Raging Speedhorn + Kill The Lights – The Corporation, Sheffield – 23rd March 2025

Some gigs rattle your bones, and then some gigs obliterate them. Raging Speedhorn’s show on the 23rd of March was firmly in the latter category — a night of raw energy, crushing riffs, and pure sonic brutality that left ears ringing and hearts pounding.

Death + Taxes opened the night with an unforgiving wall of sound. With a heavy, raw edge and a stage presence that screamed confidence, they pulled the crowd in instantly. Their old-school hardcore influence ran deep, but there was a modern twist in their delivery that gave the whole set a refreshing punch. As their performance progressed, so did their ferocity — each track hit harder than the last, making them a perfect primer for the chaos to come.

Kill The Lights

followed with surgical precision and devastating heaviness. Their modern metalcore sound was tight, polished, and packed with energy — think Unearth-level riffage, soaring solos, and massive, melodic choruses that gave you just enough air before plunging back into the pit. Their set was a headbanger’s dream, blending technical brilliance with raw power.

Then came Raging Speedhorn, and all bets were off.

I first saw Speedhorn back in 2002, at a time when UK sludge metal was carving out its own feral identity — and honestly, they’re still every bit as punishing now as they were then. Blending tracks from their debut with newer material, the set was a brutal joyride through the band’s evolution without ever losing that signature, swampy aggression. The dual vocal assault, punishing low-end, and relentless riffage hit like a sledgehammer to the chest — and I loved every second of it.

There was something special about hearing those early tracks live again, now with the added weight of time and experience behind them. By the end of the night, I walked away with their latest album on vinyl — not just a souvenir, but a symbol of a band that never stopped delivering the goods.

This wasn’t just a gig. It was a full-circle moment. Raging Speedhorn proved that two decades on, they can still tear the roof off like no one else.