Raging Speedhorn

Notable for their dual-lead vocal approach, British sludge metallers Raging Speedhorn brought the genre into the U.K. charts in the early 21st century, following a combination of workmanlike touring and favorable press coverage. A seemingly ever-changing lineup also provided longevity and -- following a 2008-2014 hiatus -- the Midlands band were still performing and recording well beyond their 20-year anniversary. Their drummer, Gordon Morison, was the only permanent fixture in the group, from their 1998 formation right through a sixth album, 2020's Hard to Kill. The band came together in Corby, Northamptonshire, as an amalgam of two groups: drummer Frank Regan and Gareth Smith (guitar) and Darren Smith (bass) were in Soulcellar and vocalist John Loughlin, his guitarist brother Tony, and drummer Morison played in Box. Since the new band had two drummers, Regan switched to vocals. Naming themselves after a slang term for a male erection induced by amphetamines, they recorded two demos with Cubanate guitarist Roddy Stone producing. A third demo and positive write-ups in the rock press started to spread the group's name. In July 1999, Raging Speedhorn supported Ministry in London, and a tour with earthtone9 followed in November. More supports with Will Haven, Tribute to Nothing, and Kittie were fitted in around the recording of their self-titled debut album. July 2000 saw Raging Speedhorn play their first headline U.K. tour, and the record's release followed a month later. Then, a major European tour supporting Biohazard was followed by riotous European and Japanese dates with Amen. In May 2001, Raging Speedhorn were one of the opening bands at the U.K. Ozzfest. In June, the single "The Gush," produced by Biohazard's Billy Graziadei and Danny Schuler, entered the U.K. Top 50, and the group's debut album was reissued shortly afterwards. After playing the Japanese Beast Fest and the U.K. leg of the Tattoo the Planet tour, the band began recording their second album, We Will Be Dead Tomorrow, which appeared in August 2002. That year's touring schedule also took in Scandinavia as well as a series of dates supporting the German hard rock act Rammstein in the U.K. Prior to May 2005's Mark Daghorn-produced How the Great Have Fallen, Raging Speedhorn issued a stopgap collection titled Live & Demos. Following the studio album's release, Regan left the band and was replaced by Bloody Kev from Hard to Swallow, a U.K. act that had provided early inspiration. In time, Darren Smith also departed, leaving room for Dave Thompson to come in on bass, before Jamie Thompson replaced Tony Loughlin on guitar. After the nautically themed late-2007 Before the Sea Was Built received mixed reviews, lack of agreement on what route they should take next led to an extended break. In the intervening years, the two Thompsons and John Loughlin formed the Death of Us, while other bandmembers linked up with acts in Sweden. In 2014, promoters of Damnation -- a metal festival based in Leeds -- contacted Morison with a request for Raging Speedhorn to re-form. He was able to persuade Regan to return to the fold, alongside the tight-knit group of three from the Death of Us, while guitarist Jim Palmer completed the lineup. After steadily finding their feet again on the live circuit, the opportunity to record another album arose, leading to 2016's Lost Ritual, produced by Russ Russell at Kettering's Parlour Studios. In September 2018 -- following a tumultuous period that brought serious illness in the band, as well as the death of close family members -- Palmer took a break and Jamie Thompson left permanently. The following month, Morison regrouped the original 1998 lineup of John and Tony Loughlin, Gareth and Darren Smith, and Regan for a one-off 20th anniversary gig at London's Electric Ballroom, which was subsequently issued as a live album. Later that year, when Palmer returned, he was joined by Thunder Hammer guitarist Dave Leese before Hundred Reasons' Andy Gilmour joined on bass. After 21 years on vocals, John Loughlin retired from Raging Speedhorn in September 2019, leaving Daniel Cook -- a friend of the band who had stepped in for Regan on a 2016 tour -- to join the group on a permanent basis. The resultant lineup of Cook, Regan, Palmer, Leese, Gilmour, and Morison returned to the studio with Russell to record Hard to Kill, which ultimately appeared in late 2020.
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