Acid Horse
Acid Horse was a one-off collaborative side project between two industrial music pioneers, Ministry and Cabaret Voltaire.[1][2]:69 Only one single, "No Name, No Slogan", was released in 1989 on Wax Trax! Records.[1][3][4] The band name is a combination of the slang terms for LSD (acid) and heroin (horse), as well as a play on the title of the then-popular acid house movement.
Acid Horse | |
---|---|
Origin | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
Genres | Industrial rock |
Years active | 1989 |
Labels | Wax Trax! |
Associated acts | Ministry Cabaret Voltaire |
Past members | Al Jourgensen Chris Connelly Paul Barker Stephen Mallinder Richard H. Kirk |
As with many other Ministry side projects, such as PTP and the Revolting Cocks, the band member's identities are masked by pseudonyms. The members are as follows:[1]
- Alien Dog Star - Al Jourgensen
- Gallopin' Scorpiosaddlebutt - Chris Connelly
- Biff - Stephen Mallinder
- Tennessee King - Paul Barker
- Harold Sandoz - Richard H. Kirk
Musically, Acid Horse resembles fellow Ministry side project PTP, in that it blends an upbeat dance-like electronic rhythm with catchy guitar-work. The lyrics come off in a serious, yet slightly comical tone - a trademark of many Ministry side projects. While Goldmine author Jo-Ann Greene said "No Name, No Slogan" is "strangely reminiscent" of English synthpop duo Blancmange's 1983 single "Blind Vision",[3]:38 Option editor Sandy Masuo likened it to "an unlikely collision of house-style mixing and spaghetti western ambience à la Ennio Morricone"; in the said magazine's article, Jourgensen says that despite that the collaboration gave an opportunity to work with the industrial scene's prominent acts, it ended up to be disappointing:[2]:69
"I found it really sad that these complete pioneers, who were once willing to take risks, come here to Chicago because of the house explosion. [...] They wanted to do a house record, and they didn't understand that they informed house music through people copying them. And now they're back here to copy themselves off other people?"
References
- True, Chris. "Acid Horse | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- Masuo, Sandy (January–February 1996). "Ministry: It's Not Easy Being Mean". Option: Music Culture. No. 66. pp. 66–73. ISSN 0882-178X.
- Greene, Jo-Ann (April 2, 1993). "Ministry" (scans). Goldmine. Vol. 19 no. 7 (331). pp. 26, 28, 32, 38, 40. ISSN 1055-2685. Retrieved October 13, 2018 – via the Prongs.org archive.
- Woods, Karen (March 3, 1990). "Shock of the New". Cash Box. Vol. 54 no. 29. p. 24. Retrieved March 11, 2020 – via the Internet Archive.