Customer Reviews

Mechanical Hand

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

haha, silliness. but refreshing. some of the hardcore elements are too familiar but they break the mold with their obvious love affair with low-tech synth. this will be every hardcore geek's favorite band, until the imitators follow. then it will be up to HORSE to ditch the hardcore for metal or perhaps industrial? we'll see. his vocals are terrible, but in a good way. no excess cheese like you would get from a band like trivium. maybe for fans of BTBAM, Giles, Poison the Well, MELVINS, Cornelius, Thrice, Fantomas, Dillinger Escape Plan, Aphex Twin, deftones, Tricky, Thursday... i dunno. they're kinda weird

Out of the 13 tracks, 10 are quite amazing, but three seemed forgettable. The album kept shifting between really ingeneous sections and lame predictable riffs. As a whole, the Album doesn't seem as memorable or new as their earlier work, but there are definatley some songs on the CD that stand out, such as "Taken by Vultures", "Birdo", and "Soaring Quails".

If you are already a fan of Horse the Band, give this album a try. It is on this album that the band really emphasizes their metal influences, and polishes their songwriting a bit. Otherwise, if you are new to the band, try getting R. Borlax or something else. "The Mechanical Hand" just doesn't have the consistency nor the comprehensivness that is displayed on that album, and thus, does not serve as a good introduction to their work.

This band's sound is very unique. The vocalist has a great voice, and I think is underrated by many. The idea of this band musically is playing a heavy metalcore breakdown and putting a killer video game style keyboard part on top of it. Yes the best way to describe it would be nintendocore. I love the combination, a great sound and a truely interesting band to listen to, especially if you like different music. Sample it up though before you buy it, I think listening to the songs is the best way to get an idea of what I'm saying because I don't think that their sound can really be described.

This CD is awesome, if you dont buy it right now, then you will grow a pony tail!!!! You wouldn't want that now would you? You also have to get the older cd R.Borlax because it is also a classic. Get them both or you will be doomed forever!

The Mechanical Hand is a strong showing by HORSE, and it certainly keeps with its video game roots better than ever, but it can't competer with R. Borlax. I remember the first time I heard them, it was cutsman. I think I almost creamed myself. Hardcore+video game music+amusing lyrics=wonderful combination. I worshipped that cd. you could listen to the whole thing, and know every 16-bit of bleeping goodness. I reccomend this to any HORSE fan, or any original hardcore lover. Nothing beats HORSE.

and i hate this band.

sike!
anyways...
this album is good, REAL GOOD... this album will make you fall to your knees and weep.
i love every single second of this compact disc, except the slow parts on "manateen" and i'm not so fond of the intro on "soaring quails"... but i'm sure they will grow on me as every part of it's predecessor R.borlax did...

tracks i recommend are:
The House Of Boo
Octopus On Fire
& Lord Gold Throneroom.

and on a side note...
MAK-10;
although that is a great discovery... i regret to inform you that the track "octopus on fire" has been played live by HORSE the band for several years now, and was originally supposed to appear on thier first album, but failed to make it to the finalizating, and frankly i'm glad they decided to put it on this one.
HORSE immitates noone.

Personally, I can't ask much more from any band than originality. I'm pleased with pretty much any band as long as they are doing their own thing and being creative. This perfectly describes HORSE The Band, but in addition to originality, they have great musicianship. As for the CD, it is outstanding. I will most likely be happy with anything HORSE The Band releases as long as it keeps "the formula" alive. This CD definitely keeps the formula alive with the Nintendo keyboards, schizophrenic lyrics, and great guitar / drum work. There are, however, new aspects to HORSE found on this CD. For example, there are some classic hardcore growls scattered throughout that were nowhere to be found on R. Borlax. Also, there is some soft singing on the track "Manateen" which I thought I would never hear from HTB but is great to hear. Lastly, there are some guitar solos on the CD which is great, but also nowhere to be found on R. Borlax.

The great thing about this CD (and R. Borlax) is that every song has something great about them whether it is the keyboards, drums / guitars, lyrics, or everything put together. Sometimes it lasts for the whole song and sometimes it is only for 10 seconds, but it makes the whole song great. Also, there are a couple of those tracks that when you hear for the first time, just makes you smile with joy unlike other tracks that you have to listen to a couple of times (Cutsman and Bunnies on R. Borlax). Unfortunately, there is no track that touches the greatness of Cutsman or Bunnies on this album, but that's not to say R. Borlax is better. I can't even make a decision as to which one is better but I guess it doesn't matter. I'll just pretend both CDs are one unstoppable entity set on taking over the whole world.

Favorite Tracks:

Manateen: Great song all the way through. The slow part reminds me of the music from one of those sad, cheesy, 80's movies like "The Breakfast Club." This song adds a whole new dimension to HTB.
Octopus on Fire: Great keyboards. Gets good at 1:20. "Then I hold my head up, HIGHER AND HIGHER!"
A Rusty Glove: "I'm not a robot, but I've got a mechanical hand."

One thing to note that is just kind of strange, is during the song "Octopus on Fire" (2:52 - 3:18), in my opinion, has an uncanny resemblance to Alexisonfire - The Kennedy Curse (2:22 - 2:57). This is no big deal, just kind of odd for HTB to have something that actually resembles something else.

I think it was the year 1992 (although super mario world for SNES was released in '91) when i first heard reference to "the house of boo" and "birdo" Ive enjoyed these guys for awhile, but when i saw the titles of the tracks on this album, it drew me in right away.

Basically this album owns completely.
Personally, i believe this album is better than "R.Borlax." The keyboards are incredible, and for those first timers dont let that fool you. This is a really progressive stab at death metal. There are plenty of great riffs and monster "breakdowns,"
but the "Nintendocore" style of music they play, is what makes them so incredible.

Whoever thinks The Postal Service is "the" defining band in nintendocore genre, if you even want to call it that, you are totally wrong.

HTB as unserious as they are, have made an incredible album, and thats the bottom line

The classification is exactly correct. I like this cd better then the first because the production quality is better and it's a little tighter while maintaning the heaviness. This cd is riddled with complex time signitures and really interesting breakdowns. Usually I'm not a fan of a whole lot of synths, but it fits perfectly into this music. I'm also not a huge fan of his vocals, but again, they fit perfectly. This is really something new and all their own. If you've been searching for more originality in your hardcore, Horse the Band is who you need to check out... but I think you really need to see this band live to get a great feel for what they really sound like. They are a lot heavier live. I really enjoy this cd, and I see myself playing this on my ipod for a long time. Highly reccomended.

this album is like an upgraded version of R Borlax. More technical, better songs, more breakdowns, etc. No cutsman here, but still a fine album

get it

you wont be disappointed

they havent sold out to "the man"(yet)