As Houston stoner metal outfit Funeral Horse prepares to release their 2nd EP in August, Paul Bearer, singer and guitarist for the Texas trio checks in with his top-10 playlist. There’s plenty of variation here, but Bearer pays tribute to the masters with some Thin Lizzy, Priest and Sabbath. We’ll let it slide that he chose something off of Never Say Die!
 Thin Lizzy - "Emerald" (Jailbreak, 1976) “The dual guitar play of Thin Lizzy influenced my decision to play music like no other group. This song has all the important ingredients for my playlist: it's heavy, it tells a great story and it has an ending that you want to keep going and going and going.” |  John Zorn / Masada - "Zenan" (Masada: Dalet, 1994) “’Zenan’ stands out from the Masada catalogue for its intense drum breakdown. I love that trick and have written songs that use elements of it from time to time.” |
 Motorhead - "One Track Mind" (Another Perfect Day, 1983) “This song in particular stands out for its mid-tempo steady grind that never gets boring. The song pops in my head frequently when we're on tour during long stretches between cities.” |  Earth - "Seven Angels" (Earth 2 - Special Low Frequency Version, 1993) “I heard Earth 2 the day it came out at Tower Records in Washington, DC. They had it playing over the store's system and it sounded like the world was about to come to a halt. I bought it and my girlfriend broke up with me on the subway ride home. Good times!” |
 Godflesh - "Dead Head" (Streetcleaner, 1989) “I love how this song ‘rocks’ while still being Godflesh. I wish Broadrick and Green had explored this territory a bit more as it's one of the best song Loop should have written.” |  Judas Priest - "Sinner" (Sin After Sin, 1977) “This song stands out for its clever, sharp breaks, thick guitars and epic structure. Oh wait...that's a lot of Judas Priest songs from this era.” |
 Black Sabbath - "Swinging the Chain" (Never Say Die!, 1978) “That ending riff just fucking rocks. It's one of those, ‘man, I wish I had written that’ riffs. The use of the blues harp was a wise choice. Just an outright gritty song!” |  Samhain - "Human Pony Girl" (Samhain III: November-Coming-Fire, 1986) “The weird ‘production quality’ of the Samhain releases usually leaves me wanting more. But for this song...it works beautifully. It's murky with this driving beat that's hypnotic while Danzig's voice howls and barks out sinister things, drenched in reverb.” |
 High on Fire - "Sons of Thunder" (Blessed Black Wings, 2005) “Those drums man. Those massive drums! Every time I hear this song, I have a strong desire to go pillage and crush things. I admire how cinematic the song is...I can see it being used in a Conan movie without being campy.” |  Ennio Morricone - "The Ecstasy of Gold" (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, 1966) “The piece builds in a similar fashion as Ravel's ‘Bolero’, which I also admire. I've been wanting to create something that builds in a similar fashion with that kind of epic tension.” |
 Honorable Mention: Ride - "Grass- hopper" (Grasshopper, 1992) “11 minutes later, I want to hear it again. 11 minutes after that, I want to hear it yet again. That is the mark of truly great song crafting.” |
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