Botanist (band)

Lore & Background

Botanist was formed in 2009 by Otrebor as a solo project. Otrebor originally played all instruments himself with no editing, channeling an entity called 'The Botanist' who holds a romantic worldview in which plants reclaim the earth after humanity has killed itself. The band's lyrics are based on environmental themes and botanical processes, with a focus on climate change and destruction of the natural world. Otrebor has described the project as a 'guitarless, environmentally themed green metal project utilizing hammered dulcimer, sung from the perspective of a reclusive, nature-loving misanthrope.'

Reader's Guide

Botanist's significance lies in its radical departure from traditional black metal instrumentation, replacing electric guitars with distorted hammered dulcimers. This choice, combined with more clean vocals than typical black metal, created a sound that critics described as 'surprisingly dynamic and hypnotic.' The band received spotlight coverage from NPR, where journalist Lars Gotrich praised albums I: The Suicide Tree and II: A Rose from the Dead. Decibel magazine called the music 'emotionally devastating.' Botanist's environmental focus—lyrics addressing climate change and humanity's destruction of nature—distinguishes it within extreme metal. The project has evolved over time, with Otrebor first recording with a full band in 2017. Influences range from black metal acts like Ulver and Immortal to classical composers such as Vivaldi and Bach, as well as ambient musicians like Stars of the Lid. The use of scientific terms for plants and insects in lyrics and song titles is a tribute to the extreme metal band Carcass.

Did You Know?

• Botanist uses distorted hammered dulcimers instead of electric guitars.
• Otrebor claims to channel an entity called 'The Botanist' when writing and recording.
• The band's use of scientific plant and insect terms in lyrics is a tribute to Carcass.
• NPR journalist Lars Gotrich praised the band's albums as 'surprisingly dynamic and hypnotic.'

Sound & Instrumentation

Botanist's most immediately striking characteristic is its complete rejection of the electric guitar as the backbone of black metal. Instead, Otrebor built the band's sonic identity around distorted hammered dulcimers, creating what has been called "green metal" — a guitarless approach that still delivers the weight and aggression expected from the genre. The vocals lean considerably cleaner than the guttural shrieks typical of black metal, giving the music a more atmospheric, almost contemplative quality. Otrebor originally handled every instrument himself without any editing, a practice that gave the recordings a raw, unfiltered character. Critics have tracked how the instrumentation evolved across the band's history, suggesting a growing confidence in pushing the dulcimer into increasingly aggressive territory. The result is a sound where the hammered dulcimer rings out with the force of a blast-beated piano, maintaining black metal's bleak aesthetics while expanding its sonic boundaries far beyond conventional expectations.

Thematic Vision & Creative Philosophy

The lyrical and conceptual core of Botanist orbits a single, urgent idea: the natural world must ultimately prevail over humanity. Otrebor describes channeling an entity he calls "The Botanist," a reclusive, nature-loving misanthrope who holds a romantic vision of plants reclaiming the Earth after humanity has destroyed itself. This perspective isn't merely poetic decoration; it drives the band's sustained focus on climate change, botanical processes, and the destruction of ecosystems. Scientific terminology for plants and insects appears throughout song titles and lyrics, a deliberate homage to the extreme metal band Carcass and their use of biological language. The overall effect is a body of work that reads like a one-man environmental manifesto filtered through black metal's darkness, where the apocalypse isn't a cosmic event but a slow, botanical reclamation of everything humanity has paved over.

Career Trajectory & Collaborations

Botanist began in 2009 as a strictly solo studio endeavor, with Otrebor recording every part himself. The first two albums, I: The Suicide Tree and II: A Rose from the Dead, both arrived in 2011, establishing the project's identity almost overnight. Through 2012 and 2013, Otrebor continued releasing full-length records and a split EP with Palace of Worms while remaining a one-man operation. A significant shift came in 2017, when Otrebor first recorded with a full band, producing the collective albums The Shape Of He To Come and Setlist. Touring lineups cycled through various musicians — hammered dulcimer players, bassists, and additional vocalists — between 2013 and 2019. By 2019, the current touring configuration solidified with Daturus on drums and Tony Thomas on bass alongside Otrebor. The discography stretches from those 2011 debut records through Ecosystem (2019), Photosynthesis (2020), and into 2024's Paleobotany and VII: Beast of Arpocalyx, showing a project that has steadily expanded its scope while retaining its core identity.

Critical Reception & Influences

Botanist's critical reception has been notably enthusiastic, particularly from outlets outside the metal press. NPR journalist Lars Gotrich singled out the first two albums as "surprisingly dynamic and hypnotic," comparing the dulcimer's attack to a blast-beated piano and praising the band for creating an alternate world where black metal's tropes persist but become "sonically limitless." Decibel magazine offered a more visceral verdict, calling the music "emotionally devastating." The band's sonic DNA draws from a remarkably wide palette. Otrebor cites Ulver as a primary influence, describing them as "black metal that's grown out of the worship of the forest." Beyond that, the lineage stretches from Carcass's biological lyricism to ambient acts like Stars of the Lid and The Ruins of Beverast, from classical composers Vivaldi, Bach, and Pärt, to a broad swath of heavy metal spanning Immortal, Pagan's Mind, Helloween, Angra, Martyr, and Bolt Thrower. This eclectic mix helps explain why Botanist resists easy genre categorization.

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