Galactic Cowboys
Houston, Texas11 reviews across 6 releases
Galactic Cowboys is a Houston, Texas, band formed in 1989 from musicians connected to The Awful Truth. Its early music joined heavy metal riffing to unusually prominent four-part vocals, with long arrangements, abrupt mood changes, and a comic streak that could sit beside songs about the Exxon Valdez or abortion. Ben Huggins' writing helped give the band its combination of moral argument and sideways humor. The 1991 debut, Galactic Cowboys, presented the fullest version of that art-metal sound; Space in Your Face kept the crunch and harmonies while using drier production. After the move from The David Geffen Company to Metal Blade Records, Machine Fish shifted toward heavier modern metal and fewer vocal harmonies. Later records retained the melodies while becoming more restrained, then more varied and pop-oriented.
Alan Doss left after At The End Of The Day, and Wally Farkas took over much of the drumming before Jerry Gaskill handled most of the studio drums on Let It Go. The band ended its first run around 2000; the final album was framed as a swansong, and its songs addressed the breakup directly. Original members reunited for Texas shows in August 2009. By 2016, Dane Sonnier had rejoined the group, which began writing together again and released Long Way Back to the Moon through Mascot in 2017. Galactic Cowboys has since been working toward another album through crowdfunding.
6 releases reviewed
Galactic Cowboys
Space in Your Face
Machine Fish
The Horse that Bud Bought
At The End Of The Day
