Interview with RAGING SPEEDHORN
Interview with RAGING SPEEDHORN
Interviewed by Beth Morait
UK Metal monsters Raging Speedhorn are gearing up for the release of their new, and hotly anticipated album, “Night Wolf”. After reviewing the album, I had a chance to grab a quick interview with RSH Drummer, Gordon Morison, to find out more about the album, and all things RSH.
I’ve just reviewed your new album, “Night Wolf”, and I love it! Can you tell us a little bit more about the album, and what inspired you to create it?
The album came together quite quickly. I think during the first practice we had 2 or 3 songs to work on. We just wanted to keep going in the same direction as “Hard To Kill” but with more hooks.
You’re very seasoned professionals now, with a career history spanning over a quarter of a century (damn we all feel old now!). How has your sound changed and matured in that time, and do you think you’ve reached the sweet spot now?
When we started the band we just wanted to be the loudest band around to piss everyone off! It was the sound of our hometown, and 6 kids who didn’t have a clue what we were doing, to be honest! As we started to become better players, and work with producers in the studio, we started to think about what we wanted our sound to be. But I think it was only really when we started to work with Russ Russell that our sound started to come together fully, and I think we sound better than ever now.
For your previous release, Dan Cook took over co-vocal duties when John Loughlin retired from the band. Do you feel the vocal sound has changed now with Dan? And if so, how is it different?
Yes and no. I think Dan brings a lot more energy to the band, and he fits in great. If anything I think his voice sounds harder and angrier, but he’s up for trying anything in the studio and that’s what we wanted going forward.
This is also the first recording featuring your new Guitarist, Daf Williams. How has his input tied into this album, and your sound in general?
His input has been amazing! He wrote the first and last songs on the record, as well as sorting the album artwork out. With regards to sound, we already have that down, so it’s just the case of tweaking and making sure we get his gear to sound the way we like, and what Daf likes.
You recorded this album with the legend, and genuine top man of the industry, Russ Russell, at Parlour Studios. Can you tell us about his input on the album, and how it feels to take your songs through the recording process, to create the finished product?
Russ is the 7th member of Speedhorn. Frank and I have known Russ for a long time and always wanted to work with him. And now he’s produced 3 records with us. When we record we don’t give Russ any songs until we hit the studio. So he’s hearing the songs for the first time when recording them. But we’ll run through the songs a few times and he’ll suggest things to try/ take out and we just go from there really.
You mix so many different styles and genres into your music. Does that happen organically, or is it more of a conscious decision?
With writing with RSH it’s all off the cuff really. We never think about mixing different styles, it’s just what comes out when writing, and if we like it, we go from there. That’s probably why we don’t sound like every other band! We’ve never followed a trend, we just make music that we like instead.
You have a dedicated fanbase that has stood the test of time, so what’s next for the fans in terms of promoting this album?
We have a UK Ireland tour in March that Starts on the 7th and runs to the end of the month, and after that who knows just watch this space.
With that in mind, what’s next for the band? You’ve taken the time to make this album your most refined yet. Do you have plans already forming for more releases?
Not at the moment we just want to do as much with this record as possible, and see what happens down the line. This release has taken a long time to get to this point, so we just want to try and enjoy it for now.
There are a lot of nods to the greats throughout this album. Who have been your biggest influences, and how have they inspired you to become the band you are today?
I think influences for me are Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Biohazard, Alice in Chains, Tad, and a load of other bands. I could go on for hours but we all bring our own influences to the band and mix it all up. That’s the sound of RSH.
As experienced professionals with a long career history, what’s the one piece of advice you’d give to young bands just starting out, that you wished you’d had in the early days?
God that’s a question. Don’t trust anyone. Be careful what you sign, keep your feet on the ground, and just work hard.
Thanks to Gordon for taking the time to speak to us. Check out Raging Speedhorn on the links below, and be sure to give the new album a spin!
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