Raging Speedhorn are a British
extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
band formed in
Corby
Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...
,
Northamptonshire in 1998.
Career
Raging Speedhorn were formed in August 1998
from the merging of the bands Soulcellar and Box. The band quickly established itself as a major presence within the UK's metal scene.
Raging Speedhorn featured two vocalists, a style largely inspired by the UK
hardcore band Hard to Swallow (which featured Bloody Kev who would join Raging Speedhorn as their second vocalist after the departure of Frank Regan in 2005). The band's first single, "Thumper" (produced by
Marc Heal), was released in 2000 to significant critical acclaim. In 2001, they charted in the
UK Singles Chart with "The Gush".
On early Raging Speedhorn recordings, the music can be characterised by pounding
bassline
Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...
s, heavily distorted
riff
A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...
-thick guitarwork and subject content consisting generally (but certainly not exclusively) of
hedonism
Hedonism is a family of Philosophy, philosophical views that prioritize pleasure. Psychological hedonism is the theory that all human behavior is Motivation, motivated by the desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. As a form of Psycholo ...
, drug use, violence, antipathy for major band labels and depression.
''
Before the Sea Was Built'' was the only album the band produced with Larry Hibbitt of
Hundred Reasons. It was released on 11 September 2007 through Steamhammer, a subsidiary of
SPV Records.
Tour dates were announced with
Trophy Scars on 8 March 2008. Weeks later, on 25 March 2008, it was announced the band would split after a final tour. However, the tour was uncerimoniously canceled that same day reportedly due to an inability to confirm dates or properly promote. A "final" tour was eventually scheduled for October and November of 2008 with dates across the UK and Ireland and finishing in Japan. Members joined other bands elsewhere, including
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
, Wales, and
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, Sweden. John Loughlin, Jay Thompson and Dave Thompson were in the metal band The Death of Us as of 2013.
On 18 February 2014, it was announced that the band would reform to perform at
Damnation Festival in November 2014. Both John Loughlin and Frank Regan would feature on vocals, with the band showcasing tracks from their debut and sophomore albums. The band was also confirmed to play the UK leg of the 2014
Sonisphere festival.
On 3 July 2014, the band played a sold-out hometown show with support from The Darkhorse and Heart of a Coward as a warm-up prior to playing at
Sonisphere two days later. On 7 July 2014, an eleven-date UK tour was announced.
In January 2016, the band recorded their new full-length record, ''
Lost Ritual'', with
Russ Russell at the Parlour Studios in
Kettering
Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...
.
On 14 September 2018, it was announced that guitarists Jim Palmer and Jamie Thompson had left the band.
On 6 October 2018, the band performed a 20th-anniversary show at the
Electric Ballroom in London with the original lineup (John Loughlin, Frank Regan, Gordon Morison, Tony Loughlin, Gareth Smith & Darren Smith).
On 19 December 2018, it was announced that James Palmer and Dave Leese had joined the band on guitars. It was announced in September 2019 that Daniel Cook would be replacing John Loughlin after 21 years.
Musical style
Raging Speedhorn plays a combination of
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
,
extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
,
sludge, and
stoner metal
Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Slee ...
.
Members
Current
*Gordon Morison – drums (1998–2008, 2014–present)
*Frank Regan – vocals (1998–2005, 2014–present)
*James Palmer – guitar (2018–present)
*Daniel Cook – vocals (2019–present)
*Andy Gilmour – bass (2019–present)
*Daf Williams – guitar (2022–present)
Former
* John Loughlin – vocals (1998–2008, 2014–2019)
* Gareth Smith – guitar (1998–2008)
* Tony Loughlin – guitar (1998–2006)
* Darren Smith – bass (1998–2006)
* Kevin "Bloody Kev" Greenham – vocals (2005–2008)
* Jay Thompson – guitar (2005–2008)
* Dave Thompson – bass (2008)
* Anthony Elsayed - guitar (1998-2000)
* Dave Leese – guitar (2018–2022)
Discography
Studio albums
*''
Raging Speedhorn'' (2000)
*''
We Will Be Dead Tomorrow'' (2002)
*''
How the Great Have Fallen'' (2005)
*''
Before the Sea Was Built'' (2007)
*''
Lost Ritual'' (2016)
*''
Hard to Kill'' (2020)
*''Night Wolf'' (2025)
Live albums
*''Live and Demos' (2004)
*''20 Year Anniversary Show'' (2018)
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
British musical sextets
British sludge metal musical groups
English hardcore punk groups
English heavy metal musical groups
English stoner rock musical groups
Extreme metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1998
Musical groups disestablished in 2008
Musical groups reestablished in 2014