The Mechanical Hand

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The Mechanical Hand
Studio album by HORSE the band
Released	September 20, 2005
Recorded	January 2003
Genre	Post-hardcore, Nintendocore
Length	50:08
Label	Combat Records
Producer	Matt Bayles
Professional reviews
AbsolutePunk.net (74%) link All Music Guide link
HORSE the band chronology
R. Borlax (2003) The Mechanical Hand (2005) Pizza (EP) (2006)

The Mechanical Hand is HORSE the band's second full length studio album, released in 2005 on Combat Records.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Birdo" – 3:21
2. "A Million Exploding Suns" – 4:03
3. "Manateen" – 5:06
4. "The House of Boo" – 3:59
5. "Heroes Die" – 3:22
6. "Softer Sounds" – 3:37
7. "Octopus on Fire" – 4:26
8. "Soaring Quails" – 1:06
9. "Taken by Vultures" – 1:32
10. "A Rusty Glove" – 4:31
11. "Sand" – 4:22
12. "Lord Gold Throneroom" – 5:09
13. "The Black Hole" – 5:33

[edit] Personnel

• Nathan Winneke – vocals
• David Isen – guitar
• Erik Engstrom – keyboards
• Dashiell "Dash" Arkenstone – bass
• Eli Green – drums

[edit] Miscellanea

• The title "Birdo" is obviously taken from the video game character Birdo. The intro of the song is an audio clip from the animated film The Hobbit. The song is inspired by Nathan's stepfather and his unwillingness to accept Nathan's distaste for eggs as a child. There was a video made for the song in which the band play next to a grade school stage while kids put on a play entitled "HORSE the play" in which they also make reference to other songs such as "Bunnies" - the girl with bunny ears getting hit on the head with an inflatable hammer. "Cutsman" -the boy who has scissors tied to the top of his head. "Lord Gold Throneroom" -A boy dressed in the same costume as Erik did in the Lord Gold video. There has been some controversy over the video as many people in magazines and online forums have criticised Irish rock band Snow Patrol for their video "Signal Fire". "Birdo" was made in 2005 and "Signal Fire" in 2007 the videos are very similar in which both bands are playing while a grade school play is in progress with the bands providing soundtrack.[1]
• "A Million Exploding Suns" is a reference to the Marvel comic book character The Sentry.
• "The House of Boo" holds reference to the stage and home of the ghost characters, Boos, in several of the Mario video game series titles. It also includes, in sections of the song, the actual score used in the games. The song itself is also about Nathan's childhood and an incident involving someone breaking into his home and the resulting trauma towards the night and or the dark.
• Tracks 8 and 9, when played in order, fit perfectly together as if they were one song.
• "Lord Gold Throneroom" was also used as the stage name of keyboardist Erik "Lord Gold" Engstrom.