Welcome to Botanist.nu, the official home page of the musical project Botanist.
© Botanist 2013. All rights reserved.
05/16/13
"The fact that IV: Mandragora is such a melodic record and yet feels untouched by the hand of external influence, editor, or pacifier to smooth it out is a testament to Otrebor's singular vision: it's undeniably the sound of the Botanist." -- Scott McKeating, Zero Tolerance #52
05/13/13
"As bizarre as [it] may be, Botanist is exactly the type of forward-thinking, completely original music that the genre needs." -- Musical Warfare
04/12/13
"It’s all a highly idiosyncratic journey that’s both trance-inducing and bewildering. IV: Mandragora is magnificently warped, and it is one of 2013’s very best albums so far." -- Craig Hayes, Popmatters
04/11/13
"There’s some seriously weird split personality shit going on here." -- Jon Wiederhorn, Vice Magazine's Noisey
"With IV: Mandragora, Botanist has defiantly cried an ultimatum to the world: love nature or be eradicated by it." -- Benjamin Holt, Progulator
04/05/13
"the slightest change in the formula of such minimal instrumentation can make a monumental difference, and such is the case with Mandragora." -- Apothecary, Metal Storm
"le Ricain paraît créer à la fois un guide de lecture de sa discographie ainsi qu’une synthèse possédant sa propre identité, l’ensemble étant marqué par une lumière, non plus coupante comme du verre, mais d’une douce froideur presqu’accueillante. (7/10)" ("the American seems to simultaneously create a reader's guide to his own discography, as well as a synthesis that has its own identity. The whole is marked by a particular light, a light that is not so glass-sharp anymore, but rather of a gentle cold that is almost welcoming. (7/10)")-- Ikea, Thrashocore
04/02/13
"Botanist is no mere anomaly relying solely on its unfamiliarity, but rather a creative force that's unfortunately rare." -- Graham Scala, RVA Mag
03/30/13
"Botanist an easy target for skeptics and purists, but thankfully, the quality of music quashes those notions with excellent and unique music that's engrossing and still carries a touch of aggression and violence." -- Perpetual Strife
"Throughout, the drums drive ['IV'] forward (especially 'Nightshade'), the croaking vocals are as insane as ever, and the dulcimer buzzes ever more like an electric guitar in all its dissonant fury." -- Kelly Hoffart, Full Metal Attorney
03/23/13
"IV: Mandragora" is not a long release, but it was a pain to listen to. I just don't think that I was ready for it, like it was a level above me; from a conscious plane that I have not had the honor of ascending to yet." -- Eric May, The Grim Tower
"'III: Doom in Bloom' is decidedly boring." -- Ikea, Thrashocore
03/08/13
"Dredging." -- Martijn Korremans, Zware Metalen
03/07/13
"whilst many black metal acts out there have agendas and missions and messages, they don’t always feel rounded out – Botanist feels entirely whole, and completely necessary." -- Cheryl Prime, Cvlt Nation
03/06/13
"There’s nothing else out there like Botanist, and with IV, he’s truly hitting his singular, sinister stride." -- The Onion's AV Club's Jason Heller and John Semley
03/03/13
"what's probably the coolest, most original thing black metal has seen in a handful of years," Botanist is "proving to be one of the few characters in metal boasting both an agenda and a healthy dose of self-awareness." -- Reverend's Bazaar's Jordan Campbell.
