Botanist, the San Franciscan black metal innovator, has announced the release of his new album VI: Flora. Due out on August 11 through Flenser Records, the 11-track album is the project’s sixth chronological release, continuing the narrative of a botanist maddened by mankind’s incessant destruction of the natural world. The text accompanying the announcement tells us that VI: Flora takes a step away from the darker, more misanthropic tone of 2012’s III: Doom In Bloom and 2013’s IV: Mandragora, choosing instead to focus on the beauty and majesty of plants themselves "through a gauzy haze of dream-like sound". The new record sees the sonic palette expanding, with the favoured hammer dulcimer joined by a harmonium and a 12-string bass guitar, while the album’s story continues as the titular figure "retreats into a hermitage, surrounding himself with the natural world. In this Verdant Realm, he awaits for the day when humanity will eradicate itself, which will allow for the utopia of flora and fauna to eventually reclaim the earth."
We interviewed Otrebor, the ever-mysterious musician behind Botanist, back in 2012 – take a look here.
