Iwrestledabearonce
Encyclopedia
Iwrestledabearonce is an American heavy metal
band formed in 2007 in Shreveport, Louisiana
, and currently based in Birmingham, Alabama
. They have released one EP and two full-length albums, and have toured with acts such as August Burns Red
, The Dillinger Escape Plan
, Dance Gavin Dance
, The Human Abstract
, Blessthefall
, Fact
, Greeley Estates
, Sea of Treachery
, Enter Shikari
, Winds of Plague
, All Shall Perish
, Vanna
and Horse the Band
.
. The origin of the band's name was inspired by a comment that Gary Busey
had said on Comedy Central
. They signed to Tragic Hero Records
and released their debut EP Iwrestledabearonce EP
through the label. Afterward, attention was caught by Century Media
, to which Iwrestledabearonce signed. The group then recorded and released their debut full-length album It's All Happening
on June 2, 2009 in the USA and August 31, 2009 in European stores. In June through September 2008, their single, "Tastes Like Kevin Bacon" appeared on the Sirius Hard Attack radio station "Devils Dozen" list as high as #4 in the 12 most requested songs.
It's All Happening reached #1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers
chart and #122 on the Billboard 200
chart upon its release in 2009. Iwrestledabearonce then embarked on their second venture outside of the US in October 2009 in-support of It's All Happening. The "2009 Imperial Never Say Die" club tour which was sponsored by Imperial Clothing and Jägermeister in the UK and Europe with Architects
, Despised Icon
, As Blood Runs Black, Horse the Band
, Oceano
and The Ghost Inside
. In December 2009 they were headliners in a US/Canada tour (The Tour That Stole Christmas) with Miss May I
, Inhale Exhale
and Of Machines
. Iwrestledabearonce had been selected for the 2010 Van's Warped Tour and participated from July 20 until August 15, 2010. During the summer of 2009, the band decided to relocate to Birmingham, Alabama
.
In 2010, the band rereleased It's All Happening as a 3-disc special edition that includes the regular album, a remix album, and a DVD. Later, the group released a free 5-track remix EP titled It's All Dubstep.
, along with the band incorporating the use of corpse paint
. He expressed that the entire band agreed that they do not want to be pigeonholed as a band that is suffixed as "core" any longer and the new record will be "90% black metal". Bradley went on to say “We were sick of getting lumped in with ‘scene’ and ‘whatever-core’ bands, so we decided to embrace our roots and just go straight black metal on the new album. We had to change our image to match ...because of course that's just as important, if not more so, than the music.” The black metal musical shift was later confirmed to be a large practical joke
orchestrated by the band and heavy metal website, MetalSucks. The band's upcoming album, Ruining It for Everybody had a song from the album premiered on the website with the staff confirming that it was all a prank and that the upcoming album "features no actual black metal". The group primarily executed the joke to reveal and parody the over-serious attitude in black metal fans.
After the prank was revealed as false, Bradley later seriously commented on the album's style stating that it's "It's heavier, catchier, and better organized than anything we've done so far. We took a really spastic blend of genres and made it more cohesive."
, progressive metal
, synthpop
, avant-garde metal, experimental metal, jazz
, and even hillbilly music. They are, however, primarily considered as metalcore
and grindcore
.
The band attempts to evade catagorisation so significantly that they focus on spasticly blending as many genres as posible. Their song structures are known for chaotic changes in pace, varying between blast beats, breakdowns and then constrasted rapidly by melodic "lounged-out" interludes in the middle of their songs. Influences for their musical style have come from a wide variety of bands including The Dillinger Escape Plan
, Radiohead
and Björk
. Björk, particularly, is noted as being an inspiration for Krysta Cameron's sung vocals.
Former members
EPs
Remix releases
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band formed in 2007 in Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, and currently based in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. They have released one EP and two full-length albums, and have toured with acts such as August Burns Red
August Burns Red
August Burns Red is an American metal band, from Manheim, Pennsylvania. Formed in 2003, the group began their first performances while a majority of the members were attending their senior year of high school, and soon began playing shows around Lancaster, before being signed to CI Records, and...
