[1] Their music often invoked religious imagery dealing with conflict, redemption, punishment, and guilt through David Eugene Edwards's lyrics and the heavy use of traditional bluegrass, gospel, and Appalachian instrumentation cross-bred with rock.

David Eugene Edwards and Pascal Humbert formed 16 Horsepower in 1992 in Los Angeles, California,[1] where they had met building movie sets for Roger Corman's Hollywood Studios.

[1] In Edwards's hometown of Denver, the band again became a trio with the addition of Keven Soll, a luthier and accomplished double bass player.

The band spent the following years rehearsing and gaining a reputation for their intense live performances while touring extensively across North America and eventually they released a seven-inch single, "Shametown", in 1994 on Ricochet Records.

[1] The debut full-length studio album, Sackcloth 'n' Ashes, was eventually released in 1996, garnering praise from the international music press.

Jeffrey-Paul Norlander joined on second guitar shortly before recording began on the second album, Low Estate, with John Parish as producer.

As hinted by the title, this fourth studio album took the band further into traditional folk territory and featured only four original 16 Horsepower compositions.

In April 2005 the band announced their official break-up, as a result of personal, political and spiritual differences as well as finding the constant touring incompatible with their daily lives.

American metal band DevilDriver paid homage to 16 Horsepower with a cover of "Black Soul Choir" on their 2011 release, Beast.

Their 2000 cover of "Wayfaring Stranger" was featured at the end of Bart Layton's 2012 documentary The Imposter, as well as in the opening scene of the 2021 film Titane.