Led by original Deep Purple bassist Nick Simper, Warhorse burst on the scene with their blistering hard rock debut in 1970, ready to add their name to the early metal heap that was starting to be occupied by Purple, Iron Butterfly, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Atomic Rooster, and Uriah Heep. Warhorse had more in common with the organ based bands mentioned above though, as their sound was heavy on the Hammond organ, also featuring stinging guitar leads and high pitched vocals courtesy of Ashley Holt. Keyboard player Frank Wilson perfectly played off the manic guitar work of Ged Peck, as they helped propel Warhorse to moments of brilliance on this debut.
Classical hard rock guitar meets prog rock keyboards on the alluring "No Chance", a real epic sounding piece that also sees some histrionic vocals from Holt. Images of Uriah Heep's pummeling "Gypsy" or Deep Purple's "Wring That Neck" can be heard on the driving "Burning", complete with heavy riffs and intricate organ passages. The moody and atmospheric "Solitude" is a rather dated number, but effective nontheless thanks to the spooky organ work of Wilson. A similar tone can be heard on the doomy "Woman of the Devil", featuring some pounding bass from Simper, manic drum fills from Mac Poole, and loads of juicy organ and guitar. Fans of the proto prog movement will love "Vulture Blood", a organ fueled hard rock/funk tune featuring aggressive vocal shouts from Holt (sounding like a pissed off Arthur Brown) and intricate rhythms.
The reissue includes 5 bonus tracks, live and demo versions of some of the songs from the original album (check out the rampaging version of "Ritual" complete with a furious guitar solo from Peck), which are a nice addition to this reissue along with a great history of the band and photos. Warhorse, along with the lone follow-up Red Sea should be a welcome addition to any early 70's hard rock collection.
Track Listing
1. Vulture Blood
2. No Chance
3. Burning
4. St Louis
5. Ritual
6. Solitude
7. Woman Of The Devil
8. Ritual (Live) bonus
9. Miss Jane (Demo) bonus
10. Solitude (Live) bonus
11. Woman Of The Devil (Live) bonus
12. Burning (Live) bonus
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