DEAD HORSE - Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers
1. Cod Piece Face
2. Turn
3. La La Song
4. Like Asrielle
5. The Latent Stage
6. Peaceful Death
7. Eulogy
8. Snowdogs
9. The Lark Nest
10. Medulla Oblongata
11. Aplo
12. Rock Lobster
13. Sawbone
14. Every God For Himself (Bonus Track)
15. Turn (Bonus Track)
16. Medulla Oblongata (Bonus Track)
17. Waiting For The Sun (Bonus Track)
Label: Relapse Records
Release date: 1999 (re-issue)
Artist site:
GRADE:
9/10
If you lived in Houston, TX in the late 80's, early 90's, and listened to metal or rode a skateboard, chances are you knew about DEAD HORSE. Creating what they and their fans affectionately referred to as "horsecore," DEAD HORSE were a death, thrash, bluegrass, country, blues, punk, rockabilly, jazz, etc., etc. metal band. Now before you go thinking MR. BUNGLE or something absurd, check yourself. Hailed legendary in the underground, by the time Big Chief Records released Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers (licensed through Metal Blade) the HORSE was opening for the TESTAMENT/SAVATAGE/NUCLEAR ASSAULT tour, PANTERA and many more. This release had been out of print for a few years until Relapse Records got their hands on it and released it in 1999 with bonus tracks.
So, has it stood the test of time? It certainly has, and most beautifully, I might add. If anything, I would venture to say that they were way ahead of their time and would probably be huge today. Their brand of death / grind / crust / doom / country / rockabilly / thrash aka Vomitous Horsecorousous is infectious and downright dirty. Oh, how I wish the gods of metal could bring them back together!
Straight outta the gate, "Cod Piece Face" grabs the listener by the balls, squeezes tight and laughs as it worms its way into your subconscious. As you wipe the drool from your lower lip, "Turn" drops in like a skater on a halfpipe and it's all over with. If you're not converted yet, have someone check your pulse. "La La Song" may seem silly at first, but wait until after the second chorus... holy shit! Balls to the walls grind, and then the bass intro to "Like Asreille" kicks it even further. Michael Haaga's tortured screams, howls and Greg Martin's grunts and growls are legend in the history of Texas metal.
"The Latent Stage" has this interesting groove goin' on with cool discordant melodies, before thrashing into some fine grind. I can't tell you all how great this stuff was live. The track "Peaceful Death" was a live favorite and most definitely one of my all time favorite Horse songs ever. It's various tempo shifts make for some killer, ass stomping, beer swilling metal. And when the chants of "We're all searching for the same thing..." begin, all I can say is raise your horns to the air and scream like a banshee. But that's not even the best part, that comes at the 3:05 mark, figure out how they got that so fucking tight!!!
Haaga asks the listener "are you happy, are you content?" at the beginning of "Eulogy" and I, borrowing a phrase from the late Cliff Burton, say absomuthafuckinglutely. As long as I still have my copy of Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers. Now, all bow thy heads as the slow dirge of "Snowdogs" looms forward, a lumbering, downtuned slab of righteous SABBATH worship. "The Lark Nest" was a typical exercise of DEAD HORSE humor, something that separated the band from their peers early on. The strange, off kilt arrangements, silly lyrics and delivery and there you have the recipe.
"Life just fucks with my head..." would become a mantra of sorts for a portion of Houston's derelict metalheads and a highpoint of "Medulla Oblongata," a thrashy punk number. "Aplo" was another in a long line of classic live HORSE staples. Perhaps one of their best moments, certainly one of the more memorable, I remember cranking this to my heart's content and my mom's utter contempt.
Now some would say that covering B-52's "Rock Lobster" was pointless, and personally I'm not a big fan of either version, but it always brought the house down live. More entertaining is "Sawbone," a relaxed jazzy ballad type instrumental with tortured screams from the band members in the background!
Added bonus tracks to this reissue include "Every God For Himself," an excellent song that would end up on their following Feed Me demo. It showcased them paying much more attention to melody and the effects are staggering. In all honesty, this track is an overlooked high point of heavy metal history. The remaining three tracks are stripped down, rawer versions of songs from the album, the final one actually the first track with a different title.
Kudos to Relapse for making this available to the public again. Instead of butchering the original artwork/layout, they have improved upon it, which is a welcome change. DEAD HORSE's knack for creative, interesting arrangements, their tongue in cheek humor and their penchant for really kick ass artwork (courtesy of Haaga) make them a must have for metal fans of all genres. Well, except maybe you power metal types. But then again....
