Iwrestledabearonce (often stylized in all lowercase; abbreviated as IWABO) was an American metalcore band formed in 2007 in Shreveport, Louisiana. The origin of this band's name was inspired by a comment made by Gary Busey on Comedy Central.
Existing at the point where metal collides with all other genres, Iwrestledabearonce are an example of the bold experimentation that has been keeping metal fresh and exciting. The band attempted to evade categorization so significantly that they focused on blending as many genres as possible.
Influences for their musical style have come from a wide variety of bands including The Dillinger Escape Plan, Radiohead, and Björk. Their song structures are known for chaotic changes in pace, varying between blastbeats, breakdowns and then contrasted rapidly by melodic, "lounged-out" interludes in the middle of their songs.
ShockHound Session: iwrestledabearonce (Live)
Early Years and Debut EP
Prior to Iwrestledabearonce, guitarist Steven Bradley played in the Louisiana mathcore band Statues Cry Bleeding, the band was active around 2004 and broke up sometime in 2006. Bradley met Krysta Cameron at which point, decided to start rehearsing music with her and some other musicians in the area when he was impressed with her growl vocals.
Iwrestledabearonce was officially formed during 2007 in Shreveport, Louisiana. They released their self-titled EP in 2007 through Bucket of Truth Recordings, and later re-released it with new cover art through Tragic Hero Records. The release gained the band a small cult following due to their highly experimental musical style. It also granted the band enough attention to acquire drummer, Ryan Pearson.
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Signing with Century Media and "It's All Happening"
Iwrestledabearonce signed to Century Media by 2008 after their inclusion on tours supporting the EP which took them all the way North to Canada. The group then recorded and released their debut full-length album It's All Happening on June 2, 2009 in the United States 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 No. It's All Happening reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart and No. 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 Impericon Never Say Die" club tour which was sponsored by Impericon Clothing and Jägermeister in the UK and Europe with Architects, Despised Icon, As Blood Runs Black, Horse the Band, Oceano and The Ghost Inside.
Chart Performance of "It's All Happening"
| Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Top Heatseekers | 1 |
| Billboard 200 | 122 |
"Ruining It for Everybody" and Genre Experimentation
With the recording of the band's new album, which was revealed to be titled Ruining It for Everybody, guitarist Steven Bradley stated that the group's new album will embrace black metal, 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".
After the prank was revealed as false, Bradley later, in a serious note, commented on the album's style stating that it is "It's heavier, catchier, and better organized than anything we've done so far.
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Lineup Changes and "Late for Nothing"
During Warped Tour 2012, it was announced that original vocalist Krysta Cameron was pregnant and would have to leave the band for the rest of the tour. LaPlante made her recorded debut on the band's third album, Late for Nothing, in 2013.
On June 11, 2013, they released the first song off the album entitled "Thunder Chunky". Late for Nothing was released on August 6, 2013, along with an accompanied music video for the song "Boat Paddle".
"Hail Mary" and Uncertain Future
Their fourth album, Hail Mary, was released on June 16, 2015 via Artery Recordings. Due to the label being acquired by Warner Bros. Following uncertainty of the band's status along with LaPlante's and Stringer's position in Iwrestledabearonce following the unveiling of their new project Spiritbox in October 2017, a fan asked LaPlante during an Instagram live video session if Iwrestledabearonce had broken up.
On December 10, 2024, bassist Mike Martin revealed on his podcast, Nerding out with Rickshaw, that an iwrestledabearonce reunion has been discussed between him and vocalist Krysta Cameron.
Musical Style and Genre
Although Iwrestledabearonce was generally categorized as mathcore, metalcore, experimental metal, and deathcore. The Shreveport, Louisiana group, consisting of Krysta Cameron (vocals), Stephen Bradley (guitar), John Ganey (guitar), Mike Montgomery (drums), and Dave Branch (bass), combines the spastic fury of the Locust, the math wizardry of the Dillinger Escape Plan, and the metal-electro experimentation of Genghis Tron into one easy-to-swallow tablet.
