Normally, any band using synthesizers throughout an entire album would receive a big, resounding "Boooo" from yours truly. Normally, I don\'t review hardcore, screaming rock bands. You\'ll never see me in a mosh pit, nor will you ever see me rocking an Atreyu t-shirt. So what was it that drove me to review the hardcore, synthesizer using band known as HORSE the band?
One Word: "Nintendo-core."
Now while I right click on MS Word and add Nintendocore to its dictionary, allow me to explain. Nintendocore is hardcore rock fused with a keyboard containing a chip that produces 8-bit music. So in essence, its like Super Mario meets Killswitch Engage.
I\'m Being Serious.
So here we have HORSE the band\'s re-release of their first studio album from Pluto Records, R.Borlax. In short, I\'m one impressed man. The album starts off with an ode to my personal favorite Megaman villain, Cutman, with a track duly titled "Cutsman." It sets the tone for the entire album. Insane guitar riffs, lyrics I can almost comprehend, pulse-pounding drumming and tones that sound like an enhanced version of your favorite Gameboy game. Tracks like "The Immense Defecation of the Buntaluffigus," and "Cutsman" have familiar samples from NES games, but you\'d have to be a nerd to pinpoint specifically where they\'re from. ("The Immense Defecation of the Bunt" has a sample from The Legend of Zelda\'s dungeon theme...*sigh*)
Notable tracks also include "Bunnies," "Pols Voice" (another Zelda Reference...*sigh*) and "Kangarooster." By any metal fans standards, this is a must have album. I know this for a fact because friends of mine rushed out to find the album after finding out I had it. Tracks like "Seven Tentacles and Eight Flames" satisfy my lust for 8-bit music, while giving me some hard rock to ponder. R. Borlax has actually changed my opinion of Metalcore music. And as I browse my iTunes to replay Cutsman for the tenth time, I can\'t help but feel the urge to discover more "Nintendo-core."
"R. Borlax" is on sale November 25, 2003 from KOCH.
