"Murder Song" By DEAD HORSE Included In Academy Award Nominated Short Film My Year of Dicks

Dead Horse from Houston, Texas was an underground thrash/metal/hardcore band active from 1988 to 1996 touring the US and Canada with the likes of Entombed and Exhorder, and opening gigs for their special friends Pantera, and others like Exodus, Suicidal Tendencies and some not-so-metal bands like Mr. Bungle and the Toadies among many others. Everything was going great until blah, blah, blah, they called it quits. The original band has not reunited during the last 27 years, but did reissue a remixed version of their 1998 release Horsecore: An Unrelated Story That's Time Consuming in 2020.

When the band was asked to include their track "Murder Song" in the animated short they were slightly skeptical of the working title My Year of Dicks, but trusted the producer when she said the band would not be embarrassed. As it turns out the band is thrilled to now be part of an excellent Academy Award nominated short film. The Oscars air tonight (March 12, 2023) on ABC.

Band manager and a producer of the Horsecore album, Randy Haaga: “It's a great honor to help take thrash to the Oscars. I don't know all the history, but I'm pretty sure it's rare for the genre to get near this award show. dead horse is still worthy of a listen, "Murder Song" is still ferocious and exciting. The band was unique and remains an oddity of the genre, but holds a place deep in the heart of Texas. I'd love to think that place is somewhere near where the Buthole Suffers, Scratch Acid, and Rocky Erickson live. It's a kinda messed up place, kinda dark and confusing, but comforting to those who dared to spend some time with it.”

My Year Of Dicks (2022) from Sara Gunnarsdottir on Vimeo.

(Photo credit: Lisa Sullivan)