And I was starting to wonder where these guys were! With a slight delay I got my hands on the new Raging Speedhorn album and I am quite happy about it (not about the delay, but about getting it!). I liked their previous work back in 2002, We'll Be Dead Tomorrow, so I was looking forward to listening to them again.
Raging Speedhorn were formed in August of 1998. The forming of the band was a result of the combination of the bands Soulcellar and Box. Guitarist Gareth Smith, drummer Frank Regan and bassist Darren Smith of Soulcellar met up with guitarist Tony Loughlin, vocalist Jon Loughlin and drummer Gordon Morison of Box and formed Raging Speedhorn. Frank Regan, formerly a drummer then changed to singing duties along with Jon Loughlin. The band released their debut album, entitled Raging Speedhorn in the spring of 2001 and was followed by We'll Be Dead Tomorrow in June 24, 2002. The final album for their previous company was the double compilation effort Live And Demos in 2003. Now the sextet returns with a new lineup: Vocalists John Loughlin (who is also a member of Murder One) and Frank Regan (who only recently announced his resignation from the band), guitarists Gareth Smith and Jaye Thompson (Ex-Defenestration, who replaced Tony Loughlin), bassist Darren Smith and drummer Gordon Morison. Their third full length album, How The Great Have Fallen, in now here.
In case you are wondering if there are changes in the band's sound, I will simply say NO. How The Great Have Fallen kicks in exactly where We'll Be Dead Tomorrow stopped. Mostly Metalcore (but with a very big dose of Metal in the core), this is quite obvious when the speed is reduced in songs like Dead Man Walking and Slay The Crowd. Of course there are those ass whooping fast moments like the opener A Different Shade Of Shit (what a title!). Ok, at times this lack of progress might sound a bit disappointing to some of you but you have to keep in mind that the band faced some turbulence during the last one and a half year.
The murky production adds filth to the sonic outcome giving an additional raw vibe to it. How The Great Have Fallen is an album best described as a fair continuation of the band's attempt to make an impact on the modern metal scene. Being more Metal than core, the band smoothly enters my cool book list (hehehe). Welcome back, guys!