What if we replaced the guitar of extreme metal with the shimmering sound of the dulcimer struck string, a zither that has spread to Europe from the Middle East? This was the direction taken by Californian musician Otrebor in 2009, when he founded his Botanist project. Years later, this curiosity with singular instrumentation and ecological themes has metamorphosed into a band in full possession of its resources.
In its genesis, Botanist had a pared-down instrumentation, with drums, vocals and dulcimer performed by a single person. Very short tracks carried dizzying, arpeggiated melodies, to which were added raw drums and hoarse, piercing vocals. With a rather thin sound, due to the absence of bass, the entity soon reinvented itself with a series of increasingly ambitious albums. Since Collective: The Shape of He to Come (2017), the other artists involved have energized Botanist’s compositions and sound spectrum.
On Paleobotany, this flowering continues with a prominence of sung vocals and elaborate treatment of dulcimer layers. The production is massive, full and punchy, despite the unusual instrumentation. There’s also frequent use of deep throat singing, vaguely similar to that of Central Asia. But these elements combine to create a music that is complex in its verticality, but simpler in its horizontal unfolding.
In fact, Botanist opts for simpler structures here. The musical ideas are catchy and less extreme than before, opening up an ethereal space for vocal arrangements. This turn towards song-based forms is reminiscent of the evolution of big names such as Gojira and Mastodon. Like the latter, Botanist distill their most famous ingredients into a more digestible whole, showing off their avant-gardism while remaining gentle on fresh ears.
Admittedly, today’s Botanist takes far less enigmatic detours in its music than in the past, composing sections whose affects are well known to a metal audience. However, this is to the benefit of a more enveloping sound and a more rich orchestrated texture, which allows the project to reach the epic proportions its naturalistic themes suggest.
