Botolph Dissidents - The Back of the Beyond Review

I had a crystalized opinion that Thrash Metal was predictable and, therefore, Thrash Metal bands couldn’t deliver me nothing more than the traits I had already know. Nothing else. Again, as time, and bands goes by I have the privilege pof being showed to have been undoubtedly and flat wrong. I always say that I like to proven wrong because that intrinsically means that Metal music is already evolving and changing. That’s exactly what we have here with Botolph Dissidents with “The Back of the Beyond,” a band with a weird name however with a sonancy that will leave my dear child of the night jawbroken. Besides all this the band has an agenda and you all know that I love bands with agendas.

Well, in the beginning of this review I know I wrote Thrash Metal, but to label Botolph Dissidents as strictly Thrash Metal I wouldn’t be totally honest. Thrash Metal is indeed the main drive of the band. No doubt about that as in tracks that sound as “The Wolf Who Cried Boy” with its intense high speed drumming. I guess “The Wolf Who Cried Boy” is the track that represents the album and Botolph Dissidents better. However, if my child of the night listen carefully to the guitars a neoclassic sound will arise. A neoclassic sound that may be found at bands as Accept and many others. Album welcomer “From Cradle to Urn” delivers an urgent tempo and timing fast as hell with vocals that mix melody and the characteristic soaring vocals. But then there are the guitars and the bass. In the middle of the song “From Cradle to Urn” will go into a Funk’o’Metal made famous by bands as Faith No More. I wrote Funk’o’Metal and Faith No More not randomly. It was my wish to do so because it is exactly what that passage sounds. It’s not Groove Metal if my dear child of the night knows what I’m saying. It’s different. It’s Metal mixed with Funk not Metal with some groove. But then, when the fan gets used to those sonancies Botolph Dissidents deliver tittle track “The Back of the Beyond” with a totally dissimilar intent mixing a very melodic female vocals with the soaring vocals. Instrumentwise, “The Back of the Beyond” is the good Old School Heavy Metal with jawbreaking guitars. I do want more Thrash Metal bands as Botolph Dissidents. Please, so I can stop saying that Thrash Metal is predictable.

Great to know that Botolph Dissidents are the outcome of this modern technology that allows musicians from all this sad and lonely and pathetic little planet to gather and make some noisy music. It’s also great to know that Botolph Dissidents are made of working musicians. Also great indeed to know that Botolph Dissidents are worried about social justice. We need not only bands, but more people with these kind of worries. Our planet needs more.

Botolph Dissidents “The Back of the Beyond” was released in 2021.

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