Wovenhand (also stylized Woven Hand) is an American rock band from

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, led by former

16 Horsepower 16 Horsepower was an American country rock band based in Denver, Colorado, United States. Their music often invoked religious imagery dealing with conflict, redemption, punishment, and guilt through David Eugene Edwards's lyrics and the heavy ...

frontman

David Eugene Edwards David Eugene Edwards (born February 24, 1968) is an American musician. He is the lead singer of Wovenhand, and also the main songwriter and the principal musician on the recordings of the band. He is the former lead singer of 16 Horsepower. Thei ...

. Wovenhand's music combines influences from

Southern Gothic music Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of fiction, music, film, theatre, and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic elements and the American South. Common themes of Southern Gothic include storytelling of deeply flawed, disturbing, ...

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, contra dance, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

, and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

, among other genres and styles of music. Wovenhand's songs are known for their strong and stark Biblical references, influenced by Edwards' dark approach to his

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

faith.

History

The band began in 2001 as a solo project for Edwards while 16 Horsepower was taking a temporary hiatus. Wovenhand's first live shows were performed by Edwards and multi-instrumentalist Daniel McMahon; the self-titled debut album was released in 2002 on

Glitterhouse Records Glitterhouse Records is a German independent record label and mail order company based in Beverungen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was founded in the mid-1980s. From the late 1980s until the mid-1990s it was the European branch of the American la ...

. Performances following this record featured Edwards, McMahon, drummer Ordy Garrison and cellist Paul Fonfara. 2003 saw the release of ''Blush Music'', the score to a dance performance mostly composed of reworked material from the first record. Touring behind this album featured Shane Trost replacing Fonfara. In 2004, '' Consider the Birds'' was released on the Sounds Familyre label, which has also released the previous Wovenhand releases domestically. Edwards performed the bulk of the instrumentation in the studio; he and Garrison toured behind the record as a two-piece. 16 Horsepower disbanded the following year, and Edwards further focused his attention on Wovenhand. Peter van Laerhoven, a Belgian guitarist, was added to the lineup, while McMahon and Trost became inactive with the group. After 2006's ''

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

'', Pascal Humbert, a founding member of

, became the band's bassist. 2008's ''Ten Stones'' was the first record from the group written and performed collaboratively – the project had thus evolved into a proper band, albeit with Edwards firmly at its head. In 2009, the band operated as a three-piece, sans Van Laerhoven. Their fifth studio album, ''The Threshingfloor'' was released in June 2010. Shortly thereafter, the group announced touring plans opening for the

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

band

Tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...

. September 2012 saw the release of Wovenhand's sixth studio album, ''The Laughing Stalk'', produced by

Alexander Hacke Alexander Hacke (also known as Alexander von Borsig, Alex Hacke, Hacke, born 11 October 1965) is a German guitarist, bass guitarist, singer, musician, record producer, writer and filmmaker. He is primarily known as a longtime member of the influ ...

(who along with Edwards is participating in the reunion of Australian post-punk band

Crime And The City Solution Crime & the City Solution are an Australian rock band formed in late 1977 by singer-songwriter and mainstay Simon Bonney. They disbanded in 1979 leaving only bootleg recordings and demos. In late 1983, Bonney moved to London and in 1985 he for ...

). Wovenhand's lineup for the album was changed once again, as Humbert quit and new bassist Gregory Garcia Jr. along with second guitarist Chuck French were brought in. The resulting record was described as being "the most heavy incarnation that ever existed of Wovenhand". Ordy Garrison died on July 4, 2023.

Discography

Studio albums

Other

* ''Blush Music'' (2003) erformance score* ''Blush (Original Score)'' (2003) erformance score* ''Puur'' (2006) erformance score* ''Black of the Ink'' (2011) ook + 6-track EP re-recorded Best-of* ''Live at Roepaen'' (2012) D/2LP + DVD

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial Facebook page
*
Woven Hand Live
NPR Tiny Desk Concert Series {{Authority control American alternative country groups Musical groups from Denver Musical groups established in 2001 Deathwish Inc. artists Glitterhouse Records artists