Deadhorse

It’s always the way — a groundbreaking, pioneering band only gets recognition years after break-up. This time around, the criminally overlooked Deadhorse are the victims of fate’s fickle fury, but thanks to Relapse, two classics have been reissued to prove to that Deadhorse were one of the best, most creative and influential bands of their time. 1989’s Horsecore… showed a great amount of potential and vision, if not yet in execution. Thrash, death, grind, country and a liberal sense of humour were all present, while weird time signatures, adventurous arrangements and bad artwork marked Deadhorse as a band on the rise. Self-produced and largely self-distributed, Horsecore… (which has been remasted, repackaged and has six songs from their Death Rides a Dead Horse demo included on the re-release) garnered critical acclaim and led to a signing with Big Chief/Metal Blade for their second album. Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers (1992, also remastered, repackaged and containing the 1994 Feed Me demo in the ’99 version) was the realisation of all that Horsecore… promised. The playing was tighter, crazier and sounded better, the songwriting was stronger, and musical elements were spliced with catchier riffs, vocals and one of the heaviest covers of the B-52’s “Rock Lobster” anyone will ever hear. Having been championed by much of the metal press at the time, the critical acclaim never translated to the success that some of Deadhorse’s followers garnered (most notably Pantera). Fittingly, these two underground classics have withstood the test of time and should cement Deadhorse’s legacy as one the genre-defying bands of their time.