Acid Horse

Acid Horse
OriginChicago, Illinois, USA
GenresIndustrial rock
Years active1989
LabelsWax Trax!
Spinoff ofMinistry
Cabaret Voltaire
Past membersAl Jourgensen
Chris Connelly
Paul Barker
Stephen Mallinder
Richard H. Kirk

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][5] The band name combines the slang terms for LSD (acid) and heroin (horse), and plays on the title of the then-popular acid house movement.

As with many other Ministry side projects, such as PTP and Revolting Cocks, the band members' identities are masked by pseudonyms. The members are as follows:[1]

Musically, Acid Horse resembles fellow Ministry side project PTP, in that it blends an upbeat electronic rhythm section with catchy guitar work. Option editor Sandy Masuo described it as "an unlikely collision of house-style mixing and spaghetti western ambience à la Ennio Morricone"; in the same article, Jourgensen said that despite being able to work with one of industrial's prominent acts, the collaboration was also 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?"

Acid Horse was formed after Mallinder and Kirk, the "pioneers" Jourgensen was referring to, had come to Chicago to work with house producer Marshall Jefferson.[6]

Goldmine author Jo-Ann Greene pointed out that "No Name, No Slogan" is "strangely reminiscent" of English synthpop duo Blancmange's 1983 single "Blind Vision".[3]: 38  Evidence that "No Name, No Slogan" might have been written using "Blind Vision" as a reference track is available on Soundcloud.[7]

  1. ^ a b c True, Chris. "Acid Horse | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Masuo, Sandy (January–February 1996). "Ministry: It's Not Easy Being Mean". Option: Music Culture. No. 66. pp. 66–73. ISSN 0882-178X.
  3. ^ a b 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 235. ISBN 9780879306076. OCLC 1193377576 – via the Internet Archive.
  6. ^ Reed, S. Alexander (2013). Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music. Foreword by Stephen Mallinder. New York: Oxford University Press. p. xiii. ISBN 9780199832583. OCLC 1147729910 – via the Internet Archive.
  7. ^ "Stream NoVision by SyAbleton | Listen online for free on SoundCloud".