Turns out Boris is Japanese for heavy rock.
Even though they’ve turned out 17 studio albums and even though my musical maturation included rock and punk during the early 1990’s I had never heard of them until just last month. I’ve wasted a lot of time when I could have been deep into their brand experimental rock. Boris is a three piece from Japan made up of drummer Atsuo, bassist/ guitarist Takeshi, and Wata on vocals and guitar. The band gets their name from a song on the godfathers of sludge rock, the Melvins’ EP Bullhead. They recorded their first album in 1996 on their own label Fangs Anal Satan. The flavor of their sound is influenced by a mix of Nick Cave, Black Sabbath, Kyuss, and guitar by Billy Corgan back when he was good. And the fact that they’re a three piece brings to mind the real southern sludge of early Weedeater.
Their fifth record, Akuma no Uta (The Devil’s Song), was released in 2003 and reissued in 2005. It combines the best of their styles from heavy ‘70s rock, sludge, punk, drone, and psychedelic rock. Get your headphones out, turn it up, and get lost. The intro track is stoner ambient droning. They quickly punk it up on Ibitsu and Furi. Both tracks fly out and easily amp you right to their level. I thought track 4 was an intro for the second half of the album. The title track and Ano Onna no Onryou are straight headbangin sludge. They groove it out and then speed it up over and again on the 9 plus minute Ano. If you don’t know Japanese you can still make up your own words and sing along with the chorus and sonic effected rock.
If you want to hear where they went from here check out their 2005 release Pink or their double album Attention Please and Heavy Rocks that comes out this month. Boris is proof that nothing will ever replace that feeling you get from heavy, garage-style rock ‘n roll.