"There are moments of the production where the sound quality seems a bit thin, but it’s nothing that a bit of EQ can’t fix." -- This Is Book's Music
02/26/13
"I've read that the man behind Botanist may have as many as five more albums in the works for the series, making this potentially one of the strangest and most epic musical arcs in any kind of pop music." -- Justin C., Metal Bandcamp
"I am absolutely thrilled with the final result and I guarantee if you are already familiar with the Botanist’s previous work, you will be in awe on how good this record sounds." -- Alex, Metal-Fi
02/24/13
"Botanist hates more purely because he loves—which is why his metal that seems like many things that are not metal often sounds like the most uncompromising metal of all." -- Noah Berlatsky, The Atlantic
"Botanist’s music seems to be gaining more leaves and roots with each new composition, and his musical army truly is coming to life. These albums keep getting bigger and more sinister, and there’s no telling how this whole thing will end." -- Brian Krasman, Meat Mead Metal
"It’s not going to be a straight-forward listen, and that is for the most part what makes IV: Mandragora, so appealing. Unfortunately, this is not going to be everybody’s cup of tea. 4/5" -- Robert Garland, Sputnik Music
"faster tempos and shorter song lengths help make Mandragora both the most enjoyable, and palatable chapter yet." -- C. Barker, You Aren't Cool
02/20/13
"avant-garde, creative and unique." -- Chad Bowar, About.com
"People who say that there’s nothing new under the sun clearly haven’t heard of the Botanist. The one-man black metal project not only turns the genre on its head, but also sounds like nothing else I’ve heard before." -- Cactus-Mouth
02/19/13
Otrebor announces that Botanist will become a live band in 2013.
"Botanist is like nothing you've heard before. That's not hyperbole or lazy writing: It's a fact." -- Kim Kelly, Terrorizer
"is your drum kit made of wood? And if so, does that bother you?" -- Diffuser.fm's Andrew Poitras to Otrebor
"Someone who does play the hammered dulcimer very well, however - and completely destroying that hipster tag in the process - is Otrebor, the shadowy figure behind the one-man arboreal black metal project Botanist." -- Thumped's MacDara Conroy
Alarm Magazine's "This Week's Best Albums (Honorable Mention)" for "IV: Mandragora."
02/16/13
"'IV' plays out like the soundtrack to post-human earth, once the human race has been eradicated, and the world is a lush nirvana, where nothing but plants grow, allowed to spread out endlessly, and reach forever heavenward." -- Aquarius Records
"Throughout, The Botanist seems several seeds short of a full garden" -- Emusic's Jon Wiederhorn
02/15/13
"The world, as we know it, is divine. This unnamable, unknowable divinity’s existence is reflected through our natural environment. If we want to enjoy this world, to venerate it, to thrive within it, we must respect it; we must protect it, even if it’s only for our personal benefit. If we don’t, if we annoy the Earth enough, the Earth will kill us and move on." -- Louder Than Hell interviews Otrebor
02/14/13
"IV: Mandragora" officially released. It can be purchased on Botanist's bandcamp or at The Flenser.
"['IV: Mandragora'] is easily the band’s greatest work yet. I don’t know how someone can manage to make music that is both absolutely hideous and beautiful at the same time, but that’s Botanist for you." -- Heavy Blog Is Heavy
"repetitively chiming, wobbly harmonies, sounding more like the world’s oddest My Bloody Valentine cover band than a project rooted in black metal." -- Metal Sucks
02/03/13
"The mandrakes will win, and I will listen attentively." -- Scott Hunter, Ear Infection Music
01/31/13
"Conventional instrumentation within black metal is no longer missed. 3/5" - Terrorizer's Angela Davey on "IV: Mandragora," January, 2013.
01/16/13
"Mandrake Legion (Mandragora V)" premieres on Pitchfork, who writes: "[the music has] the same sense of musical lift and triumph heard in bands such as Wolves in the Throne Room or Winterfylleth."
Metal Sucks features an article on "IV: Mandragora" entitled "Albums That Will Fuck Your Face Off in 2013," proclaiming it as "a majestic, brimming, dynamic thing that claws deeper with each listen."
01/14/13
"The music of Botanist is meant to represent the Plantae Kingdom, its form, its beauty, its function, all in an artistic or literal way. The music is meant to give each individual denizen a voice. Collectively, it is the voice of The Verdant Realm." -- Otrebor in a dulcimer-centered piece on Botanist (and Inez Lightfoot) in The Willamette Week.
01/05/13
WXDU names "III: Doom in Bloom" as one of its top records for 2012.
01/03/13
RVA Mag names "III: Doom in Bloom" #10 on its 2012 In Review: Graham Scala's 12 Overlooked Albums of the Year.