“One word: Stubbornness” Raging Speedhorn discuss the secret to their longevity and new album, Night Wolf.

As the title of their 2020 album would suggest, Raging Speedhorn are hard to kill. In their 25-year career they’ve endured shifting musical trends, line up changes, bust ups, addiction and injury.

Although it did seem like they were over when in 2008 they called it a day, since their return in 2016 with the spellbinding comeback album, Lost Ritual, they’ve only gone from strength to strength. 

They proved that yet again earlier this month with the release of another slab of raucous groove metal entitled Night Wolf. We sat down with vocalist Dan Cook and bass player Andy Gilmour (also of Hundred Reasons) to chat about the release and what has kept them going for so long. ‘One word… stubbornness’ laughs Dan.

Both Dan and Andy are relatively new recruits to the Speedhorn camp, having joined the band prior to recording the Hard To Kill album. Co-vocalist Frank Regan and drummer Gordon Morison are the only remaining original members, but this readiness to inject new blood into the camp when needed has proven successful in keeping their sound fresh and the band vital. Their newest member Daf Williams joined the band in 2022, jumping straight into both touring and writing duties and contributing some hefty riffs to Night Wolf. 

‘He just fit in straight away,’ explains Dan, ‘I remember pulling up to rehearsal and Frank told me “We’ve got a new guitarist turning up. Keep an eye out for him.” He got out of the car and I knew it was him straight away. It was just like, “Yeah, he’s got it.” He’s got that Speedhorn swagger. And he just fits. He wrote a couple of tracks for the album, completely, was pretty impressive. You’ve either got that style of playing or you haven’t, and he definitely does.’ 

Night Wolf is a thrilling showcase of the breadth of the band’s influences, from sludge and doom to hardcore and hard rock. While the majority of the riffs and song structures were written as far back as 2022, it wasn’t until they stepped into the studio with metal producer extraordinaire Russ Russell the following year when Dan and Frank put lyrics down and the collection of riffs became a coherent record. As Dan says, ‘It’s just the Speedhorn way of writing. It was quite freestyled in a way, which keeps it fresh, I think. And Russ loves that, because he does have that flair. I don’t know if many other producers would like it, but it works really well with us.’ Andy continues, ‘Not to say that we walked in not knowing what we were doing.  We just needed Russ to sprinkle a little bit of Russ magic.’ 

The songs on Night Wolf fizz with that trademark Raging Speedhorn aggression and attitude, none more so than the expletive filled ‘Buzz Killa’, which takes the form of a direct and personal attack on someone intent on killing the vibe. When asked whether it was written with anyone in mind, Dan replies ‘I think Frank did have a particular person in mind, but you can apply it to any one of those sorts of idiots you see getting pissed up and making a scene of themselves and ruining everyone else’s good time.’

It’s not all piss and vinegar, though. While they’re far from going soft, there’s a definite sense that on Night Wolf Speedhorn have allowed themselves to let their hair down and have a little more fun with this record. Especially on the track ‘Dead Men Can’t Dance’ where Frank Regan seems to challenge the devil to a dance off, with lyrics like “Oh yeah, can you boogie? Boogie woogie? Let’s go”. Dan, in a fit of laughter, explains how that came about ‘We’d just picked Frank up from a birthday party at about 1am, and he came back still with a full pint from the pub and went into the studio and that came out. Me and Russ were at the desk crying, laughing. And he just kept coming out with a line, and the next one, and we decided it had to stay in.’

On the general fun vibe of the album, Andy expands, ‘I think it’s just generally our character coming in more in it.  Maybe the new line up’s a bit more chilled. We just have a lot of fun on the road. We’ve all got to a certain age where we don’t give a shit about not having fun, you know? It’s important just enjoy doing it and keep the positive vibes, because of that has obviously come across on the album.’

It’s also reflected in the album’s artwork, which features a Teen Wolf inspired illustration by long-time collaborator Dominic Sohor, set against garish neon pink more reminiscent of 80s video games than a metal album. ‘It’s just a cool aesthetic,’ says Andy of the 80s style, ‘Where everything was a bit more loud. I also like it because it’s not a typical metal cover, It’s a bit different.’ 

‘I guess we love the 80s and everything with it,’ continues Dan, ‘like the 80s wrestling thing we did for the [‘Every Night’s Alright For Fighting’] video.’ The video he’s referring to features the band garbed in leotards and going full kayfabe in a backyard wrestling ring. If you’ve not seen it, go watch it immediately, as it sums up the band’s blend of brutality and tongue-in-cheek humour perfectly. 

Dan agrees; ‘The kitschiness and slight tackiness of it almost makes it more endearing than if we’d have actually done a full big budget thing. And just look at Frank in the video. He went all out, full on Hulk Hogan with the outfit and stuff.’

As the conversation is taking place, Raging Speedhorn are getting ready to embark on a tour to promote the record. While their unpredictable live performances have become the stuff of legend, so have some of their antics, both on and off-stage. But it seems they’re more focused on getting the job done and will hopefully be able to keep some of the wilder behaviour in check. ‘I think a lot of it gets blown out of proportion on social media’ says Andy. ‘We all have our moments, but these days if someone’s doing something silly the rest of the band just look at them like “you’re an idiot.” Peer pressure alone is enough to keep most people in check. In that respect, if everyone’s just staring at you like you’re an actual idiot, they’re going, “Yeah, that was a bad idea.”