Horse the Band is an American experimental metalcore band from Lake Forest, California who are best known for their 8-bit videogame-influenced sound combined with metalcore. Frontman Nathan Winneke once jokingly described their sound as "Nintendocore", although the band have gone to lengths reiterating that this merely describes the sound, not the substance.
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Biography
Early years and R. Borlax (1998-2004)
Horse the Band was started in Lake Forest, CA in 1998 while founding members Erik Engstrom and David Isen were attending El Toro High School. The original lineup further included vocalists Adam Crook and Risto Metso, drummer Jason Karuza and bassist Jason Roberts. From late 2000 onwards the band had a stable lineup with Engstrom and Isen, vocalist Adam Crook, drummer Jason Karuza and bassist Nathan Winneke, who had previously stood in as drummer for Karuza as well, and recorded their self-produced album Secret Rhythm of the Universe in 2001.
The band booked its own tours starting the summer of 2002, including a three-month tour spanning seven countries. In late 2002, vocalist Crook left the band, and bassist Nathan Winneke took over vocal duties, while Andy Stokes replaced him on bass.
In 2003, Horse the Band released its first proper album with R. Borlax, featuring many new recordings of older songs. Drummer Jason Karuza left the band shortly after its release. His full-time replacement, Eli Green, was found after the band had toured in support of the album.
The Mechanical Hand and A Natural Death (2004-2008)
In the summer of 2004, they embarked upon the Horse the World Tour 2004, giving way to 85 shows in 90 days, spanning seven countries throughout North America and Europe. After the tour, Dashiel Arkenstone became the band's new bassist, and the album The Mechanical Hand was released.
In 2006, the band recorded a concept EP titled Pizza. Later that year, drummer Eli Green was replaced by Chris Prophet, and the band released their fourth album A Natural Death in 2007.
Earth Tour and Desperate Living (2008-2010)
In early 2008 Prophet was asked to leave, while the band planning Horse the Band Earth Tour that would travel to 40 countries starting in early March. The band stated "we've become disillusioned, bad-attitude nerds and pariahs of the established music industry." The band was able to complete the tour with the help of drummer Jon Karel from 'The Number 12 Looks Like You', but bassist Dashiel Arkenstone left the band after the tour, leaving only Engstrom, Isen and Winneke.
On February 2, 2009, Horse the Band signed to Vagrant Records. In an interview they stated that they had been trying to get onto that label for nine years.
Horse the Band's latest album Desperate Living was released on October 6, 2009, with new drummer Daniel Pouliot.
Future (2011-present)
The band went on an extended unannounced hiatus, reforming every few months for sporadic runs of shows. In March 2017, HORSE the Band toured with Infinity Shred and Graf Orlock, closing out their sets with their first new song in eight years. The song was referred to by fans as "A Reason To Live" after a recurring hashtag on the band's social media during the tour. After wrapping up the tour, on July 14, 2017, the band posted an in-studio video of the song on their instagram account, followed by two more studio videos, indicating that the band is writing and recording new material. However, no announcement has been made as of the time of this writing (October 2017).
Cute Horse Videos Video
Members
- Erik Engstrom - keyboards, LSDJ, backing vocals (1998-present), rhythm guitar (2000-2001)
- David Isen - guitars, backing vocals (1998-present)
- Nathan Winneke - lead vocals (2002-present), bass guitar (2001-2002), drums (2000-2001)
- Daniel Pouliot - drums (2008-present)
- Jerimiah Bignell - bass guitar (2009-present)
Discography
- Secret Rhythm of the Universe (2001, self-released)
- R. Borlax (2003, Pluto Records; re-release with bonus tracks, 2007, Pluto Records)
- The Mechanical Hand (2005, Combat Records)
- A Natural Death (2007, Koch Records)
- Desperate Living (2009, Vagrant Records; released in Australia/Japan through Roadrunner Records)
- Scabies, The Kangarooster, and You (1999, self-released)
- I Am A Small Wooden Statue On A Patch Of Crabgrass Next To A Dried Up Riverbed (2001, self-released)
- Beautiful Songs by Men (2002, self-released)
- Pizza (2006, Koch Records)
- The Effing 69 World Tour (2004)
- We Flooded It, and There's Yogurt Everywhere: 48 Hours in Ukraine (2009)
- Earth Tour (2010)
Videography
- "A Million Exploding Suns"- The Mechanical Hand
- "Lord Gold Throneroom"- The Mechanical Hand
- "Birdo"- The Mechanical Hand
- "New York City"- A Natural Death
- "Murder"- A Natural Death
- "Shapeshift"- Desperate Living
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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