, The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
, Dance Gavin Dance
Dance Gavin Dance
Dance Gavin Dance was an American post-hardcore band formed in Sacramento, California in 2005. They released four full length studio albums and one EP...
, The Human Abstract
The Human Abstract
The Human Abstract is an American progressive metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2004, the group was originally signed to the independent label Hopeless Records, the band then released the two albums Nocturne and Midheaven before signing to E1 Music and releasing Digital Veil...
, Blessthefall
Blessthefall
Blessthefall is an American metalcore band from Phoenix, Arizona, currently signed to Fearless Records. The band was founded in 2003 by guitarist Mike Frisby, drummer Matt Traynor, and bassist Jared Warth. Their debut album, His Last Walk, with original vocalist Craig Mabbitt, was released April...
, Fact
Fact (band)
Fact is a Japanese post-hardcore band which formed in 1999 in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Their music makes use of common hardcore punk and punk rock elements that include fast guitar riffs and a highly melodic style. Clean and screamed singing styles are both used, and gang vocals are present in...
, Greeley Estates
Greeley Estates
Greeley Estates is an American metalcore band from Phoenix, Arizona. Formed in 2002, the band has released five full-length studio albums and one EP...
, Sea of Treachery
Sea Of Treachery
Sea of Treachery is an American metalcore/deathcore band from Hebron, Kentucky formed in 2004. Since forming, they have released three EPs and two full-length studio albums, the first being At Daggers Drawn, which was released on April 29, 2008 on Sumerian Records, and the second being Wonderland,...
, Enter Shikari
Enter Shikari
Enter Shikari are a British band, that combine post-hardcore with elements of various electronic genres, formed in 2003 in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The band is named after a boat belonging to Roughton "Rou" Reynolds' uncle, and a character in a play which he wrote before forming the band, both of...
, Winds of Plague
Winds of Plague
Winds of Plague is an American deathcore band from Upland, California, formed in 2002. They are best known as one of the only deathcore bands to incorporate symphonic elements into their music....
, All Shall Perish
All Shall Perish
All Shall Perish is an American deathcore band from Oakland, California, formed in 2002. Currently, the band is signed to Nuclear Blast and have released four full-length albums through the label. Their latest record, This Is Where It Ends was released on July 26, 2011...
, Vanna
Vanna (band)
Vanna is an American post-hardcore band from Boston, MA. Their first full length album, Curses, was released on April 24, 2007.-Early years :...
and Horse the Band
HORSE the band
Horse the Band is a band from Lake Forest, California who are best known for their 8-bit Nintendo-influenced sound combined with metalcore. Frontman Nathan Winneke once described their sound as "Nintendocore".-Biography:...
.
Formation, EP and It's All Happening (2008—2010)
Iwrestledabearonce was founded during 2007 in Shreveport, LouisianaShreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
. The origin of the band's name was inspired by a comment that Gary Busey
Gary Busey
William Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...
had said on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
. They signed to Tragic Hero Records
Tragic Hero Records
Tragic Hero Records is a record label founded in Raleigh, North Carolina in March 2005 to represent the growing hardcore punk and harder wave of music in North Carolina. The label was founded by Tommy Lacombe, David Varnedoe and Jason Ganthner. Alesana was the first band the label signed...
and released their debut EP Iwrestledabearonce EP
Iwrestledabearonce EP
Iwrestledabearonce EP is the first release by Iwrestledabearonce, released December 15, 2007 through Tragic Hero Records.The EP contains five original songs, all of which boast extreme tempo and change between various genres throughout, as well as the use of short cover tunes or samples...
through the label. Afterward, attention was caught by Century Media
Century Media Records
Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...
, to which Iwrestledabearonce signed. The group then recorded and released their debut full-length album It's All Happening
It's All Happening
It's All Happening is the debut full-length album by Iwrestledabearonce. It was released on June 2, 2009 through Century Media Records.-Background:...
on June 2, 2009 in the USA and August 31, 2009 in European stores. In June through September 2008, their single, "Tastes Like Kevin Bacon" appeared on the Sirius Hard Attack radio station "Devils Dozen" list as high as #4 in the 12 most requested songs.
