Raging Speedhorn

styles: heavy metal, hard rock
others: Biohazard, Faith No More, Nirvana

We Will Be Dead Tomorrow
ZTT, 2002
rating: 8.0
reviewer: dunc

We Will Be Dead Tommorrow the new album landed right on my unemployed ass. "The Hate Song" storms over all over the releases metal this year. No messing around here. These are grind core anthems. Cyclical vocals swirl around the heaviest riffs since Slayer. It’s all here from beginning to end. What sets this apart from other bands is the right balance of metal credibility and pop hooks. Well songs, really-- and great production. Clichés are probably just around the corner, but you don’t really care if this sound so unselfconsciously great. "We Are the Chonic Youth" with the chorus of "We will be dead tomorrow, all I really want is a good smoke" is a calling to arms which this old man can still appreciate. Motorhead might be suing, though. This song is a great great song. "You say you love to party, bullshit you know don’t, Getting high and kicking ass, we’re gonna drink some more alcohol, whisky and wine!"  C’mon, what more do want! And there’s humor on "You and Me Man": "Ate so much I nearly died!"  It’s just unrelentingly heavy and the songs just keep coming. An apocalyptic funeral march is as close as you get to a ballad. It's rolling and sinking. But as I said before, it has enough production and pop ounce to save it from saddo metal dustbin. And their British and truly follow in the wake of great N.W.O.B. H. M. And by the time track six ("No take me, no you rape me, fuck the evil inside, conversations left behind, the discovery, the discovery") is gutting you alive, there’s still "Fuck the Voodoo Man" and "Ride with the Devil" to keep you up at night. Whip-cracking-floozie-way-out-of-control.

1. The Hate Song
2. Scrapin' the Resin
3. Me and You Man
4. Scaramanga
5. Chronic Youth
6. Iron Cobra
7. Heartbreaker
8. Fuck the Voodooman
9. Spitting Blood
10. Welcome to Shitsville
11. Ride With the Devil
 

The Gush (cd single)
ZTT, 2000
rating: 8.0
reviewer: dunc

Prepare to rock! That’s rock, not rawk. Raging Speedhorn are the only accessible death metal bandaround. "The Gush" is their first single from their forthcoming newalbum; reminiscent of Nirvana’sNevermind, in that this is obviously a very heavy band equipped with a very poppy single. It shouldgo straight to number one! Not that you can make out much of the lyrics, but this is as it should be."The Gush" contains riffs and screams that rap along nicely. This sounds a bit like the death metal parodies off Faith NoMore’s King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime album. Distorted voices proclaim"You see me pacify life," before the cyclical riffs crush us."Thumper" is included from their first album and a live version of"High Whore" rounds out the single. "Thumper" shows they have always written incredibly heavyand catchy songs, while the live track is a warning of decapitating heads at their gigs. This band is one of the only metal bands I’ve heard ina long time which could be the heir to great British Heavy Metal bands like Black Sabbath or LedZeppelin. From the estates of Corby, Speedhorn will rip up the competition atOzzfest. When I bought this from the record store the cashier said in hushed tones"A little bit of Raging Speedhorn. They played it in the shop once. Haven’t heard it again. It’s a shame, it’s a greattune." Sign of the devil!

1. The Gush
2. Thumper
3. High Whore (live)