In May 1998, the four-piece from Tacoma, USA released their first album, American Nervoso.
On November 30, 1999, Hydra Head released Botch's We Are The Romans. Since its initial release, bands have been influenced by its style, creating, to many, what is now called mathcore.
Recently, Hydra Head Records has released Unifying Themes Redux, an anthology of EPs and compilation tracks as well as a few unreleased tracks and a live set that was originally released by Excursion Records. In addition to this, on December 5 Hydra Head released 061502, a CD/DVD of Botch's final show.
American Nervoso was remastered and re-released in July 2007. The new version included four demo tracks and an extended version of Spitting Black. In September 2007 Hydra Head released a deluxe edition of We Are the Romans featuring two discs; the first being the actual album, and the second filled with seven demos from the album and four live tracks.
Since their break-up in 2002, members have gone on to take part in bands such as Minus The Bear, These Arms Are Snakes, Roy, and Russian Circles. After a long hiatus, singer Dave Verellen has recently returned to the scene with Narrows.
In 2022, Botch returned with a new single called “One Twenty Two” and a reissue of We Are the Romans. Bassist Brian Cook originally stated that the band was not reuniting and this was just a one off single that was originally written for David Knudson’s solo album. However, the group announced shows at The Showbox in Seattle and The Spanish Ballroom in Tacoma, WA. Their first shows in 20+ years.
Botch Is;
Dave Verellen (vocals)
Brian Cook (bass)
Dave Knudson (guitar)
Tim Latona (drums)
Man the Ramparts
Botch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With arrows ready.
With our flags up.
We are the Romans.
Nero.
We'll man the ramparts.
With arrows ready.
We are the Romans.
Nero.
We'll man the ramparts.
With arrows ready.
With our flags up.
We are the Romans
The lyrics to Botch's song "Man the Ramparts" call upon a sense of nationalistic pride through the use of ancient Roman symbolism. The phrase "man the ramparts" refers to the act of defending a city or fortress, which is emphasized with the repetition and urgency of "with arrows ready" and "with our flags up." The lyrics then take a historical twist by stating "We are the Romans. Nero." This line conjures images of an ancient empire, known for its power, military might, and dominance. Nero, specifically, refers to the roman emperor who was known for his cruelty and corruption, highlighting the darker side of the empire.
Overall, the song speaks to a sense of loyalty and defense of one's homeland, no matter the cost. The use of Roman symbolism further adds to this message by elevating it to a historical, almost mythical level. The aggressive and urgent tone of the lyrics, paired with the heavy and intense instrumentation of the song, creates a feeling of rebellion and strength, highlighting the band's punk and metal influences.
Line by Line Meaning
We'll man the ramparts.
We will defend our stronghold and resist against any attack.
With arrows ready.
We are equipped and prepared to fight back with all our force.
With our flags up.
We proudly display our symbols and colors, signifying our unity and strength.
We are the Romans.
We are a powerful and disciplined force, like the ancient Romans.
Nero.
This could be a reference to the infamous emperor Nero, perhaps indicating a sense of rebellion or defiance against authority.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marco Peláez Fernández
I remember the first time I listened to this album and this song completely changed my perception about music..
I owe Botch a lot
Jack Smith
me too bro
swedishbutcher
i remember the days when it was cool to be metalcore
Luis Indriago
@Veeeale Alright, sorry for the pretentious asumptions
And yeah, I think everytime I die count as metalcore, and I get the feeling of not including dillinger escape plan as metalcore because of that, honestly what made peak converge, peak botch and peak TDEP the most respected metalcore/mathcore acts is that trascended the genre, calling We are the romans a just a metalcore album would be a poor summary, but that doesn't mean it stops being metalcore
As an example, I think Death's symbolic is the epitome of death metal, calling it just a death metal album or even a tech death metal album would be unaccurate, but it's still part of that
And that always happens with a lot of genres (like soundtracks for the blind for post-rock, spiderland for math rock, remain in light for new wave, etc. If those albums are often considered not only the peak of their genres, but of music in general, is because there is nothing like it)
Veeeale
But I do like metalcore too. Altho now I'm not 100% sure if what I think is metalcore is metalcore haha. Everytime I Die is one of my favourite bands. And I haven't really listened to Trivium since the first two albums lol
Veeeale
I was just saying I've never put metalcore together with mathcore before until you said it. I've obsessed over mathcore bands like Dillinger tho but never thought to put it with metalcore cos as a whole it seems it completely surpasses anything that came before it or influenced it. But also no I'm not the kind of person to have 100% accurate definitions of the genres in my head lol
Veeeale
As soon as I said it I was like wait Trivium was a bad example but it seems you saw my comment lol
Luis Indriago
@Veeeale Trivium is not metalcore, they were only metalcore at like their early 2 works? but after that they become more traditional heavy metal, even calling them thrash metal makes more sense, do you even know what counts as metalcore or you are just another metalhead who considers metalcore to every band you don't like?
Specially because most of the mathcore band take a big part of the metalcore history, all those OG mathcore bands like converge, cave in, the dillinger escape plan, etc. Has that metallic sound most of the pioners of metalcore has (like earth crisis or rorschach) and not to mention some tropes of the songwritting as well, even bands like converge (in the post-Jane doe era) and cave in makes more sense to call it metalcore before mathcore
Cursed Chris
This song is prophetic & philosophical & heavy. Been one of my favorites for a long time.
Liam Taylor
My guess is that these guys pretty much paved the way for many bands, who respectively splinterd genres to the point where theres a lot of grey areas. Happy dance