In 2020, the Stockholm hardcore band Speedway blew me away with their passionate, grandiose self-titled debut EP. Right away, they seemed like they were heading for big things. It seemed a little confusing to have international hardcore bands called Speed and Speedway emerging at the same time, but they both kick ass, and they don't sound anything like each other, so it's fine. In 2023, Speedway followed that EP with an album promo that featured two tracks, "Ascension" and "Walls Of Ire." It look a little while, but that Speedway album is finally coming out this spring.
Speedway's full-length debut is called A Life's Refrain, and they made it help from a bunch of talented friends. The band co-produced the LP with the brothers Ned and Ben Russin, who used to be in Title Fight together. (These days, Ned leads Glitterer, while Ben plays drums in Citizen.) The Russins' Wilkes-Barre comrade Arthur Rizk, the Power Trip collaborator who's been in bands like Cold World and War Hungry, mixed and mastered the LP. Ned Russin appears on one track, and Speedway's fellow Swedish punk Sebastian Murphy, whose band Viagra Boys just released the new song "Uno II," sings on another.
The lead single from A Life's Refrain is called "Permission To Dream," and it's got guest vocals from Chris Wilson, from the great New York hardcore band Ekulu. (Rumor has it that Ekulu have broken up, but I hope that's not true.) "Permission To Dream" is a two-minute ripper with big, crashing chords and a feeling of sincere urgency. Speedway singer Anton Larsson's voice contrasts nicely with Wilson's, and the track is powerful enough to pick you up and spin you around. Here's what Larsson says about it:
"Permission To Dream" pretty much summarizes all the building blocks that made Speedway the band it is. Grand, introspective, and powerful without lacking an ounce of the sheer force and aggression of the classic records that inspired us. This track, along with the rest of the songs on A Life's Refrain, is what we hope will shed some well deserved light onto what the Stockholm hardcore scene has to offer in 2025.
Below, check out "Permission To Dream" and the tracklist for A Life's Refrain.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Thin Air"
02 "Day By Day" (Feat. Glitterer's Ned Russin)
03 "Sanctified"
04 "Permission To Dream" (Feat. Ekulu's Chris Wilson)
05 "Passion Play"
06 "Walls Of Ire"
07 "In Shadows Deep"
08 "Ascension"
09 "Touch"
10 "Solitaire" (Feat. Viagra Boys' Sebastian Murphy)
11 "Another Life"
12 "Tomorrow Once More"
A Life's Refrain is out 4/11 on Revelation Records.