It's All Happening reached #1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
chart and #122 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart upon its release in 2009. Iwrestledabearonce then embarked on their second venture outside of the US in October 2009 in-support of It's All Happening. The "2009 Imperial Never Say Die" club tour which was sponsored by Imperial Clothing and Jägermeister in the UK and Europe with Architects
Architects (British band)
Architects are an English Metalcore band from Brighton, England, formed in 2004. The band went through several name changes before they decided upon Architects. Their first name was Inharmonic, which was swiftly changed to Counting the Days...
, Despised Icon
Despised Icon
Despised Icon was a Canadian deathcore band from Montreal, Quebec. Formed in 2002, the band is notable for the use of two vocalists; Alexandre Erian, takes use of a mid-range screaming technique, and Steve Marois for the low growling vocals, and high pitched screamed vocals...
, As Blood Runs Black, Horse the Band
HORSE the band
Horse the Band is a band from Lake Forest, California who are best known for their 8-bit Nintendo-influenced sound combined with metalcore. Frontman Nathan Winneke once described their sound as "Nintendocore".-Biography:...
, Oceano
Oceano (band)
Oceano is an American deathcore band from Chicago, IL formed in 2006. The band signed to Earache Records and released their debut album, Depths on April 7, 2009. Their second album, Contagion was released on November 9, 2010.-History:...
and The Ghost Inside
The Ghost Inside
This article is about the Chinese film. For the American Hardcore band, see The Ghost Inside .The Ghost Inside is a 2005 Chinese horror film directed by Herman Yau, and starring Mainland actors, Liu Ye and Gong Beibi and Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu.The film was produced by the China Film Group...
. In December 2009 they were headliners in a US/Canada tour (The Tour That Stole Christmas) with Miss May I
Miss May I
Miss May I is an American metalcore band from Troy, Ohio. On December 6, 2008, Miss May I announced that they had been signed to Rise Records. The band's debut album, Apologies Are for the Weak, reached #29 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers, and #66 on Top Independent Albums. Their song, "Forgive and...
, Inhale Exhale
Inhale Exhale
Inhale Exhale is a Christian metalcore band from Cleveland, Ohio.-Formation/The Lost. The Sick. The Sacred.:The band was formed in 2005 by Guitarist John LaRussa and bassist Brian Pittman...
and Of Machines
Of Machines
Of Machines was an American post-hardcore band from Atlanta. Formed in 2006, the band was originally known as We Are Kings and changed their name the following year of their formation...
. Iwrestledabearonce had been selected for the 2010 Van's Warped Tour and participated from July 20 until August 15, 2010. During the summer of 2009, the band decided to relocate to Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
.
In 2010, the band rereleased It's All Happening as a 3-disc special edition that includes the regular album, a remix album, and a DVD. Later, the group released a free 5-track remix EP titled It's All Dubstep.
It's All Happening and black metal prank (2011—present)
With the recording of the band's new album, which was revealed to be titled Ruining It for Everyone, guitarist Steven Bradley has stated that the group's new album will embrace black metalBlack metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
, along with the band incorporating the use of corpse paint
Corpse paint
Corpse paint or corpsepaint is a style of black-and-white makeup, used mainly by black metal bands during live concerts and photo shoots. The makeup is used to intensify the bands' imagery of evil, inhumanity, and corpse-like decay. It is most commonly used just on the face, but also on arms and...
. He expressed that the entire band agreed that they do not want to be pigeonholed as a band that is suffixed as "core" any longer and the new record will be "90% black metal". Bradley went on to say “We were sick of getting lumped in with ‘scene’ and ‘whatever-core’ bands, so we decided to embrace our roots and just go straight black metal on the new album. We had to change our image to match ...because of course that's just as important, if not more so, than the music.” The black metal musical shift was later confirmed to be a large practical joke
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
orchestrated by the band and heavy metal website, MetalSucks. The band's upcoming album, Ruining It for Everybody had a song from the album premiered on the website with the staff confirming that it was all a prank and that the upcoming album "features no actual black metal". The group primarily executed the joke to reveal and parody the over-serious attitude in black metal fans.
