THE MENTORS
El Duce Vita
(MVD)

WAKING UP DEAD
The Pitfalls of Drumming for
Scumbags.
(MVD)

KREATOR
Enemy of God Revisited
(SPV)

EINSTURZENDE
NEUBATEN
Palast Der Republik
(MVD)

THE QUEERS
The Queers Are Here
(MVD)

DWARVES
Fefu 

(MVD)

BAD BRAINS
Live at CBGB 1982

(MVD)

MORE REVIEWS

The word ‘influential’ is thrown around pretty often these days.  Bands that came and went with little attention from the general public claim to have had a say in the greater scheme of things just because they were the first to smile on a picture or don high top Reeboks. Musically speaking though, the term could not be used more fittingly than for Tacoma, WA’s Botch.  In the span of nine years and through two full-lengths, an EP and several singles this young quartet was able to take hardcore to the next level and consistently progressed its sound and redefined its meaning.  Truth be told, was it not for Botch bands like Every Time I Die and about 1,265 others would be stuck mimicking the more stern hardcore styles of NY, Boston or the West Coast.

061502 presents us the last show in the band’s career.  Filmed at Seattle’s The Showbox on June 15 2,002 it features fourteen songs comprehensively covering all the necessary bases. Opening up with two cuts (“St. Thomas Returns to the Womb” and “C. Thomas Howell as the “Soul Man””) out of their best release We Are the Romans and running through other classics like “John Woo”, “Hutton’s Great Heat Engine” and “Man The Ramparts” out of their 1999 release American Nervoso, “Frequency Ass Bandits” and a cover of B-52’s “Rock Lobster” among others, this DVD soundly exposes the reason why so many followed but no one has been able to replicate their sheer power; Botch simply was a superb band. A one of a kind.

Their sound was ground breaking; it balanced power with constant and maddening tempo shifts and expert instrumentality, yet for all those complications their songs made sense and were never elusive of catchiness or memorability. And if that does not sound like anything out of the ordinary well that may just be because they were the ones to develop the style. Their sound was advanced, their lyrics embraced humor and irony. During their time there was simply no one that came even close to replicating their power. 061502 perfectly captures the band’s essence; it shows a band at the top of their game; a bunch of friends whose evolution as a unit was seamless and whose timing and success couldn’t have been a better reflection of promising musicians. Their timely break up would only help build their legacy and would give us at least two bands worth checking out, These Arms Are Snakes and Minus The Bear.