4 out of 5

Label: Hydra Head

Producer: Matt Bayles

Springing from that world of math-core that Hydra Head’s roster helped define (and was, in turn, defined by) – not ignoring Aaron Turner’s appreciation for all aspects of the hardcore/noise world, but undoubtedly groups that infused a punk energy into metal, blended with a technical proficiency (Cave In, Converge) twisted the audience’s ears in an exciting way, opening the floodgates for groups operating in that same circle (and often with similar band members) landing us, eventually, on some what could be considered classic albums – like ‘We Are the Romans.’  Botch’s final recording, ‘An Anthology of Dead Ends,’ was one of my first forays into the genre, so the characteristically crisp, processed Bayles production and tricksy guitar maneuvers, also found on ‘Romans,’ are dear to my heart.  However, as often happens, after exploring not only Botch’s first release, but tons of other stuff in the same vein, there are some aspects to ‘Romans’ which don’t quite hit the five star mark.

But it’s easy to look past it, seeing as how the group does it right by assaulting you with their best moments from the get-go, the first three tracks on the disc a rush of skill and yelly sweat.  I think one of my favorite aspects of the group – something that’s most noticeable on this disc – is how their most aggressive moments are necessarily composed of everyone trying to blow out the speakers.  Drummer Tim Latona is totes a key here, his crisp and confident drumming style that can swoop between rushes and then off-time marching beats is astounding, and is astoundingly subtle (one of the benefits of Bayles’ flat production) – you’d swear that there’s a ton of shit going on, but once you’re more familiar with the music, you realize the guitar (Dave Knudson) is really only slinging a couple notes, Latona sparingly hitting the skins, and the bass (Brian Cook) keeping a solid groove.  Knudson is equally a king of precision, but the group works together to find the right balance between showy maneuvers and direct, menacing riffage.

For the most part.  Things are a little less solid when the group veers off toward either direction – something that takes a more building approach, like ‘Swimming the Channel vs. Driving the Chunnel,’ or tracks that are a bit too schizo – ‘Saint Matthew Returns to the Womb.’  Both of these cases expose that singer Dave Verellen’s lyrics are either too vague or too inconsistent to connect emotionally or work for the kind of incensed gang-style vocals ‘Saint Matthew’ seems to need, and in the latter case, when he’s required to sing at a faster pace, the manner of hardcore singing – where it’s not really shouting, but doing some tricks to make your vocals gravely – stands out more, which always ruins the energy for me a bit.  (Part of why I’ve always had trouble getting into Converge, since their singing is like that most of the time.)  There’s also not much of a successful transition out of the songs… they end quiet, and then a few seconds later we’re just jumping into noise again.  And some of the blame for this can come down to our producer: Bayles’ style is what it is, giving that somewhat electronic edge to things, but it doesn’t do ebb and flow or depth too well.

Anyhow.  These observations come from listening to the disc over… and over… and over… because it’s madly addictive.  And unique – that blend of punky attitude with the mathcore sensibilities is tough to find, and Botch hit the mark more often than not, turning in tracks like ‘Frequency Ass Bandit’ for which all sins are forgiven.  They came and went with two albums (and an EP), and though I might prefer the more ‘raw’ sound of their first album, ‘Romans’ holds a special place in my heart as one of the best overall examples of the genre.