Review Summary: A decent enough debut, showcasing a truly heavy and at times discomforting sound. However, it's downfall is it's repetitiveness - sludge metal for those who consider the genre to be their favourite, I feel.
Raging Speedhorn are an interesting band. The UK based metal/sludge outfit have been going strong for roughly 7 years now, releasing their eponymous self titled debut in 2001. Which, of course, is the subject of this review. First things first - I've never really heard a band quite like this before. Imagine the riffs of Black Sabbath melded with the aggression of a grindcore band such as Napalm Death. There certainly isn't anything on here that could be directly compared to either band - the tempos aren't high enough for them to be a grindcore band, nor the style accessible enough for them to be just another Black Sabbath wannabe group. I expect some of you may be thinking that the aforementioned aspects would make for a good musical experience. Well, I'd say that isn't far off. But there is one major problem which plagues this CD.
Repetitiveness. That's right, everything sounds pretty much the same throughout, with there being very little deviation from sludgy, down-tuned distorted guitars, simplistic rhythms and unintelligible dual vocals. The album opens up with Super Scud, a more than suitable example of the band's signature sound. Imagine Isis but without the subtle melodies and ambiance. Perhaps think back to an album like The Red Sea. You may be getting a very basic idea of how it sounds right about now. Now take those kind of bluesy riffs Tony Iommi craps out daily and you've got what the guitars and pretty much the bass do. Now the vocals. Raging Speedhorn employ the services of two vocalists but you'd hardly know this unless you saw the lineup. It isn't as if one vocalist does the harsh and the other clean. It isn't even as if one does higher range vocals and the other lower. Both guys pretty much roar and not much else. On occasions, there may be some kind of death metal growl or a slightly higher pitched shriek like on Dungeon Whippet but don't think variation like this comes in abundance.
What you have to give the band credit for is the sheer, unrivaled aggression that pummels your vulnerable ears. Whilst the vocals aren't the greatest thing in the world, they're most certainly angry and you'd have to have a certain degree of passion to deliver such hatred in vocal form. But other than that, there isn't really a great deal this CD had to offer me. In essence, Raging Speedhorn's self titled is a collection of ten songs that are almost indistinguishable from each other, save for some tempo changes and the odd standout riff. Sure, the songs are solid enough but it would have made a bigger impact on me if they hadn't of taken one idea and repeated themselves over and over again. Maybe sludge isn't my thing, or I just don't get what the band is all about but I can safely say that this disc won't be spinning in my CD player all that often.
Recommended Tracks
Mandan
Thumper
Death Row Dogs
