Dead Horse
Encyclopedia
Dead Horse is a thrash metal
band from Houston, Texas
, which was active in the 1980s and 1990s. Over seven years of touring and recording, Dead Horse developed a style influenced by thrash and death metal
. Dead Horse also incorporated elements of country music
and Texas
culture, on songs such as "Hank" from Horsecore and "Chiggers" from Feed Me.
, were released independently, while they had one nationally distributed LP, Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers, released through the independent record label
Big Chief, distributed by Metal Blade, and manufactured and distributed by Warner Bros. Records
. They released the self-financed EP
Feed Me in 1994, which was intended as a demo
for Interscope Records
. The EP failed to garner a major label deal, and primary songwriter Michael Haaga left the group. Dead Horse released the EP BOIL (ing) on Beermoment Music in 1996 after Haaga left, and Scott Sevall from Force Fed took over Hagga's position.
as bassist and backing vocalist, but the credit is 14 lines below the listed band members, and just below the disc's "Photography" credit. He also released a solo LP, with the backing of Houston-based musicians, entitled "The Plus and Minus Show" released in late 2004. Haaga managed to garner five Houston Press Music Awards in 2005 for this release including Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year and Local Artist of the Year. The band broke up shortly thereafter.
In 1999, Relapse Records
re-released Horsecore and Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers; all of the tracks from Death Rides a Dead Horse were bonus tracks for Horsecore while Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers was accompanied with a track from Feed Me and tracks from their 1990 demo. Additionally, there were hidden tracks on both of the reissued CDs. On Horsecore, the hidden track was the slowed down version of French Fry immediately followed by the real-time version of French Fry. French Fry appeared on the original CD issue as track eight while apparently not on the original vinyl. On Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers, the unnamed bonus hidden track was a collection of slowed down, spoken voices.
Greg, Scott, and Ronny have since gone on to form the band Pasadena Napalm Division with D.R.I.
vocalist Kurt Brecht
.
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band from Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, which was active in the 1980s and 1990s. Over seven years of touring and recording, Dead Horse developed a style influenced by thrash and death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
. Dead Horse also incorporated elements of country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
culture, on songs such as "Hank" from Horsecore and "Chiggers" from Feed Me.
History
Their first releases, including their debut album, Horsecore: An Unrelated Story That's Time ConsumingHorsecore: An Unrelated Story That's Time Consuming
Horsecore: An Unrelated Story That's Time Consuming is the independently released debut album by the Houston, Texas based death/thrash metal band Dead Horse...
, were released independently, while they had one nationally distributed LP, Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers, released through the independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
Big Chief, distributed by Metal Blade, and manufactured and distributed by Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. They released the self-financed EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Feed Me in 1994, which was intended as a demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
for Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
. The EP failed to garner a major label deal, and primary songwriter Michael Haaga left the group. Dead Horse released the EP BOIL (ing) on Beermoment Music in 1996 after Haaga left, and Scott Sevall from Force Fed took over Hagga's position.
Post-breakup
Haaga went on to form The Demonseeds, and is credited on the first release from Superjoint RitualSuperjoint Ritual
Superjoint Ritual was an American heavy metal band formed by Phil Anselmo, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by Hank Williams III, and Kevin Bond. Their style can be considered a mix of Pantera's style of groove metal and hardcore punk. A small trace of black metal...
as bassist and backing vocalist, but the credit is 14 lines below the listed band members, and just below the disc's "Photography" credit. He also released a solo LP, with the backing of Houston-based musicians, entitled "The Plus and Minus Show" released in late 2004. Haaga managed to garner five Houston Press Music Awards in 2005 for this release including Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year and Local Artist of the Year. The band broke up shortly thereafter.
In 1999, Relapse Records
Relapse Records
Relapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990.-History:The label was started by Matthew F. Jacobson in August, 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado...
re-released Horsecore and Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers; all of the tracks from Death Rides a Dead Horse were bonus tracks for Horsecore while Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers was accompanied with a track from Feed Me and tracks from their 1990 demo. Additionally, there were hidden tracks on both of the reissued CDs. On Horsecore, the hidden track was the slowed down version of French Fry immediately followed by the real-time version of French Fry. French Fry appeared on the original CD issue as track eight while apparently not on the original vinyl. On Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers, the unnamed bonus hidden track was a collection of slowed down, spoken voices.
Greg, Scott, and Ronny have since gone on to form the band Pasadena Napalm Division with D.R.I.
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles is a thrash metal/crossover thrash band from the United States that formed in Houston, in 1982. The band currently comprises founding members, vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, as well as drummer Rob Rampy and bassist Harald Oimoen.D.R.I...
vocalist Kurt Brecht
Kurt Brecht
Kurt Brecht is an American vocalist and author, best known for his work as vocalist of crossover thrash band D.R.I. ....
.
Reunion
In 2011, Dead Horse reunited with a re-release of their last album BOIL(ing), this time with Argo on vocals. The band are playing reunion shows in Houston and Austin at the Fun Fun Fun Fest, as well as in Fort Worth at The Rail Club on December 2 and 3, 2011.Present line-up
- Greg Martin – (guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
) - Allen Price – (bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, background vocals) - Ronny Guyote – (drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, background vocals) - Scott Sevall – (guitar, vocals)
- Argo – (vocals)
Discography
- Death Rides a Dead Horse (demo, 1988)
- Horsecore: An Unrelated Story That's Time ConsumingHorsecore: An Unrelated Story That's Time ConsumingHorsecore: An Unrelated Story That's Time Consuming is the independently released debut album by the Houston, Texas based death/thrash metal band Dead Horse...
(recorded in 1989, self-financed). Compact Disc: (c)(p)1992 Dead Horse DIDX 015987 (Reissue, 1999 Relapse) - Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers (1991, Big Chief/Metal Blade/Warner Bros.) (Reissue, 1999 Relapse)
- Feed Me EP (1994, Horsecore Publishing, DHO-3, self financed)
- BOIL (ing) (1996, Beermoment Music, DH-4)
External links
- Dead Horse on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Dead Horse on Metal Archives
- Dead Horse DVD News
- Dead Horse official website