LIVE REVIEW: Flatspot World Night Two – Speed @ The Dome, London

For the sold out second day of Flatspot World, it’s dried and warmed up significantly outside, while inside the anticipation is palpable for the carnage set to unfold. 

True to their name, London mob DYNAMITE kick things off with a bang, grinning “this is a SPEED show but they’re in London tonight!” Despite being first on and admitting to some nerves opening such a relatively big show, there’s not an ounce of that in their performance; the swaggering punk that shoots through their music is echoed by a rowdy crowd that are hurling themselves around the pit that swallows half the room. Mic grabs, guest spots that hurl themselves into the crowd; DYNAMITE starts the night as it means to go on in classic hardcore fashion. 

Rating: 9/10

Next, Leeds quintet HIGHER POWER might not be on Flatspot now having moved to Nuclear Blast, but their roots are squarely with the scene and on full display tonight. Though they’ve veered into alt rock and shoegaze with newer singles, they make sure to give the crowd a raucous lesson in British hardcore just as much as their softer side. Calls of “where’s the moshers” are barely necessary with the enthusiastic bunch in front of them who go just as hard all night. Even during relatively lighter songs there’s urgency injected into them through sheer force of will and the band shifting gears for a hardcore crowd. Withh a crowd that loves the new, and goes even more apeshit for the Flatspot classic World Gone Mad, Time and again HIGHER POWER show why they’re one of UK hardcore’s biggest bands, and tonight is no different. 

Rating: 8/10

ZULU have a reputation for fearsome live shows and the powerviolence outfit are firing on all cylinders in spite of a late start and what seems like small technical hitches. The second they launch into For Sista Humphrey though, it’s a war zone, the pit a sweaty mass while the band fire off salvos of intense, crushingly heavy hardcore. As on record, they intersperse the violence with samples of speeches, soul and hip-hop songs to offer brief respites from the barrage of riffs and guttural roars. Something that underscores their set rather than just rage, though, is celebration. ZULU celebrate Black culture as much as they do speak on the issues the community faces as well as others, a message that’s as urgent as it’s ever been. It’s one that has resonated with people too, with the packed room cheering calls for liberation for all. They’re also conscious of the huge number of stage divers, making sure people are caught properly as the night only gets rowdier. It’s, as ever, a stunning showcase of an incredible band that’s as exciting as they are crucial to widening the scene. 

Rating: 9/10

Even with the energy expended so far tonight, SPEED still ensure 500 people dig deep and find new reserves to go utterly batshit for them. Vocalist Jem Siow barely needs to demand the crowd get moving as there’s stage diving from the first note, never mind breakdown, and the Aussies rip straight through A Dumb Dog Gets Flogged and Big Bite with irrepressible energy. There’s so much groove to their bruising hardcore it’s impossible not to move, even the very back of the room often moshing along. Swapping instruments for songs like it’s nothing, SPEED are very obviously having a blast. 

The Australian outfit are about to drop one of the most hotly anticipated debuts in the entire scene this year and so far have unveiled two singles, both of which get played and go down an absolute storm. In particular, the flute solo during The First Test’s breakdown kicks away any notion of gimmickry through charisma alone. Both songs are already firmly loved by fans – how could they not be when they’re this good? It’s impossible to overstate how much SPEED live and breathe hardcore, shouting out the UK scene that’s turned out in their hundreds, packing The Dome to its rafters before shaking it to its foundations. They are a gang called SPEED and they’re taking over. 

Rating: 10/10

Check out our photo gallery of the action from night two of Flatspot World from Sarah Tsang here: 

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