UK band RAGING SPEEDHORN started out almost 20 years ago, and was quite the active band for a number of years. They kind of faded away almost a decade ago though, but have now decided to return to the scene. “Lost Ritual” is the album that heralds this event, and was released in mid-July of 2016.
Reading up on this band, it would appear that they made their name as a band that had a successful blend of doom metal and hardcore going for them, and in the wilderness of the genre jungle I see the term sludge metal applied to them quite a lot. Not that this is a style name that says all that much for me, but those with a stronger passion for trying to make all subtle varieties of existing music fit into a new archival system it might.
What I do hear is a band that are rather well aware of vintage metal and hardcore, but with an emphasis on the former rather than the latter. In fact, the main hardcore elements used throughout are the intense, shouted vocals, occasionally conveyed with traces of growling to boot, which adds a lot of intense anger and aggression to the material. In some cases the guitar riffs takes on a firmer, hard edge that may have more in common with hardcore than metal as well, but not to the point of this being any major feature as such.
Apart from that this is a production that revolves around a few key style details as far as I’m concerned. Doom metal is probably the key component as I experience this album, up to and including several passages that will be impossible to describe without mentioning Black Sabbath. Occasionally Raging Speedhorn will opt for a more intense and arguably updated sound, where I guess many would opt for stoner metal as a better description, and they add variety by exploring both of these key components in circulating groove-oriented patterns. There are also instances where the pace drops and the intensity and richness of the guitar riffs grow quite a bit, making me think about bands such as Electric Wizard. The dark, brooding and warmly grim concluding piece Unleash the Serpent possibly the best example of just that. Otherwise it might be noted that the track Motorhead isn’t a cover tune, but it is a song that comes across as a homage to Motorhead the band in many ways, and not all that far removed from the type of music that made Lemmy and his band into living legends. One might presume that this isn’t accidental.
Those fond of dark, intense and aggressive metal should have a field day with this production. A taste for both vintage and modern doom metal is required, as is a certain affection for aggressive shouted vocals delivered hardcore style. If that sounds appealing, and you don’t mind encountering occasional groove oriented escapades either, this is a CD you probably should seek out at some point.
My rating: 82/100
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/ragingspeedhorn/?fref=ts
https://ragingspeedhorn.bandcamp.com/
