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The first Australian hardcore group to play at Coachella and winners of the 2024 ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album, SPEED’s debut tour of Aotearoa New Zealand<\/strong> starts today. Touring their latest EP All My Angels, the Sydney five-piece will be rampaging through P\u014dneke, T\u0101maki Makaurau and Kirikiriroa in the coming days, including a headline slot at the legendary Hamtown Smakdown<\/a><\/strong> festival. Interviewer Lucia Taylor<\/a><\/strong> got on the line with guitarist Dennis “D-Cold” Vichidvongsa<\/strong> for a chat about what SPEED have been up to, where they’re going, Asian Australian representation in hardcore, and more…<\/em><\/p>\n SPEED Aotearoa Tour 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Tuesday 14th July – Massey University Block 1, Wellington (all-ages)
Tickets on sale HERE via UTR
Lucia Taylor: With most of the hardcore bands I interview, especially because it’s often seen as such an angry genre, I really like to talk about how it advocates for community and friendship and how it can champion diversity and is actually such a beautiful thing. How has that community element of hardcore helped form SPEED, and also how do you continue to amplify that through your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n D-Cold: Yeah we’re all about bringing the community together, especially in our own city. We make sure a lot of the time when we are booking a show there is a diverse lineup, whether it\u2019s members of other bands with transgender people or POCs and all that.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also such a beautiful way of forming friendships, and I know that you guys talk about that often, too. What does that mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n Personally, the number one thing is friendship. Because everything I have in my life and everything and everyone I love in my life has something to do with, is always connected to, hardcore. Whether it’s like anything outside of hardcore that I love, whether it’s my hobbies or whatever, it always reverts back to hardcore for some reason. That\u2019s how it is.<\/p>\n
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Wednesday 15th July – Meow, Wellington\u25cb
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Friday 17th July – Double Whammy, Auckland
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Saturday 18th July – Hamtown Smakdown 2026, Meteor Theatre, Hamilton (all-ages)
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Sunday 19th July – Last Place, Hamilton<\/strong><\/p>\n
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*Hamtown Smakdown tickets on sale HERE via UTR
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\u25cbInfo HERE<\/a><\/p>\n