Battle of Mice was an American
post-metal
Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. In a way simil ...
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
consisting of
Julie Christmas (
Made Out of Babies
Made Out of Babies was a sludge metal band from Brooklyn, New York formed in 2004 that disbanded in 2012.
Biography
Drawing equally from noise rock bands such as The Jesus Lizard and post-metal bands such as Isis, the band developed a follow ...
), Josh Graham (ex-
Neurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...
, ex-
Red Sparowes
Red Sparowes is an American, Los Angeles-based post-rock band, comprising current and former members of Isis, Marriages, The Nocturnes, Halifax Pier, Angel Hair and Pleasure Forever. Their sound is characteristic of soundscape-influenced expe ...
,
A Storm of Light
A Storm of Light is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 2008.
They have been categorized as post-rock, post-metal, doom metal, sludge metal and hard rock, but have moved toward a darker and heavier metal sound. Rock-A-Rol ...
),
Joel Hamilton
Joel Hamilton (born 1980) is an American Brooklyn-based record producer, audio engineer and musician. Hamilton performs as a musician for the band Book of Knots. He is also a producer and engineer at Studio G in Brooklyn, New York.
In the summer ...
(
Book of Knots
The Book of Knots is an American experimental art rock band consisting of the members Matthias Bossi, Joel Hamilton, Carla Kihlstedt and Tony Maimone.
History
The Book of Knots was formed in 2003 by three core band members Joel Hamilton, Matth ...
), Tony Maimone (Book of Knots,
Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...
), and Joe Tomino (
Fugees
Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with its ...
,
Dub Trio
Dub Trio is a dub/rock cross-over band from Brooklyn, New York City, New York.
History
Dub Trio consists of bassist Stu Brooks, guitarist DP Holmes, and drummer Joe Tomino. With the addition of electronic, rock, punk and heavy metal, the group pa ...
,
Peeping Tom
Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly reme ...
).
The band was formed when vocalist Julie Christmas and
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
/
keyboardist
A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...
Josh Graham met in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
while touring with their respective bands in 2005. Graham and Christmas, who disliked one another upon first acquaintance, were in an on-again-off-again relationship during the recording of the band's debut album, ''
A Day of Nights
''A Day of Nights'' is the only studio album by American post-metal band Battle of Mice. It was released on October 6, 2006 through Neurot Recordings label.
According to singer Julie Christmas, the album is "written in a timeline that mirrors wha ...
''. At their worst, the pair refused to play in the same room.
The album, which was released under
Neurot Recordings
Neurot Recordings is an American independent record label founded by members of avant-garde metal band Neurosis in 1999. Gradually expanding, it has showcased a variety of artists including a number of sludge metal, post-rock, and noise band ...
, contains seven tracks heavily influenced by the
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
,
post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...
and
noise rock
Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...
roots from which the group was derived. The song "At the Base of the Giant's Throat" features a recorded 911 call between vocal sections.
The band's name is derived from a saying by
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
pertaining to a military invasion of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
.
On September 3, 2009, a blog was posted on the band's MySpace page stating that the band was parting ways.
Members
*
Julie Christmas (ex-
Made Out of Babies
Made Out of Babies was a sludge metal band from Brooklyn, New York formed in 2004 that disbanded in 2012.
Biography
Drawing equally from noise rock bands such as The Jesus Lizard and post-metal bands such as Isis, the band developed a follow ...
) – vocals
*Josh Graham (ex-
Neurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...
, ex-
Red Sparowes
Red Sparowes is an American, Los Angeles-based post-rock band, comprising current and former members of Isis, Marriages, The Nocturnes, Halifax Pier, Angel Hair and Pleasure Forever. Their sound is characteristic of soundscape-influenced expe ...
,
A Storm of Light
A Storm of Light is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 2008.
They have been categorized as post-rock, post-metal, doom metal, sludge metal and hard rock, but have moved toward a darker and heavier metal sound. Rock-A-Rol ...
) – guitars, keyboards, and vocals
*Joel Hamilton (
Book of Knots
The Book of Knots is an American experimental art rock band consisting of the members Matthias Bossi, Joel Hamilton, Carla Kihlstedt and Tony Maimone.
History
The Book of Knots was formed in 2003 by three core band members Joel Hamilton, Matth ...
) – guitar
*
Tony Maimone
Tony Maimone (born September 27, 1952) is a bassist, producer, and recording engineer, who lives in Brooklyn, New York.
He was a member of Pere Ubu from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, often playing with drummer Scott Krauss. The duo were dubbe ...
(
Book of Knots
The Book of Knots is an American experimental art rock band consisting of the members Matthias Bossi, Joel Hamilton, Carla Kihlstedt and Tony Maimone.
History
The Book of Knots was formed in 2003 by three core band members Joel Hamilton, Matth ...
,
Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...
) – bass
*Joe Tomino (
Fugees
Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with its ...
,
Dub Trio
Dub Trio is a dub/rock cross-over band from Brooklyn, New York City, New York.
History
Dub Trio consists of bassist Stu Brooks, guitarist DP Holmes, and drummer Joe Tomino. With the addition of electronic, rock, punk and heavy metal, the group pa ...
,
Peeping Tom
Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly reme ...
) – drums
Discography
*''Triad'' (split album) (2006)
*''
A Day of Nights
''A Day of Nights'' is the only studio album by American post-metal band Battle of Mice. It was released on October 6, 2006 through Neurot Recordings label.
According to singer Julie Christmas, the album is "written in a timeline that mirrors wha ...
'' (2006)
*''
Jesu / Battle of Mice
''Jesu/Battle of Mice'' is a split EP between British post-rock band Jesu and American post-metal super group Battle of Mice. It was released through Robotic Empire on August 4, 2008. The Jesu tracks were recorded and produced by Justin Broadr ...
'' (split EP) (2008)
References
External links
Official band websitewww.myspace.com/BattleOfMice Battle of Miceat
MySpace
An interview with Josh Graham, March 2008Battle of Mice interview, avantgarde-metal.com, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Mice
Musical groups established in 2005
Musical groups disestablished in 2009
Heavy metal musical groups from New York (state)
American post-metal musical groups
American sludge metal musical groups