HORSE the band is a band from Lake Forest, California that formed in 1999. … Read Full Bio ↴HORSE the band is a band from Lake Forest, California that formed in 1999. They are known for their 8-bit Nintendo influenced sound combined with metalcore, which frontman Nathan Winneke once jokingly referred to as Nintendocore. They are currently signed to Vagrant Records.

HORSE the band's lyrics are chaotic and colorful metaphors for vocalist Nathan Winneke's life, often with humorous or abstract pop culture reference titles and bases. Winneke has referred to his style on multiple occasions as "lynchian" in reference to his favorite film director David Lynch and his obtuse narrative style.

The band had jokingly labeled themselves "Nintendocore" very early on in their career in reference to the synth sound they had adopted. Some Nintendo characters that are metaphorically referred to include Cut Man from Mega Man, although the song is spelled "Cutsman" because the song was about a childhood friend Winneke grew up with and that was how they had said the character's name in youth; "Birdo", one of the bosses from the NES game Super Mario Bros. 2, in the song "Birdo" which was actually about Winneke's distaste for eggs and traumatic experiences with his stepfather early in his life ; and the rabbit-like nemesis from The Legend of Zelda in the song "Pol's Voice" which is about Winneke's early loathing of the sound of his own voice. Similarly, the song "A Million Exploding Suns" refers to the Marvel Comics character Sentry, a schizophrenic and agoraphobic hero with this abundance of power, pertaining to Winneke's double life as a musician and as a video rental clerk.

2007's A Natural Death featured significant lyrical and musical evolution into the concepts of nature and mortality while moving slightly away from the Nintendo metaphors. The song "Murder" is inspired by the Western novel Lonesome Dove, in which a Native American named Blue Duck stalks and kills white settlers on the plains. "Hyperborea" as a reference to Robert E. Howard's original "Conan" pulp fantasy stories from the 30s, and "The Red Tornado," a DC comics character from the company of which Winneke is such an open enthusiast.

The band's line-up has continuously fluctuated in its 10 year history. In February it was announced that Chris Prophet had been fired and Jon Karel from The Number Twelve Looks Like You would be filling in on drums during Earth Tour. In July, 2008 the band stated that long-time band friend Daniel Pouliot of Bleeding Kansas had joined as the band's full time drummer. On Wednesday, December 3 2008, the band announced that Dash Arkenstone would be leaving the band soon, though he remains on good terms with the other members and has attended local shows.

The band booked its own tours starting the summer of 2002, including a 3-month tour spanning seven countries. With a carefully maintained web presence including their MP3.com and MySpace accounts, they had gained themselves a niche audience. In the summer of 2004, the HORSE the World Tour 2004 included 85 shows in 90 days, spanning 7 countries throughout North America and Europe.

Their latest album, titled Desperate Living, was released on October 6, 2009.

Face Of Bear
HORSE the band Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Winters coming,
days die short at the end of autumns reign.
Hunger becomes ravenous,
hibernation never waits.
Soon the silent slumber,
for now October's feast.
Fearless and graceful,
crashing through dead leaves.

Don't feed the bears or the bears will feed on you!

All the forest fauna,
frozen feeling fear.
Flinching at the moment,
face to face with face of bear.
All the forest creatures
vanish from sight.
Their betters come with hungers
that cannot be denied.

Soon the silent dreaming is coming,
hunger's drumming,
nights grow long.
Neither plant or beast have walls or doors
to protect them from the greatest of the omnivores.
Towering over my head,
terrible beauty--
fuck I'm dead!

The hunger!

Fall is falling,
stars are conquering,
dead branches soaked with rain.
Bear gut glut on critters,
heavy eyes feeling weight.
Twilight sighs in animal eyes,
a new cycle will begin.
This winter when trees are white,
the fauna is free from him.

Don't feed the bears or the bears will feed on you!

I'll die with the honor that I chose.
I'll fight face of bear and lose.

Face to face with face of bear.

Face the bear!
I'll face the bear!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of HORSE the band's song "Face Of Bear" are about the impending arrival of winter and the instinctual need for animals to prepare for hibernation. The metaphorical "face of bear" represents the primal, animalistic hunger that comes with the changing of the seasons. The opening line "Winters coming, days die short at the end of autumns reign" sets the theme, as the singer fears the arrival of the harsh season and the hunger that will come with it. The line "hunger becomes ravenous, hibernation never waits" emphasizes the ferocity of this hunger and the need to prepare for it.

The chorus "don't feed the bears or the bears will feed on you" warns against the danger of appeasing primal instincts or giving into temptation. The rest of the lyrics describe the fear and vulnerability of the other forest creatures in the face of the "face of bear," but the singer ultimately chooses to face it head-on and "die with the honor that I chose" rather than giving in. The song ends with the repeated line "face the bear, I'll face the bear" as a call to action and a reminder of the importance of facing one's fears and instincts.

Line by Line Meaning

Winters coming, days die short at the end of autumns reign.
Winter is coming, and the days are getting shorter as autumn ends.

Hunger becomes ravenous, hibernation never waits.
The hunger of the bears becomes intense, and they cannot wait for hibernation to start.

Soon the silent slumber, for now October's feast.
Soon, the bears will sleep soundly. But for now, they feast on what October has to offer.

Fearless and graceful, crashing through dead leaves.
Bears move confidently and elegantly, even as they break through dead leaves.

Don't feed the bears or the bears will feed on you!
Don't offer food to bears, or they will attack you to obtain more food.

All the forest fauna, frozen feeling fear.
All the animals in the forest feel fear, and they are frozen in place.

Flinching at the moment, face to face with face of bear.
The animals flinch as they come face-to-face with the bears.

All the forest creatures vanish from sight.
All the animals in the forest disappear from sight, trying to avoid the bears.

Their betters come with hungers that cannot be denied.
The bears come with an intense hunger that cannot be ignored.

Soon the silent dreaming is coming, hunger's drumming, nights grow long.
Soon the bears will begin a quiet sleep, but their hunger will not let them rest. Nights become longer as winter approaches.

Neither plant or beast have walls or doors to protect them from the greatest of the omnivores.
Neither plants nor animals have any way to protect themselves from the bears, who are the most powerful of the omnivores.

Towering over my head, terrible beauty--fuck I'm dead!
Bears are taller than me, and their beauty is sinister and deadly.

Fall is falling, stars are conquering, dead branches soaked with rain.
Fall is ending, and the stars are taking over the sky. Dead branches are soaked with rain.

Bear gut glut on critters, heavy eyes feeling weight.
Bears are eating a lot of small animals, and their eyes show that they are feeling heavy.

Twilight sighs in animal eyes, a new cycle will begin.
The animals in the forest are sad as twilight approaches, knowing that a new cycle is about to begin.

This winter when trees are white, the fauna is free from him.
During the winter, when the trees are covered in snow, the animals are finally free from the threat of the bears.

I'll die with the honor that I chose. I'll fight face of bear and lose.
I will face the bear with honor and accept the consequences, even if I am killed.

Face to face with face of bear.
I will stand face-to-face with the bear and accept my fate.

Face the bear! I'll face the bear!
I will face the bear and accept my destiny.

Contributed by Camden S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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