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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The members of Haste; Inhale are used to playing well-organized suburban basement gigs for friends and friends of friends.

This Friday, the hardcore band will shake the stage upstairs at the Top Knight at the invitation of the headlining band The Skinnys. Haste; Inhale opens for the elder punks at 9:30 p.m.

"A band that's actually been getting around town with older audiences wants us to play with them," said Haste; Inhale guitarist Brad Choquette. "That is pretty cool."

In addition to their popular private residential shows, Haste; Inhale has played a few all-ages concerts at the Multiplex and at Music in the Park, Rock the Folks and this summer's South Slave Friendship Festival in Fort Smith.

"Haste; Inhale is a really good band that a lot of people in town have never seen," Volume said. "This will give our fans a chance to check out something new. It's a lot more aggressive than what we play but they're a fantastic band."

Haste; Inhale's repertoire of original songs overlaps hardcore styles, occasionally throwing listeners for a loop with a slow off-beat bass solo or other genre-busting surprises. The skillful musicians deliver dramatic vocals, screams and growls with sophisticated instrumentation and a spectacular energy that is earning them a reputation as one of the best underground acts in town.

Ask the guys about their influences and they'll cite a hardcore who's-who from the last decade, including Alexis on Fire and Protest the Hero from southern Ontario, A Textbook Tragedy from Langley B.C., The Blood Brothers in Seattle, Bear vs. Shark from Michigan and an Indiana thrash metal band formerly known as Suicide Asylum.

"We don't want to label ourselves," bassist Colm Herbert said. "We just call ourselves the lighter side of hardcore because we're more into singing than screaming."

The disciplined and tight-knit band mates are practising several times a week as they prepare to embark on an experimental concept album this winter.

They are also crafting musical arrangements for acoustic guitar and bongos to feed to the Javaroma crowd. That set list will include a cover of Katy Perry's top 40 hit I Kissed A Girl.

"Yellowknife has a solid music scene but - I'm not going to say it's outdated - but it's definitely a niche that we don't fit into," said Haste; Inhale vocalist Joel Levavaseur. "We're trying to carve our own place. I wouldn't mind trying to push the next wave of music in Yellowknife."

The Skinnys will open for Haste; Inhale at a private basement gig sometime, somewhere in the suburbs.