, and that just felt like the perfect metaphor for our energy. As for our aliases, they are symbols. Honestly, who we are behind them really doesn’t matter, we are our music, and we prefer to let the tracks do the talking.
Q: What have been the key influences and sources of inspiration behind your music, and what does this particular form of expression mean to you?
ONI-X01: We’ve always been massive fans of bands like Rammstein and Combichrist, but we really wanted to inject our own flavor into the mix. The goal was to create something heavy and raw, but also immediate and danceable. By mixing Metal with classic EBM elements, we want to hit people right in the gut and pull them into a completely new kind of mindset.
Q: How did this debut album come together, and how were the songwriting and production responsibilities divided among the band members? Looking back, what were the biggest challenges you faced while creating it?
DRUMNIBAL: This album is the result of years of hard work. Out of the 10 tracks we originally wrote, 5 of them ended up on the “9001 Volts” EP. So, over the next two years, we had to write 5 brand-new tracks to bring the album back to 10. During that time, our sound naturally evolved and the line-up shifted into the trio we are today.
Our creative process is pretty organic: we usually start with electronic riffs, build a solid structure, and then layer on the guitars, bass, and vocals. Lyrics always come last because they depend entirely on the vibe and emotion the music triggers in us. We write everything together as a team, no strict division of labor, just pure collaboration.
Q: If I understand correctly, “Taze Is The Rule” is more than just an album title – it also serves as a kind of manifesto for the band. Both lyrically and musically, the track comes across as hard-hitting, provocative, and uncompromising. Could you elaborate on that? What does it reveal about your perspective on the world and the society we live in?
ONI-X01: You hit the nail on the head. “Taze Is The Rule” is our manifesto, our creed, and our undeniable truth. It all started with this first track, which really opened our eyes and made us realize exactly what we wanted to create. We feel like the world is lacking a bit of discipline right now; everything seems to get lost in superficial noise and trivial complaints that don’t really lead anywhere. That’s why we felt the need to forge music that brings back some of that discipline, giving people an ideal to rally behind with a sound that’s tough, but fair.
Q: Both your music and visual identity seem perfectly suited for the live stage. What have your experiences been like so far, and what can audiences expect from a Tazer performance?
DRUMNIBAL: Throughout our musical journeys, we’ve spent enough time on stage to consider ourselves live veterans. However, with this specific project, we are completely rethinking our approach to live shows to deliver something genuinely fresh and powerful. We know it’s a challenge, ‘cause the live scene is incredibly competitive right now, and coming up with original ideas takes a lot of the discipline we talk about. We apply that same focus to our music videos, carefully crafting our identity through every choice of makeup, wardrobe, storyline, and camera angle.
Q: Are you already working on new material or perhaps even a follow-up album? Do you have a clear vision of how Tazer will evolve in the future and where you would like to take the project?
CALICO: We definitely have a long-term plan, which includes diving into a second album. We already have some ideas cooking that we hope people will love. Right now, though, the main focus of that plan is locking down and developing our live shows. We honestly can’t wait to bring these tracks to the stage and connect with the crowd under the banner of ‘Taze is the Rule’.
About Tazer
Tazer is a Norwegian electro-industrial project formed in 2024 by musicians performing under the aliases CALICO, ONI-X01, and DRUMNIBAL, and signed to Hellektrokution Records. The band debuted with the single “A Razor Can Slit, A Tazer Can Kill” on 5 November 2024, followed by the self-released EP “9001 Volts” on 21 December 2024. Of the ten tracks the band had written by then, five appeared on that EP; the remaining five, plus five newly written tracks, became the ten-track debut album “Taze Is The Rule”, released via Hellektrokution Records on 30 April 2026. The album combines EBM, industrial metal and techno, with influences including Rammstein and Combichrist. Tazer returned in October 2025 with a Halloween video for “I Put a Spell on You”, and in May 2026 released the single “Raise The Voltage”, the album’s fifth track, via Hellektrokution Records, Spotify, YouTube and Bandcamp. The band is now focused on developing a live show and has begun writing material for a second album.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
