A Natural Death

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, HORSE the Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 28, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Koch Records
• ASIN: B000025WPP
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,999 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #11 in Music > World Music > Africa > South Africa
  • #89 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Post Hardcore

Editorial Reviews

California's Horse the Band debuted in 2003 with R. Borlax, a noisy but undoubtedly leading light in the burgeoning post-hardcore subgenre of Nintendocore. They returned in 2005 with Mechanical Hand, which was produced by Matt Bayles (Isis, Norma Jean) and released through Combat Records. The band proved much tighter a unit, incorporating skewed melodies and real dynamics into their freaky sonic stew. Besides the nods to recognizable structure, Horse the Band were still mostly enamored of screamo breaks, unpredictable rhythms, locust-like philosophy on the microphone, and blasts of squelch that were unrecognizable but badass. A Natural Death is a new frontier for HTB. Produced by Bob Ezrin's in-house engineer Brian Virtue, the album is already getting heaps of praise in the press as the band gets ready to hit the road.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Proud Father and Devoted Fan, August 30, 2007

By 

Sean Prophet "BlackSun" (West Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Natural Death (Audio CD)

As the proud father of new Horse the Band drummer Chris Prophet, I can truthfully say that the fact that my son's in this band has nothing to do with how much I like the album. As I've said to the guys, I had three brand new albums I listened to during the summer of 2007, which were "Year Zero" by Nine Inch Nails, "Snakes and Arrows" by Rush, and "A Natural Death" by Horse the Band. Of the three, I listened to "A Natural Death" more and with more repetition. I have to say this album compares favorably to the other two (which are outstanding, by the way), and also many of the classic albums of my youth.

Later when I got the official release version with lyrics, I was impressed yet again with the philosophical content. While frontman Nathan Winneke has an unabashed in-your-face attitude and gleefully slaughters every sacred cow, there's also a sophistication in his songwriting which survives the salacious and violent themes.

Instrumentally, the band is over-the-top, with speed and a progressive approach to composition that lives up to many of the band's influences. They move effortlessly from hardcore to metal to disco to laid-back jazzy riffs, to atmospheric breaks to mood pieces. A truly post-modern potpourri. They did a lot of sampling of other media, including game-emulation software that allowed them to weave their typical video-game sound even more tightly into the music than their earlier work. Producer Brian Virtue's polish on the album is also welcome.

"A Natural Death" is a classic.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great new album!!! A must for Horse the Band fans!, August 28, 2007

By 

Gareth Scullion - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Natural Death (Audio CD)

Imagine, if you will, what Dream Theater would be life if they were formed at the turn of the century rather than the late 80s, and influenced by the hardcore scene rather than 80s metal. Now, imagine if the members of this new Dream Theater were all slightly retarded. What would they be like? "Horse the Band" is your answer. "A Natural Death" is maybe not the best Horse the Band album, but its certainly not below the others. I haven't had time to fully devour it yet, but I think it could turn out being my new favorite.

I'm sure fans know what to expect. I won't spend a lot of time talking about the band's trademarks. But I will say a few things have changed. First off, there are no real "videogame" moments like "birdo" or "cutsman". There are certainly some references, but nothing as catchy AND video game related as those two songs. Secondly, there are a few pleseant surprises- soft, goofy songs like "Sex Raptor" are great and yet unlike anything the band has done before. Finally, each musician in the band has vastly improved. This album is worlds tighter than the prior 3.

If you bought the Pizza EP, that's mostly simillar to the type of music you hear on this. I think it's great. Horse fans can rest assure that "A Natural Death" is full of more of what they've come to know and love about the past releases, as well as several new suprises to keep you interested.

5.0 out of 5 stars Horse the Review, December 20, 2007

By 

Stefano Stratakis (Davidsonville, Maryland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Natural Death (Audio CD)

Seriously, an amazing album. This is the most unique band out there. At face value, they may seem to be like a joke, but there is so much to Horse. The lyrics are extremely well written and meaningful, the music is intense, creative, and just simply amazing. I highly recommend.