Botch

With every mediocre Botch facsimile currently flaunting their metal chops and killer haircuts on MTV2 and MuchLoud, a reissue of the real deal couldn’t come at a better time. We Are The Romans, while only seven years old, is metalcore’s high water mark, as well as a highly developed artistic statement that almost all of the genre’s current purveyors seem to miss the point of. Romans is powerful and challenging, entirely unique at the time of its release and, despite the genre’s explosive popularity, still unparalleled in terms of unique sonic structure. This reissue includes an entire extra disc of demos and live tracks, including a far shorter (but sill six-minute-plus) version of "Man the Ramparts” and a vaguely terrifying version of "Hutton’s Great Heat Engine.” For anyone not already familiar with Botch, this two-disc set marks the perfect jumping off point, and while buying the album twice may not appeal to those already enamoured with Romans, the second disc is a worthwhile pick-up for die-hards.