Rage Against Everything Ever
I knew what to expect with Raging Speedhorn but just in case I was in any doubt the intro cleared things up! 'Are you ready to have your ears pumelled to a pulp?' is the question, the crowd are up for it and they get duly pummelled!
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From the off raging Speedhorn go at it hard and heavy, it's a relentless assault that sees every member of the band giving it 100% and more. The sound is loud but not overbearing, which is a bonus as it means that the riffs are audible and at times you can almost pick out a tune. Deep, rumbling feedback intersperses the songs before they launch into track after track of seering hardcore. The dual vocals (mainly consisting of shouting and grunting!) backed with dual guitars makes for a solid wall of sound. There is plenty of crowd interaction tonight starting with 'We're Raging fucking Speedhorn, who the fuck are you?!' before prompting the crowd to form the first of many circle pits. 'How Much Can A Man Take' sees the newly assembled pit go wild, although not wild enough for Raging Speedhorn as the end of the song is met with a derisory 'What the fuck was that?'.
You would expect nothing less from Raging Speedhorn than an intense battery and that's exactly what you get. Not that it's all out and out 100mph, many of the verses create a hypnotic thumping rhythm, that said there's not a huge amount of variety on offer, Raging Speedhorn are a band that you either get or you don't.
Giving up on the circle pit they try for a mosh pit instead, it fares better but to give the crowd credit there aren't many of them really going for it. Another new song 'Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory' continues where older songs left off, before 'Dead Man Walking' the crowd are asked for more chaos. Raging Speedhorn are not easily pleased and the audience do their best to please and match the bands intensity.
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Raging Speedhorn are impressive, make no mistake about that and when they do introduce the odd tempo change their effect is maximised. They are in danger though of becoming a one trick pony, perhaps they are happy just doing their own thing but it begs the question of how far they can go without more diversity in their material. As a band though they are excellent performers and even if this really isn't your cup of tea, you're at the very least going to get entertained. By the end of their set much of the curious crowd element has left but there remains a healthy hardcore of fans at the front.
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They leave the stage to a most bizarre ending that involves a painfully slow drudging riff, during which the band members leave one at a time. Unfortunately this takes a good ten minutes! The stage is finally emptied and all that is left is a wash of feedback and some rather bemused audience members.
To view all photos taken during this set click here. There are 14 available.