Boris Biography
Japanese cult favorite sludge/doom rock trio Boris takes their name from a song on grunge godfathers the Melvins' Bullhead album. They also have a lot in common with the Melvins musically, including a fondness for heavily down-tuned guitar/bass tones and exceedingly slow tempos. But they also incorporate elements variously drawn from other sources, including psychedelic rock, punk, noise, minimalism, pure sludge-drone music à la Earth, and more. Also, despite the unpretentious psychedelic/stoner rock imagery that accompanies much of their work, there is an ambitiously experimental aspect to much of it. Their albums, for example, have tended to be massive conceptual projects: Absolutego, in its original form, was a feedback-heavy drone exploration consisting of a single 65-minute track; Flood consists of another extremely long track, 70-plus minutes in length, exploring the band's quieter sides with a minimalist/phase music slant. Also on the more experimental end of their discography are collaborations with Japanese avant-garde enigma Keiji Haino and power electronics/noise legend Merzbow.
Boris formed during the early '90s and consists of guitarist Wata, bassist Takeshi, and drummer/vocalist Atsuo. They made their first recorded appearance on an obscure 1994 compilation entitled Take Care of Scabbard Fish, released only in Japan and now out of print. Absolutego, their full-length debut, came out in 1996 on the band's own Fangs Anal Satan imprint but was unavailable in the U.S. for years, a situation that was remedied by the Los Angeles-based Southern Lord label reissued the album in early 2001 along with a bonus track and new packaging. Their next album, Amplifier Worship, came out on the Mangrove label in 1998 and was also unavailable in the U.S. for several years; San Francisco's Man's Ruin had planned to reissue it in the fall of 2001, but the label folded before that could happen. 1998 also saw the release of the Boris/Keiji Haino collaboration, a live disc entitled Black: Implication Flooding, which came out on Japan's Inoxia Records. In 1999, Boris issued a split CD with fellow Japanese band Choukoko No Niwa, More Echoes, Touching Air Landscape, which also came out on Inoxia and featured Boris weighing in with a brief (for them) 28-minute contribution. Their third full-length album, Flood, was released two years later on the MIDI Creative label. Their 2006 album Pink put them back on Southern Lord and featured some shoegaze-influenced sounds. A year later Rainbow appeared with Michio Kurihara from the Japanese band Ghost contributing to the soundscapes. ~ William York, All Music Guide
Popular Biographies:
Redman Biography: New Jersey rapper Redman made his initial impact with Whut? Thee Album in 1992. He blended reggae and funk influences with topical commentary and displayed a terse, though fluid rap style that was...
Pizzicato five Biography: Godfathers of the Shibuya-kei scene, Tokyo kitsch-pop deconstructionists Pizzicato Five originally began taking shape as far back as 1979, when university students Yasuharu Konishi and Keitaro...
Great white Biography: While one infamous nightclub show eclipses their previous achievements, the hard rock/heavy metal band Great White would much rather you remember their Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock...
Psychic tv Biography: After Genesis P-Orridge dissolved the seminal industrial rock outfit Throbbing Gristle, he and Gristle cohorts Peter Christopherson and Cosey Fanni Tutti, plus Geoff Rushton, formed Psychic TV in...
Incubus Biography: Incubus rose to become one of the most popular alt-metal bands of the new millennium, setting themselves apart from a crowded field with a somewhat less-negative outlook and tireless touring. Formed...
Faith no more Biography: With their fusion of heavy metal, funk, hip-hop, and progressive rock, Faith No More has earned a substantial cult following. By the time they recorded their first album in 1985, the band had already...
Bananarama Biography: The most successful British girl group in pop history, Bananarama formed in London in late 1981. Drawing equal inspiration for their name from the children's television program The Banana Splits and...
Burning heads Biography: The town of Orleans, France, is an unlikely find for New York-style hardcore or aggressive punk, but Burning Heads somehow emerged from this area upon their 1998 formation. With the lineup consisting...