Australian hardcore punk from Sydney, SPEED release their first full-length album. Rage and violence, power and anger make this slab an uppercut to the face of society! For fans of BIOHAZARD, MERAUDER, ALL OUT WAR, AGNOSTIC FRONT. To catch everyone up: Australian hardcore band SPEED are stepping onto the world stage. For the hardcore kids of Sydney, where SPEED come from and what they represent, this is a first. Everyone in the band has been going to shows for years — “real moshers,” always up front, dancing. (The full lineup: Aaron Siow and his brother Jem on bass and vocals, respectively, Josh Clayton and Dennis Vichidvongsa on guitars, Kane Vardon on drums.) During a lull in their local scene — “there were no new bands coming up” — the guys stepped in and called on themselves. SPEED decided to start hard and traditionally — a high-level aesthetic decision that every five years an all-time hardcore band makes. A reset. For their first year, the band referred to themselves on flyers and in interviews by two words — SPEED HARDCORE — to make things even simpler. That’s what they’re about: hardcore, played loud, played fast, “for us, by us” — explicit, immediate, definitive — nodding to all the crucial bands that came before them. Their new debut album, 'ONLY ONE MODE', illustrates their growth and distillation. It’s a concept album in a sense: a handbook that directly explains SPEED’s convictions, the personalities of the five guys, what they bring, what’s special about their scene. The subjects are sharp: “Real Life Love,” about loyalty and the reality they learned from hardcore, shows how SPEED connected by showing up; a depth of expression and emotion against a backdrop of very punishing music. “The First Test” is full of dynamics — sustained notes, tasteful flute break — and is about finding yourself as a marginalized individual — in Siow’s case, as an Asian Australian: striking out on your own and growing up in a beautiful and ugly world. “Kill Cap” shows real vulnerability: grief, regret, spiritual themes, a tribute to friends and family lost to suicide. The lyrics on 'Only One Mode' embrace perspectives, leaning into big ideas and small, detailed moments.