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Whatsapp Dispossessed: Jarrod Smith, Serwah Attafuah, and Birrugan Dunn-Velasco.

Their songs are driven by post-colonial theory, while their music code-switches between grindcore, post-punk, shoegaze and metal. Meet the three Sydney musicians being hailed as the most important metal band in Australia today.

'I hope that was succinct enough,' says Birrugan Dunn-Velasco. The lead singer of Sydney punk/hardcore/metal three-piece Dispossessed has been talking for almost five minutes, seemingly without stopping to take a breath. He has a lot to say.

We play anything from shoegaze to grindcore to post-punk, straight-up punk ... it's cool so long as it has feeling, which most of the time is angry.

'When we perform we always acknowledge the earth we stand upon; this is stolen land,' he says.

'Everybody is dispossessed in some way, shape or form, whether you're queer or black. But as Indigenous, First Nations people, our sovereignty has been refuted. We are the dispossessed people of this land.'

Dispossessed are unapologetically angry. Their website features a 279-word manifesto in stark yellow all-caps on a black background, beginning: 'WE ARE THE SURVIVORS OF GENOCIDE ACROSS TIME, SPIRITUAL WARRIORS, OUR SOVEREIGNTY IS IRREFUTABLE.'

Dunn-Velasco, wearing a black leather jacket with an Aboriginal flag and an X-Wing fighter on the right arm, is the band's unofficial spokesperson.

'We have to stand up, we have to say something, we have to vocalise,' he says.

'We're becoming more invisible every week. NAIDOC Week is the perfect example. It's just this tokenistic stuff.

'It's my responsibility as a Gumbaynggirr man. It's my responsibility to our people to be the best warrior I can. To not be silent, to not be complacent.

'I see the work we do as Dispossessed and the work we do on campaigns, speeches at rallies, grassroots stuff like that, as one and the same. The band is a platform for a wider movement.'

Guitarist Serwah Attafuah and drummer Jarrod Smith aren't possessed by the same near-manic energy, but nod in agreement as Dunn-Velasco talks.

'There's absolutely no way we can leave politics out of music,' says Attafuah. 'It's just not an option for people like us.'

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The music itself is difficult to categorise. Dunn-Velasco growls in both English and Gumbaynggirr, and the band's debut album, Insurgency, veers between hardcore, metal and shoegaze, often on the same track.

'I think we try to blur the lines of genre,' says Attafuah. 'In terms of musical style we play anything from shoegaze to grindcore to post-punk, straight-up punk. I don't care anymore. Anything we do, it's cool so long as it has feeling, which most of the time is angry.'

Attafuah's dreads hang over a long-sleeved t-shirt bearing the logo of American hardcore pioneers Bad Brains. At 18 she's more self-possessed than her older bandmates, and does most of the admin—an increasingly big responsibility with a second album on the way, growing media interest and nine shows booked this month.

For her troubles, Attafuah, who is of mixed Ghanaian and European heritage, has been the target of racial vilification online and in person at Dispossessed shows.

'I've had people racially profile me as somebody threatening because I'm black,' she says. 'I've been not allowed into our own shows. I can't leave politics at the door, it's just not possible.'

The trouble, says Dunn-Velasco, is that the Sydney hardcore/DIY scene Dispossessed belongs to is so white. They cop abuse, sometimes even from people they think of as friends.

'You're better off being a straight-out Nazi so I know you're my enemy, instead of people who are stuffing around being gammon fellas saying they want to be down, they want to be allies,' he says.

'When we're coming off stage they just step the fuck back. They leave us alone. They're like, "I'm not messing with these fellas, these kids ain't playin."'

Dunn-Velasco might be radical, but with his wide smile he's not particularly convincing as a tough guy, even to himself. He cracks up laughing. So do Attafuah and Smith.

They're young and idealistic, and they believe their music can change the world. It's hard not to smile with them.