Paleobotany is Botanist’s 12th album yet I had not heard of them. It would appear that my knowledge of plant focussed avant-garde metal was lacking until very recently. Let’s not dwell on the past though eh? Actually, let’s do just that as these fellas certainly are.

This album is a trip back in time to 70 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth (sorry Mormons) and forests began to turn to coal.  For folks who have an obsession with all things plant life this is a pretty important time. Part of me feels surprised that Otrebor the mastermind of Botanist has hit a dozen green fingered releases. However, if a multitude of sweaty herberts can continue to churn out the same tired torture porn derived for decades a few flowery flourishes can’t be too surprising.

Otrebor composes the tracks and plays keyboards and hammered dulcimer. Wikipedia describes this instrument thus “The hammered dulcimer is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board.”  Google it and you will recognise it – it’s a kind of chopped off pyramid covered in strings that gets whacked. Now imagine one of those fitted with pick ups and then distorted through amps. Reel to reel and digital editing. Oh and then the whole thing has drums (Daturus) bass (Tony Thomas) and vocals (Mar) overlayed and the legend that is Frederik Nordstrum then mixes it at Studio Fredman. Interesting hey?

What does this heady green smoothie sound like? Well the quick answer is it is Prog Death with the emphasis on the Prog.  If I was going to grasp at a few bands in my limited prog metal knowledge to offer a comparison it would be Porcupine Tree, Bal Sagoth and Talinas. Mar’s vocals have the lilting everyman melody of Steven Wilson when doing cleans. The growls are effective and brutally clear. Whilst Botanist are not as grandiose as Bal Sagoth’s galactic cartoon metal (I love em by the way, that is a compliment) there are elements of epicness within their compositions which manage to teleport the listener not to the plains of Hyperborrea but to the lush jungles of the Jurassic era but with the same pomp.

Opener Aristolochia blends the dulcimer with light touch keys and some proggy drums with a plethora of blast-beats and some doom death growls and I realise that this is not just interesting but a good listen as well. The dulcimer has an interesting tone that manages to sound both mediaeval and futuristic at the same time – I get an HG Wells vibe for some reason. “When Forests Turned to Coal” has an atmosphere that conjures up this monumental evolutionary fiery episode in Earth’s history followed by the earnest sci-fi drama of “Magnolia”. Yes, it is pretty kitsch and camp but it is fun and all musicians involved are on point.

“The Impact that Built the Amazon” see’s the dulcimer used in its more traditional sounding way giving the track the watery ebb of Chinese folk music. This is a gentle proggy soundtrack for a cataclysmic event that created the world’s most amazing rainforest.

Then it is onto my favourite track on the album “Sigillaria” which gets me googling again. This track gets its name form a tree that grew up 50 metres tall in Great Britain amongst other countries some 383 million years ago! (It is hard to write a review whilst also pondering the insignificance of doing it in comparison). This is a lush, jangly proggy number that brings to mind early U2 as well as modern prog types. As a proud tree hugger I am all over this like moss on bark.

Strangely for my usual tastes I find myself more receptive to the more melodic clean sung prog led tracks on the album than those with deeper growled vocals such as Dioon (named after a genus of cycad). They are well executed I just picture the tales of plants being narrated by a kindlier larynx.  The final track “Royal Protea” is an ode – I surmise- to the national flower of South Africa the King Protea a wondrous, alien looking flowering plant that has evolved to survive wildfires.  The track depicts this wonder in a Marillion like way and I finish listening to this album questioning my prejudices. Against Prog and against garden centres which I have hated since I was a child. Botanist what have you done to me?

(8/10 Matt Mason) 

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