BOTCH

This post's artist is from the May 2013 Mix. This is track #3.

Band: BOTCH
Genres: Post-Hardcore / Math-Rock / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Metal / Space-Rock
Related artists: Roy, Narrows, These Arms Are Snakes and Russian Circles.
Country: Tacoma, Washington, USA
Years Active: 1993-2002
Song: ""Frequency Ass Bandit"
Album: "We Are The Romans"
Year: 2001
For fans of: Converge, Cave In, Isis, Achilles, Engineer, Norma Jean, Back When, Lavotchkin, .

BOTCH, like most other bands that I have come to have a very deep and emotional attachment to, was difficult to absorb at first. They play some pretty mathy metal. It wasn't until I forced this album upon myself for 6 whole months that I realized how insanely ahead of its time 'We Are The Romans' was, and, still is. If BOTCH rubs you the wrong way or doesn't blow your mind initially, give it some time.

Speaking of time, a few years after BOTCH disbanded a plethora of other bands, most notably Achilles, Engineer, Lavotchkin and especially Norma Jean, tried to emulate this ridiculously catchy yet technical sytle. Christ, I'm fucking tearing up. Look at this shit!

BOTCH has been one of the most important bands in my life. They helped me understand beauty in chaos. Their rhythm section delivers crushing breakdowns followed by off-timed and awkward riffing, yet through it all they are able to keep it catchy and , at times, even danceable. I have a hard time explaining it, but there is a BOTCH-sound that is prevalent in all of their work. The guitar riffs are generally repetitive, ending quickly on high notes and repeating 3 times followed by a variation of the riff with a palm-muted chug. These guys mastered this style well-before they recorded their final EP/masterpiece- 'An Anthology of Dead Ends', which ends with the band wandering into post-rock prog territory - and it sounds absolutely incredible.

The vocals change a little bit with each release. In the beginning, Dave was rather screamy. He was high-pitched and sounded very little like the current frontman of Narrows. With each release, his voice deepened, hardened and expanded to a bellowing scream/yell/growl that is both devastating and crushing at the same time

Once they recorded 'American Nervoso' it was obvious that they were a once in a generation kind of band, and I would strongly recommend, no - I order, you to get everything from there onwards - even if you are only mildly interested at the moment. The investment will pay off - I guarantee it. I can't explain how lucky I feel just to know this band existed. Their discography has stood the test of time.

Although only partially metal, BOTCH is without a doubt my favourite metal band.

________________________________________________________________________

BOTCH Discography

 

1995-1997 - various releases, all compiled on Unifying Themes of Redux

 

1998 - American Nervoso cd/12"LP

 

1999 - We Are The Romans cd/2x12"LP

1999 - Cave In split 7"

1999 - Murder City Devils split 7"

 

2000 - Knut - Ananda split 10"

 

2002 - An Anthology of Dead Ends cd/10"ep

2002 - Unifying Themes of Redux cd (out-of-print compilation from 1993-2002)

 

2006 - 061502 cd/dvd (final live show)

 

2007 - American Nervoso remastered reissue cd (includes demo tracks)

2007 - We Are The Romans remastered reissue 2xcd (includes demo cd)

 

________________________________________________________________________

These are listed chronologically, so remember, the first link is the band's OLDER MATERIAL!!!
youtube )))))embedded official video / audio((((( links

(1998) BOTCH - "John Woo" (from 'American Nervoso' cd)

 

 

(1999) BOTCH - "Saint Matthews Returns to the Womb" (from 'We Are the Romans')
OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

 

(1999) BOTCH - "The Wizard" (from Cave In Split 7")
BLACK SABBATH TRIBUTE

 

(2002) BOTCH - "Spaim/Japam" (from 'An Anthology of Dead Ends' cd)

 

________________________________________________________________________