Overview

Frontman Nathan Winneke states: "A Natural Death is about the futility and arrogance of creation and destruction, the overwhelming scale of space and time, and the brutal majesty of nature, the horror of birth and the beauty of death. Everyone who will ever live will die a natural death, and will soon after be forgotten for eternity. Hopefully this album will serve as a warning to the human race to stop taking itself so seriously, as we have seen the dire consequences of its actions in the future. You are nothing."

This album takes a departure from a lot of the Nintendocore aspects, that made the first two albums popular. While still there, the guitar work is much more highlighted and gave the band a much more "metal sound". Nathan Winneke has stated this album is his least favorite, due to the fact "...it is metal, and I hate metal." He also, along with other members consider it the band's darkest work to date.

On May 15, 2007, the album leaked onto the Internet. A few days later, the band announced a new release date of August 28, 2007. The record was originally planned for a June 26 release.

Upon the album's release, "Murder" was frequently played on the Sirius Satellite Radio

Sirius Satellite Radio

Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...

 station, Hard Attack. In 2007, the album peaked at #4 at the 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...

 and at #27 on the Independent Albums

Independent Albums

The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels...

 charts.

Track listing

1. "Hyperborea" – 2:45
2. "Murder" – 4:14
3. "The Startling Secret of Super Sapphire" – 3:18
4. "The Beach" – 1:07
5. "Face of Bear" – 4:02
6. "Crickets" – 1:06
7. "New York City" – 4:47
8. "Sex Raptor" – 3:18
9. "Broken Trail" – 3:16
10. "The Red Tornado" – 3:42
11. "Treasure Train" – 2:57
12. "His Purple Majesty" – 3:04
13. "Kangarooster Meadows" – 1:23
14. "Rotting Horse" – 4:28
15. "I Think We Are Both Suffering from the Same Crushing Metaphysical Crisis" – 7:24
16. "Lif" – 4:48

Best Buy Bonus Tracks:

1. "Crow Town " – 3:40
2. "Hyperborea (Midi Version)" – 2:34
3. "Treasure Train (Midi Version)" – 2:54

iTunes Exclusive Bonus Track:

1. "The Red Tornado (Midi Version)" – 2:45

A music video was made for the tracks "New York City" and "Murder".

Trivia

• Originally the song "Crow Town" was on the album as track 10, and "The Red Tornado" was track 9, this was replaced just after the release with "Broken Trail". In the song "Lif" where various fragments of the previous songs are played throughout, you can hear the crows crowing at one point, exactly as they do in the song "Crow Town" furthermore showing it was an original song for the album.
• The song "The Red Tornado" refers to the comic book superhero Red Tornado
  Red Tornado
  Red Tornado is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Justice League of America #64 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Dick Dillin.-Publication history:...
  
  .

Personnel

Horse the Band

• Erik Engstrom – keyboards
  Electronic keyboard
  An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
  
  , Game Boy
  Game Boy
  The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
  
  , samples
  Sampling (music)
  In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
  
  
• Nathan Winneke – vocals
• David Isen – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Dashiell Han Arkenstone – bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , baritone
  Baritone guitar
  The baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar, with a longer scale length that allows it to be tuned to a lower range. It first appeared in the classical music realm...
  
  , organ
  Organ (music)
  The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
  
  
• Chris Prophet – drums
  Drum kit
  A 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 ....
  
  

Production

• Brian Virtue – production, engineering
  Audio engineering
  An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
  
  , mixing
  Audio mixing (recorded music)
  In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
  
  
• David Klein
  David Klein (American artist)
  David Klein was an American artist, best known for his influential work in advertising. Although he produced illustrations for Broadway theatrical productions, Hollywood films, the United States Army, and numerous corporate clients, Klein is best remembered for the iconic travel images he created...
  
   – album artwork and layout