After the prank was revealed as false, Bradley later seriously commented on the album's style stating that it's "It's heavier, catchier, and better organized than anything we've done so far. We took a really spastic blend of genres and made it more cohesive."
Musical style
Iwrestledabearonce's music is considered as diverse, this is shown in their use of frequent genre changes within songs, varying between electroElectro
Electro or Elektro may refer to:* Electro , the name of various fictional villains from Marvel Comics and Timely Comics**Electro , from the Spider-Man comics being the best known...
, progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
, synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
, avant-garde metal, experimental metal, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and even hillbilly music. They are, however, primarily considered as metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
and grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
.
The band attempts to evade catagorisation so significantly that they focus on spasticly blending as many genres as posible. Their song structures are known for chaotic changes in pace, varying between blast beats, breakdowns and then constrasted rapidly by melodic "lounged-out" interludes in the middle of their songs. Influences for their musical style have come from a wide variety of bands including The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
and Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
. Björk, particularly, is noted as being an inspiration for Krysta Cameron's sung vocals.
Members
Current members- Steven Bradley – guitars, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, samplesSampler (musical instrument)A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
, programming (2007–present) - Krysta Cameron – lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
(2007–present) - John Ganey – guitars, keyboards, samples, programming (2007–2008, 2009–present)
- Mike Montgomery – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
(2008–present) - Mike Martin – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2009–present)
Former members
- Daniel Andrews – keyboards, samples, programming (2007–2009)
- Dave Branch – bass guitar (2008–2009)
- Mim Cameron – guitars (2008–2009)
- Brian Dozier – bass guitar (2007–2008)
- Ryan Pearson – drums (2007–2008)
Discography
Albums- It's All HappeningIt's All HappeningIt's All Happening is the debut full-length album by Iwrestledabearonce. It was released on June 2, 2009 through Century Media Records.-Background:...
(Century MediaCentury Media RecordsCentury Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...
, 2009) - Ruining It for EverybodyRuining It for EverybodyRuining It For Everybody is the second album by Iwrestledabearonce. It was released on July 26, 2011 through Century Media Records and is the first studio full-length since 2009's It's All Happening...
(Century Media, 2011)
EPs
- Iwrestledabearonce EPIwrestledabearonce EPIwrestledabearonce EP is the first release by Iwrestledabearonce, released December 15, 2007 through Tragic Hero Records.The EP contains five original songs, all of which boast extreme tempo and change between various genres throughout, as well as the use of short cover tunes or samples...
(Tragic HeroTragic Hero RecordsTragic Hero Records is a record label founded in Raleigh, North Carolina in March 2005 to represent the growing hardcore punk and harder wave of music in North Carolina. The label was founded by Tommy Lacombe, David Varnedoe and Jason Ganthner. Alesana was the first band the label signed...
, 2007)
Remix releases
- It's All RemixedIt's All RemixedIt's All Remixed is the first compilation album by Iwrestledabearonce. The album was released on June 29, 2010 as a re-release of their debut album, It's All Happening...
(Century Media, 2010) - It's All DubstepIt's All DubstepIt's All Dubstep is the second compilation by Iwrestledabearonce. The EP was released on November 8, 2010 as a free download. The EP features five dubstep remixes of four different songs from their album, It's All Happening...
(Century Media, 2010)
Videography
- "Ulrich Firelord: Breaker of Mountains" (2007)
- "Tastes Like Kevin Bacon" (2008)
- "You Ain't No Family" (2009)
- "See You in Shell" (2010)
- "Danger in the Manger" (2010)
- "The Cat's Pajamas" (2010)
- "You Know That Ain’t Them Dogs' Real Voices" (2011)