There are a collection of bands out there that simply defy classification and labelling with their music, and that’s how they manage to achieve much more than other groups who worry too much about staying within the boundaries of their chosen style. Botanist is a group that’s clearly beyond such pointless lines between styles and that’s given them a nice following, but now they’re changing up the script even more. Their upcoming record is not only the beginning of a series of albums but also the start of a new chapter for the band behind the scenes.
To try and put not only this album but this band in any specific genre would be an incredibly tiresome task because Botanist really goes all over the table with their music as they take elements from death metal, black metal, prog, folk, and even more to jam in all into one cohesive experience. It’s an extremely easy thing to fuck up in execution, yet this group pulls it off with absolute mastery for “Collective: The Shape of He to Come”. And previously, there was a mastermind behind the work of Botanist while extra hands were brought in for recording and performances, but “The Shape of He to Come” marks the first time that the band has begun forming albums as a unit opposed to one guy creating the music and sending it off to actually be made. One might expect a clunky outcome on the first go, but this record is anything but clunky. “The Shape of He to Come” is ridiculously diverse and is the sort of thought-provoking album that requires more than one listen if you want to say you truly experienced the record and heard all it has to say. We’re granted fantastic instrumentation alongside multiple sets of vocals that do naught but pull you in even further from the harsh growls to the harmonic cleans, and then to call the work of the instruments any less than cinematic would be a crime. Everything flows together very well with “The Shape of He to Come” and it’s no less than a record that the weak-minded should not come across lest they want a unique kind of enlightenment and anyone who wants to hear a real work of music that’s carefully crafted is going to want to investigate this opus.
We always get an album that’s simply a work of art slide in underneath the radar every so often, and I’ll be damned if I let this record become one of those sadly unheard pieces. I’ve never once heard of Botanist prior to this record, but I’ve confidence that in the “Collective” series that follows this entry will draw me into the realm that this band has created even more. “The Shape of He to Come” is not a record for those looking for an easy listening experience, but those looking for a transcendent piece that offers so much more.
“Collective: The Shape of He to Come” releases on September 1st via Avantgarde Music
LISTEN to advanced tracks from “The Shape of He to Come” on Bandcamp here or below.
LIKE Botanist on Facebook here.
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