An Anthology of Dead Ends

Botch

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The band's swan song, An Anthology of Dead Ends, really stands out to me as one of the great early mathcore records. Botch brought the angular riffs and the odd metered grooves, but did so in a way that wasn't as esoteric as The Dillinger Escape Plan or as abrasive as Converge; two bands that would go on to push the genre forward. For a record in this genre that came out in 2002, the production is surprisingly clean. The guitar distortion is kept tight giving all the riffs definition and clarity, which is sometimes lost on other records that came out around this time. There is also clarity and definition in the drums; each instrument having great separation allowing the listener to feel every hit. This isn't to say the production is stale or overproduced, but rather it sounds like the band and producer Matt Bayles took the time and care to make sure that all the intricacies in these six songs didn't get lost to things like oversaturated guitar noise.

My favourite song Framce busts in with this crazy dissonant guitar riff that at face value is not very complex. The use of a whammy pedal, however, makes it instantly stick out. The drum part also provides lots of space for that guitar chord to pitch back down to normal levels. It's hard to explain but it gives the song a feeling of weightlessness; that is before you come in contact with pavement. The guitar in the following passage maintains that same level of dissonance but adds a flurry of notes at the end of the phrase. The way the riff cycles around is quite disorienting. I remember the first time I heard this song and immediately thinking that this is already one of my favourite songs ever.

Another one of my favourite songs is probably the most unlikely track on this record, and that's Afghamistam. It is on the complete opposite side of the aggression spectrum with its slow tempo, clean guitars, and softly sung vocals. The main riff seems to be made up of four different bass parts that come in one by one to form this really intricate pattern that has a bit of a ping-pong effect. Once the drums come in, a bass guitar locks into this compound time groove which continues to repeat. It goes on for quite awhile and I've caught myself meditating to it; my body locks in with this groove and I just become a part of it. If this isn't enough of a curveball, all the instrumentation gives way to a piano, organ, and violin to outro the song. It really is the black sheep of the band's catalogue but it provides a cool down moment in an otherwise very chaotic record. Furthermore, it shows that the band doesn't have to be loud and in your face to make a compelling song. The way the instruments are layered together to create something greater than each part individually I think is quite creative.