Where to start with Botanist? Perhaps this will explain a little?
“The songs of Botanist are told from the perspective of The Botanist, a crazed man of science who lives in self-imposed exile, as far away from Humanity and its crimes against Nature as possible. In his sanctuary of fantasy and wonder (which he calls the Verdant Realm), he surrounds himself with plants and flowers, finding solace in the company of the Natural world and envisioning the destruction of man. There, seated upon his throne of Veltheimia, The Botanist awaits the day when humans will either die or kill each other off, which will allow plants to make the Earth green once again.”
Chances are, this has confused you even more. But this is nothing compared to the experience of actually listening to Botanist. A band driven by drums, by hammered dulcimer (yes) and vocals. And that’s it. There’s no guitar to be found here, no deep bass lines to discover. Botanist is experimental in the truest sense of the word. Taking the foundations built and forged by bands in the Cascadian black metal scene, a love for nature and for the world’s untouched beauty, and taking it to a completely new place.
Rest of the review after the jump!
This double release features forty tracks of the most incredibly bizarre music you’re like to hear this year. The first disc, I: The Suicide Tree, is thirty minutes of self-proclaimed “eco-terrorist black metal.” The vocals having much in common with what you might be more familiar with in the black metal scene – low, and growled with just the right amount of unease thrown in. It’s disarmingly melodic at times, the hammered dulcimer echoing the sound of a madly played piano. Surprisingly catchy, it’s difficult to not get lost in the sounds created by this one-man band – the drums (that wouldn’t sound terribly out of place on a more “orthodox” release”) inducing some massively frantic head-banging culminating in the final track to be found on this particular disc, “Glycyrrhiza.” A gloriously fast-paced song that completes this disc perfectly, reaching a crescendo so intense that you may need to have a little bit of sit down before continuing on to II: A Rose From The Dead.
And so, on to the second album included in this collection. A somewhat darker affair, the music seems a tad on the more despondent side on this disc. A little more melancholy and a lot more sonically pleasing. That’s not to say that the first disc isn’t incredibly fascinating, but that II is a more fully formed piece. “The Botanist” has found his voice and it’s as joyously eerie as you’d hope. Genuine moments of true disquiet seep into your subconscious, the absolute dissonance of the sounds produced by this voice, by his instruments could be taken from a nightmare. And by all accounts, this is “The Botanist’s” dreams coming true. A concept album at it’s heart, and a story to be continued throughout at least another three parts, this journey is one of terror and disturbance. Closing on an untitled track, II: A Rose From The Dead, plays out via a gorgeously mournful piece played entirely on the dulcimer. It resonates within your heart, managing to be both uplifting and gloomy at the same time. Has “The Botanist” won this battle? Not yet, but the struggle will continue.
If anything, Botanist should serve as a warning to all. That one day, nature will fight back. And it will win.
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