Dead Horse - Boil(ing)

Dead Horse
Boil(ing)
Abyss Records

Houston (Texas, U.S.) based death/thrash/crossover act Dead Horse weren’t exactly a huge success while they were active, but in the fifteen years since the band parted ways, the group’s legacy has endured throughout the years to the point where the band is now more popular and revered than they ever were when they were active.
Over the last few years, three members of Dead Horse (Guitarists Greg Martin and Scott Sevall and drummer/backing vocalist Ronnie Guyote) teamed up with D.R.I. vocalist Kurt Brecht in Pasadena Napalm Division, who duly released their debut self-titled E.P. (Not surprisingly, through Abyss Records) last year to fairly positive reviews.
Perhaps in part to playing together once again, or simply because enough water had passed under the bridge over the years – either way, Dead Horse have once again been reactivated, with plans to release something new to diehard fans sometime in the not too distant future.
In celebration of reformation, Dead Horse (Who now comprise of ex-Force Fed vocalist/bassist Allen ‘Alpo’ Price, Martin, Sevall and Guyote) have decided to re-release their long out of print and final release ‘Boil(ing)’ (Originally released in 1996 through Beermoment Music/Sound Virus Records), which is also the only release to ever emerge from the line-up of the band that exists today.
In terms of its place within the Dead Horse discography, ‘Boil(ing)’ still stands as one of the band’s more experimental and more obscure releases, with Price’s approach on the vocal front (Price replaced Mike Haaga in 1994) and the more thought out song writing style sounding vastly different from the sound many would be familiar with on their first two full-length releases (1989’s ‘Horsecore: An Unrelated Story That’s Time Consuming’ and 1991’s ‘Peaceful Death And Pretty Flowers’).
But despite the change in direction and sound, ‘Boil(ing)’ does have its moments, most notably on the thrash-like opener ‘One Nation’, the slower and more technically inclined ‘Reach Around’, the menacing and serious ‘My Apology’ and the short and brutal blast of ‘My Dog The Prophet’ (One of two tracks the band re-recorded from their independently released ‘Feed Me’ demo/E.P. from 1994).
Those who only have a passing interest in the Houston act, or want to hear what the fuss is all about are advised to probably seek out the band’s full-length efforts before seeking out ‘Boil(ing)’. But for diehard Dead Horse fans, this re-release is well and truly overdue, even if it’s only limited to one thousand copies exclusively on vinyl. Personally, I hope that Dead Horse’s resurrection doesn’t begin and end on this decidedly less than stellar release.

For more information on Dead Horse, check out - http://www.horsecore.net/

© Justin Donnelly