The Human Abstract

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Human Abstract


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Origin = Los Angeles, California, United States
Genre = Progressive metal
Neo-classical metal
Mathcore (early)
Years_active = 2003–present
Label = Hopeless
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Current_members = Nathan Ells
Andrew Tapley
Dean Herrera
Brett Powell
Sean Leonard
Past_members = Mike Nordeen
A.J Minette
Nick Olaerts
Kenny Arehart
Henry Selva
Travis Khan

The Human Abstract is a progressive metal band with neo-classical, alternative, and experimental elements. They are from Los Angeles, California. The band's name references a poem of the same title by William Blake ("Songs of Experience", 1794).

History

Guitarist Dean Herrera and guitarist/keyboardist A.J. Minette formed The Human Abstract in 2004, adding drummer Brett Powell, bassist Kenny Arehart, and singer Nick Olaerts. The band recorded a couple of demos and played a number of regional gigs before signing with Hopeless Records in 2005. Soon after signing to Hopeless Records, THA replaced singer Nick Olaerts with Nathan Ells.

Nathan Ells joined the band before heading into the studio to record the band's debut full length release "Nocturne”. They released their debut album "Nocturne" on Hopeless Records on August 22, 2006. Their album Midheaven was released on August 19, 2008.

The band has been critically acclaimed for their technical proficiency and stage presence. In the past they have toured with bands such as All That Remains, God Forbid, Misery Signals, The Devil Wears Prada, Every Time I Die, The Bled, August Burns Red, Shai Hulud, Folly, Drop Dead, Gorgeous, Protest the Hero, It Dies Today, Mushroomhead, Mnemic, Goatwhore, Look What I Did, Arsis, and The Chariot. They were on the 2007 warped tour's smartpunk stage. On August 11, 2008 it was announced that they would tour the US with Japanese Band Dir en grey.

The Human Abstract performed on 2008's Take Action Tour featuring Every Time I Die, From First To Last, The Bled, and August Burns Red.Currently, they are performing on the Hooves Footwear Tour alongside 36 Crazyfists, All That Remains, and Trivium.

During the writing and recording process of Midheaven, fans noticed that lead guitarist A.J. Minette was not shown in any of their studio pictures on the band's MySpace page, instead there being replacement guitarist Andrew Tapley. This led to the worry and assumption that A.J. had left the band, but there was no official word until he was quoted as saying "I can't keep on crossing the Rubicon so much, I don't feel like I can get onstage and feel honest about playing metal anymore." The rest of the band felt that totally changing the sound would have been "like a smack in the face to all those that had been coming out and supporting the shows." [cite web |url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=89968 |title=The Human Abstract parts ways with guitarist |accessdate=2008-08-09 |author= |last= |first= |date=2008-02-04 |work= |publisher=blabbermouth.net |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

Producer Leonard Simone called bassist Sean Hurley (John Mayer) to re-record all of Nordeen's basslines, therefore removing him entirely from Midheaven and making him ineligible for any credit on the album. Allen Eason - a friend of Nathan Ells from Nashville, Tennessee was filling in on bass, but is no longer with the band.

Discography

References

External links

*MySpace|thehumanabstract|The Human Abstract
* [http://www.thehumanabstract.com Official Website]
* [http://www.punknews.org/bands/thehumanabstract The Human Abstract at punknews]
* [http://www.exclaim.ca/musicreviews/generalreview.aspx?csid1=125&csid2=846&fid1=32960 The Human Abstract at exclaim magazine]