Boris (band)

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Background information
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genre(s)	Sludge metal Doom metal Stoner metal Psychedelic rock Noise
Years active	1992–present
Label(s)	Hydra Head Records Southern Lord Records Inoxia Records
Associated acts	Sunn O))) Merzbow Keiji Haino Michio Kurihara
Website	Official site
Members
Atsuo Wata Takeshi
Former members
Nagata

Boris (ボリス) is a Japanese power trio, respected amongst musicians, fans, and critics alike for their ability to regularly switch between musical genres from recording to recording without ever losing touch with "their" sound. The band is most commonly associated with the drone metal scene, though they have experimented in psych, noise, ambient, sludge, post-rock, stoner-rock, and even straightforward rock styles.

Taking their name from a cut off of The Melvins' record Bullhead, Boris formed in 1992 and released their first album Absolutego on their own Fangs Anal Satan imprint. Since then, they have released 16 studio albums (including Absolutego), and a slew of EPs, 7" singles, and full-length collaborative recordings, on various record labels across the world.

1 History
2 Sound
- 2.1 Setup
3 Members
4 Discography
5 References
6 External links
- 6.1 Websites
- 6.2 Performace Videos

[edit] History

Boris formed in 1992 while all of the group's members were attending the same art school, bonding over their similar vision for music, which was to not be pigeon-holed into playing a certain sound or being perceived as a certain thing. They were originally a four-piece, with Nagata on drums. Nagata parted ways in 1996 leaving Atsuo to take over drumming duties and they have remained a three-piece since.^[1] "Having some kind of preconceived message or theme is very boring to me," noted Atsuo, the band's drummer. "It becomes a crutch. Just say what you want to say."^[2] The band's influences are eclectic: Nick Cave, Nick Drake, Venom, and the Melvins being a few of the more important ones. The group quickly realized that they did not fit in with the Japanese hardcore punk scene that birthed them, although that was where their hearts stayed; their recent vinyl-only release, Vein, focused on a sound derived from classic Japanese noise/crust punk bands, such as Gloom, Confuse, and Gai. In the US, the band has been associated with stoner-rock, but they do not use illicit substances.

Label artwork from Mabuta no Ura

In Japan, Boris release most of their music on the indie label Inoxia Records. Though relatively unknown in their home country, a recent series of reissues on US label Southern Lord Records has seen their popularity in North America increase dramatically, even gaining them widespread recognition in the mainstream music press. Many of Boris's vinyl releases feature similar artwork for the inner label of the record (pictured). This is a parody of the original Roger Dean artwork that Virgin Records used for many of their releases (seen here).

2005's Pink was met with considerable critical praise when reissued in the US on Southern Lord Records, "breaking" the band in North America and exposing many Americans to the band for the first time, and "converting" a fair number of them. Blender magazine and SPIN magazine both named it one of 2006's best CDs.^[3] The album also topped the metal section of Canadian magazine Exclaim's 2006 Reader's Poll.

[edit] Sound

Boris began their career as a drone metal group, with all the indicative markings off such a sound. Their debut album, 1996's Absolutego, clock in at well over an hour in length, yet features only one "song," essentially a collage of shapeless guitar noise—with single chords sometimes streching past the 4-minute mark—and screamed vocals. Throughout their career, they would continue to dabble in this style; their albums Flood and Feedbacker also consist of single epic-length songs, albeit broken into smaller parts, and their The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked series could be described as being recorded experiments in the drone genre.

However, the sound that Boris is most associated with today is that of the blues-rock power trio, influenced heavily by late-'60s and '70s groups such as Motörhead, Blue Cheer, and Cream. Boris first made use of this sound on their album Heavy Rocks, which has since become a fan favorite. This album marked a major shift in tone for Boris; comparing Absolutego to Heavy Rocks, it is as if one were comparing two very different bands. Boris has collaborated with fellow Japanese artists Keiji Haino, Michio Kurihara, and Merzbow, in addition to their more famous collaboration with US drone metal band Sunn O))), entitled Altar, which was released on October 31, 2006.

Another important concept in the band's aesthetic is the idea of "uppercase" and "lowercase" Boris; according to Atsuo, if the band's name appears as "BORIS" on the record cover, the album is a metal or loud recording at heart. If the name appears as "Boris" or "boris," then it is most likely an experimental recording.^[1]

[edit] Setup

As mentioned, Boris play music in a variety of genres. This dictates that their setup in a live environment be equipped with many different effects pedals and other guitar accessories. Wata uses an E-bow to achieve bow-like sounds or to manipulate feedback; this device is held in the hand, like a pick, but relies on a strong magnetic pull to move the guitar's strings. Also important and used by both Takeshi and Wata is the BOSS Feedbacker pedal, a long-discontinued Japanese pedal which allows the user to play chords over a sustained feedback note or tone. The band named an album after this device.

Further allusion to the sound of '70s hard rock is made in the band's exclusive use of Gibson guitars such as the SG and Les Paul models. Takeshi plays a double-necked Gibson SG bass/guitar live, which allows him to drone away on the guitar during longer numbers but quickly switch to bass without needing to switch instruments.

In the studio, Boris record on analog equipment and do as much as possible live in the studio, with minimal overdubs and as few takes as possible.^[2]

[edit] Members

The members of the band each go by one name only. However, it has been revealed in recent years that Atsuo's surname is Mizuno, and it possible that Takeshi's surname is Ohtani, which he was known as up until 1998. It is often said that Atsuo is the leader of the group, but this may be attributed to that he can speak English well, and is usually contacted in the American press as such.

Atsuo - lead vocals (1992-1996); drums/lead vocals (1996-1998); drums/backing vocals (1998-present)
Wata - lead guitar (vocals on 2006 release Rainbow)
Takeshi - bass/rhythm guitar/lead vocals
Nagata - drums (1992-1996)

[edit] Discography

Main article: Boris discography

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Altar liner notes (Daymare 3LP pressing)
^ ^a ^b "Atsuo - BORIS/boris." Rad Company. Date unknown. Retrieved on March 23, 2007.
^ "The 50 Greatest CDs of 2006." Blender Magazine Online. Jan/Feb 2007. Retrieved on February 9, 2007.

[edit] External links

[edit] Websites

[edit] Performace Videos

There are many available clips of Boris shows on various websites, but these few are of good quality and have been included so that those unaquainted with their sound can get a "feel" for what the band does. For music videos, see the discography page.