ALBUM REVIEW: Hard to Kill – Raging Speedhorn

RAGING SPEEDHORN have been a name on the metal scene for twenty years now, hailing from the bleak town of Corby, UK. The sextet are known for their association with sludge legends IRON MONKEY, the notorious tongue in cheek Sniff Glue and Worship Satan, ripping apart stages touring with major bands extensively and becoming a key name in the UK metal scene. Having undergone a fair few change in the lineup since their 2014 reunion and previous 2016 release, recruiting a new guitarist and bassist then replacing vocalist John Mcloughlin when he left during the recording of this album, to be replaced by Dan Cook to battle alongside long-standing member Frank Regan. Now they triumphantly return with the defiantly named Hard To Kill, a bit of a U-turn from second release We Will Be Dead Tomorrow but how will the new stand up to the old?

First track Snakebite is full of death ‘n’ roll/punky riffs and drums to match the vicious snarling duo vocals that could take your head off. The track surges forward with the same ferocity and there is no doubt this is RAGING SPEEDHORN. Bound to be a crowd pleaser with the shout along lyrics bristling with aggression and attitude. The hellbent speed suddenly gives way to a bluesy rhythm in Doom Machine and is well, more dad rock on steroids than doom. A swaggering groove carries the track forward but after a while hearing the same notes trudging along becomes tiresome until finally the climax of the track sees it speed up to match the return of Regan’s manic vocals. Some tracks grow on you but upon the third or fourth listen to this it is hard to even make it through to the end.

Spitfire is an obvious very heavy nod to RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE but the furious hardcore rapping that starts up against the grooving chords is arguably more cheese than grit, albeit loaded with bruising bass lines and pounding drums. It would seem here we have another repetitive anthemic fist raiser (it’s literally in the lyrics). Revving up the engine again, Hard to Kill kicks, or boots things up a notch and again, things looks promising but ultimately the MOTÖRHEAD-inspired riffs add more style than substance. Nothing ground breaking but would probably go down well live.

Hammer Down starts off with drawn out low as fuck bass lines and sludgy bluesy riffs but the same rhythm over and over again starts to get monotonous and despite the ferocious lyrics, it’s a case of all belligerent bark with no real bite. A highlight of the album in terms of viciousness and the familiar RAGING SPEEDHORN sound is Hand OF God with ominous pentatonic scaling, booming drawn out bass in the beatdowns and pounding bass heavy drumming. Again though, the curse of repetition rears its familiar head. The same theme continues in Brutality which relents in it’s, ahem, brutality pretty quickly to upbeat rock and roll before finally reaching arguably the best bridge of the album a trudging ominous pummelling from the rhythm section which crescendos to a satisfying climax.

The Best begins with an unearthly roar which starts off hot but cools down to a tepid state with the once again paint by numbers blues riffs. The vocals slow back down to a drawn-out monotonous chant/rap punctuated a little bit by the same bluesy scale towards the end. So far its been pretty middle of the road with some ups and downs but RAGING SPEEDHORN no doubt as a joke have decided to close Hard to Kill with a swaggering and obnoxious cover of T REX’s Children Of The Revolution. Lets just say, it’s more of a head shaker than a head banger but like most things, will probably split the crowd.

Overall, there are plenty of groovy licks and the production is great, it was after all recorded by Russ Russell [NAPALM DEATH, AT THE GATES]. For some, the lyrics are eye rollingly catchy, the fist pumping anthems are gratingly repetitive and those who don’t mind a bit of balls out muscle metal to fist pump and drink beer to will have a great time. Subjectively though, it’s a disappointing blend of nu metal and sludge/hardcore, nu sludgecore? Even in comparison to 2016’s Lost Ritual, Hard to Kill fails in regards to the vitriolic rawness and resentment felt pulsing throughout the menacing mixed with energetic rock ‘n’ roll tracks of its counterpart. The album is titled Hard to Kill fair enough, but after twenty years whether this is a good or bad thing is hard to say. 

Rating: 6/10

Hard To Kill is out now via Red Weed Records.

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