Why do bands insist on naming a song after their moniker? That has always been a pet peeve of mine. There never seems to be any point to it and it's almost as if they couldn't think of anything better and just became plain lazy. Given the sound of this disc, odds are Bloodhorse consumed a fair amount of weed during this recording so maybe it's justified. When I got around to buying EP by Bloodhorse, I checked the songs on the back and saw they have a song called "Bloodhorse." I was certain this would be a pile of crap. Much to my surprise, this is one of my favorite releases from last year.
Tired of listening to your old Black Sabbath LP's? Not excited about Heaven and Hell? Sick of listening to Ozzy Osbourne or even worse, hearing about his wife whoring out Ozzy and his name? Tired of classic rock stations playing "Iron Man" and "War Pigs" for the millionth time? Forget about them all and buy Bloodhorse's EP.
Bloodhorse is comprised of Matt Woods on bass and vocals, Adam Wentworth on guitar and vocals, and Alex Garcia-Rivera on drums. You can almost picture this three-piece writing these songs in a dingy basement during the dead of winter while smoking multiple ounces of the stickiest of the icky (I sure do miss Dave Chappelle) -- perfectly played stoner rock with an emphasis on melody that gives the much hyped the Sword a run for their money. The riffs are catchy, the bass is heavy, the drums are loud, and the vocals sound like a cross between Ozzy and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age).
From the start of "I'm Burned" to the end of the the track "Sparks" (not listed as the final track and actually a cover originally by the Who from Live at Leeds), Bloodhorse will have you banging your head like you did back in the `80s (for those of you old enough to remember the `80s). There aren't many bands that can title a song "The Goat," make it over seven minutes long, include a drum solo, have the only lyric the word 'yeah,' and make it sound good. Bloodhorse did it and it's actually the best song on this disc. Although is it titled EP, the running time is 36 minutes and there's not a minute wasted. I enjoy hearing a band keeping it short and to the point, having the whole thing be a quality CD instead of adding on another three to four tracks of filler.
Every song retains the same technique: plodding drums, fuzzy guitars, and thick bass. The riffs are memorable and Bloodhorse could easily be an instrumental band and have the same impact. The vocals almost seem like filler for these songs when it tends to be the other way around with bands. Bloodhorse keep it interesting enough so that those of us who don't smoke an ounce a day can still get plenty of enjoyment out of their music. I'm not so sure they can achieve this with a full-length CD, but time will tell (no word on a full-length release date).
I'm not sure what they are singing about, but as you can guess from a band in this genre, the words fire, fear, and vengeance are all thrown throughout. If you don't like Black Sabbath, or rock from the `70s, or the much-hyped 'stoner rock' movement that seems to be taking the place of metalcore, don't even bother with this release. If you like to follow the trends, when 'stoner rock' becomes trendy, this should be the first disc you buy.