5 out of 5

Label: Hydra Head

Producer: Matt Bayles

Yup.

Y’know, it’s funny – this was one of my first Hydra Head purchases after discovering Cave In (yes, yes, I came to the game way late) and it was exactly what I wanted from hardcore at the time.  It’s incredibly technical, the lyrics carry weight, the production brings the right elements to just the right levels, and the screamy vocals are digestible – in comparison to harder edged vocalists or grindcore vocals or whatnot that take a listening curve, methinks.  And as I investigated the world of ‘core’ stuff, I sort of took Botch for granted in terms of how much work it took to get to this point.  ‘Anthology’ is the end-all hardcore record.  It’s too bad the band went in various directions afterward, but maybe not, because maybe this was as far as it would go, as Don Cab broke up after the amazing American Don.  First record “Nervoso” has a nice live feel to it, and I love that record – but it is a different feel from “We Are the Romans,” to which “Anthology” is more of a complement.  They are all the same band, but each requires a slightly different ear.  And because this EP is SO perfect, seriously, it’s easy to file it away in your brain – like, problem solved, check.

Everything just works.  Unlike the cold opening of “Romans,” we get a 20 second guitar sling that just sets the tone perfectly, a wayward buzz that’s discordant but tight at the same time.  And then our burst of awesome.  I criticize Bayles for getting too electronic with his work and I still feel like it hindered “Romans,” letting things bleep and bloop a bit too much and shaving off some precious edges, but his history with the band works perfectly on “Anthology,” the little flourishes shifted to the back and the rest not treated the same throughout (which is also my problem with the Romans mix) – guitars and vocals and drums shift up and down the scale when needed to devastating effect.  And lastly, the lyrics.  Hardcore, to me, is never really known for its depth of content, save a few groups.  Sometimes you have a shtick, sometimes you’re angry, sometimes we can’t understand you.  Romans leaned a bit too much on the oblique, but our scant few tracks of “Anthology” – when you can understand it (which is frequently, thanks to Dave Verellen getting the scream / talk / growl mix down to, yeah, perfection) – sit at a level of metaphor mixed with relatable scenarios or emotions.

If you’ve just come off of listening to something a bit looser or rich, you might not want to listen to “Anthology” – it’ll slide right through your ears.  But cleanse your palate with some noise or silence, then pump this through your headphones.