An Anthology Of American Romans

I remember when Botch were an up and coming band. They started out with a couple of 7"s on semi popular labels of the mid-late 90s (Phyte & Indecision), but at that time they didn't really stand out. They were just another new band competing for my attention. But then in 1998 they dropped their first full length 'American Nervoso' on a relatively new label (Hydrahead Records), and my attention was well and truly grabbed. It was such a huge stop up from their previous material at the time and it was an announcement to the world that Botch were a force to be taken seriously.

I was down with Hydrahead as a label from the start, and bought that record on two different colours of vinyl when it came out. I have the white vinyl and also the blueish grey vinyl. But even though I haven't listened to the record in quite some time, when I got offered a super rare baby blue vinyl copy I couldn't say no.

I'd never heard of this or seen one before. The person who sold this to me told me that there were only 5 of these. According to discogs there are 15, although only 5 people (including me) have one. So there could be either 5 or 15 I would say. Anyway, I took a photo of it next to the other copy I have to show the colour difference:

Fast forward a year and a half or so after the first album, and the band's second album 'We Are The Romans' came out. It made an even bigger impact, and is to this day often included in 'best of' lists and cited as influential to a lot of other bands. It's also been repressed several times. Just like the first LP, I bought the record direct from the label when it came out. I own two different colour vinyl copies, but when I got offered a first press test press I wasn't going to say no. Not many people would.

The band's final release came out in 2002 after they had broken up. 'An Anthology Of Dead Ends' was initially released as a 10" record, and then reissued in 12" format ten years later. It's a great record, although as you may have guessed, it's kinda short. Anyway, I also got offered a test press of the first press of this one too. It's a ten inch record in a twelve inch sleeve, which is ever so slightly annoying.

It's been years since I bought any Botch records, but these had me excited for the band again, and reminded me of how good they were. I think these records have all aged well, although looking back at their releases and release dates made me realise how they were regarded as a 'hardcore' band in the 90s, but these days that doesn't seem like the right label for them. Just a reminder of how times have moved and changed, and the past seems odd when glanced back at years later.