Horse the Band

Horse the Band
Horse the Band in 2009. From left to right: Nathan Winneke, David Isen, Erik Engstrom, Daniel Pouliot.
Background information
Origin	Lake Forest, California, United States
Genres	Nintendocore, metalcore, avant-garde metal
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Combat, Koch, Pluto, LIF, Vagrant, Roadrunner
Website	www.horsetheband.com
Members	Erik Engstrom David Isen Nathan Winneke Daniel Pouliot Jeremiah Bignell
Past members	Jason Karuza Ritso Metso Jason Roberts Adam Crook Guy Morgenshtern Andy Stokes Eli Green Dashiel Arkenstone Chris Prophet Jon Karel (live/session)

Horse the Band is an American 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.

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 band booked its own tours starting the summer of 2002, including a three-month tour spanning seven countries.

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. Early 2008 saw 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's lineup has fluctuated continuously throughout its existence, with keyboardist Erik Engstrom and guitarist David Isen as the only founding members still in the band.

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.

The band has continuously remained active in playing live shows even as the members have begun "adult lives" and as keyboardist Erik Engstrom moved to Germany. They appear to have no current plans to record another album, though in recent years they often discuss very little about their future with new releases.