PJ
1. Cod Piece Face
2. Turn
3. La La Song
4. Like Asrielle
5. The Latent Stage
6. Peaceful Death
7. Eulogy
8. Snowdogs
9. The Lark Nest
10. Medulla Oblongata
11. Aplo
12. Rock Lobster
13. Sawbone
14. Every God For Himself (Bonus Track)
15. Turn (Bonus Track)
16. Medulla Oblongata (Bonus Track)
17. Waiting For The Sun (Bonus Track)
Label: Relapse Records
Release date: 1999 (re-issue)
Artist site:
GRADE:
9/10
If you lived in Houston, TX in the late 80's, early 90's, and listened to metal or rode a skateboard, chances are you knew about DEAD HORSE. Creating what they and their fans affectionately referred to as "horsecore," DEAD HORSE were a death, thrash, bluegrass, country, blues, punk, rockabilly, jazz, etc., etc. metal band. Now before you go thinking MR. BUNGLE or something absurd, check yourself. Hailed legendary in the underground, by the time Big Chief Records released Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers (licensed through Metal Blade) the HORSE was opening for the TESTAMENT/SAVATAGE/NUCLEAR ASSAULT tour, PANTERA and many more. This release had been out of print for a few years until Relapse Records got their hands on it and released it in 1999 with bonus tracks.
So, has it stood the test of time? It certainly has, and most beautifully, I might add. If anything, I would venture to say that they were way ahead of their time and would probably be huge today. Their brand of death / grind / crust / doom / country / rockabilly / thrash aka Vomitous Horsecorousous is infectious and downright dirty. Oh, how I wish the gods of metal could bring them back together!
Straight outta the gate, "Cod Piece Face" grabs the listener by the balls, squeezes tight and laughs as it worms its way into your subconscious. As you wipe the drool from your lower lip, "Turn" drops in like a skater on a halfpipe and it's all over with. If you're not converted yet, have someone check your pulse. "La La Song" may seem silly at first, but wait until after the second chorus... holy shit! Balls to the walls grind, and then the bass intro to "Like Asreille" kicks it even further. Michael Haaga's tortured screams, howls and Greg Martin's grunts and growls are legend in the history of Texas metal.
"The Latent Stage" has this interesting groove goin' on with cool discordant melodies, before thrashing into some fine grind. I can't tell you all how great this stuff was live. The track "Peaceful Death" was a live favorite and most definitely one of my all time favorite Horse songs ever. It's various tempo shifts make for some killer, ass stomping, beer swilling metal. And when the chants of "We're all searching for the same thing..." begin, all I can say is raise your horns to the air and scream like a banshee. But that's not even the best part, that comes at the 3:05 mark, figure out how they got that so fucking tight!!!
Haaga asks the listener "are you happy, are you content?" at the beginning of "Eulogy" and I, borrowing a phrase from the late Cliff Burton, say absomuthafuckinglutely. As long as I still have my copy of Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers. Now, all bow thy heads as the slow dirge of "Snowdogs" looms forward, a lumbering, downtuned slab of righteous SABBATH worship. "The Lark Nest" was a typical exercise of DEAD HORSE humor, something that separated the band from their peers early on. The strange, off kilt arrangements, silly lyrics and delivery and there you have the recipe.
"Life just fucks with my head..." would become a mantra of sorts for a portion of Houston's derelict metalheads and a highpoint of "Medulla Oblongata," a thrashy punk number. "Aplo" was another in a long line of classic live HORSE staples. Perhaps one of their best moments, certainly one of the more memorable, I remember cranking this to my heart's content and my mom's utter contempt.
Now some would say that covering B-52's "Rock Lobster" was pointless, and personally I'm not a big fan of either version, but it always brought the house down live. More entertaining is "Sawbone," a relaxed jazzy ballad type instrumental with tortured screams from the band members in the background!
Added bonus tracks to this reissue include "Every God For Himself," an excellent song that would end up on their following Feed Me demo. It showcased them paying much more attention to melody and the effects are staggering. In all honesty, this track is an overlooked high point of heavy metal history. The remaining three tracks are stripped down, rawer versions of songs from the album, the final one actually the first track with a different title.
Kudos to Relapse for making this available to the public again. Instead of butchering the original artwork/layout, they have improved upon it, which is a welcome change. DEAD HORSE's knack for creative, interesting arrangements, their tongue in cheek humor and their penchant for really kick ass artwork (courtesy of Haaga) make them a must have for metal fans of all genres. Well, except maybe you power metal types. But then again....
PJ
