Boris
Barebones/Boris split (CD) 1997 Piranha Records
This split CD/10 inch album begins with five tracks from the Japanese hardcore/punk act Barebones. The music is not particularly relevant from a doom perspective, nonetheless, on this release, they deliver five tracks of fine Stooges influenced garage punk. Not something I would listen to every day, but the music acts as more than just a curiosity or filler on the disc. Listen to it when you want to jump around the room mindlessly… Boris on the other hand, are a band that many doom listeners have heard of, yet have never actually heard. Most of their releases have only ever been released domestically in Japan, their home country. The only release easily available outside Japan is their drone epic Absolutego, re-released by Southern Lord. The same label also plans to release more Boris albums in the near future, surely a bonus to doom fans the world over. The first Boris track on this release, 'Soul Search You Sleep' is an eight minute piece of sludge doom, up there with the best material released by acts such as Grief, Melvins, or Burning Witch. The music is dirty, heavy, screeching, feedback-laden insanity, and if it ever reaches a wider audience, this song could well become a doom classic. Think Grief, with a dash of Khanate, 'Bullhead'/'Lysol' era Melvins, and you'll be close to the sound of Boris here. The next track is a true Melvins style sludge rock fest. Given that Boris take their name from a Melvins song, it is not surprising to see this influence throughout their work. The final two tracks are live, and show the band's power in this setting. They are loud, heavy, and capture the energy of the performance perfectly. Once again you will find feedback ridden sludge, although this time there is more groove in the songs, giving them a slightly "stoner" feel. The four Boris songs on this release, whilst all having a similar sound, are a perfect introduction to the band, and with the inclusion of the Barebones tracks, make for a worthwhile release. Boris are not a predictable band, and these tracks show a number of different sides to an intriguing outfit, one that any discerning doomster should certainly investigate.	Barebones 1. Just Broken 2. Puppets 3. Shoot up and Die 4. Freak Out 5. Still Unkown (live) Boris 1. Soul Search You Sleep 2. In Hush 3. Scarbox (Live) 4. Mosquito (Live) Approx. 24 minutes
Reviewed by: Mark Bodossian
More Echoes, Touching Air Landscape (Split CD) 1999 Inoxia
Boris has released a few drone/doom releases, but sadly this isn't one of them. It is still drone, but the doom in it has been made as minimal as possible. In other words, a minute or so of doom riffage on 'Kanau 2'. Boris's first track is music fitting to the title of the album. It's soaring drone that seems to linger on a majestic sun, setting over a vast landscape. The second is a sort of nu-metal/noise/drone experiment with psychedelic industrial noises thrown in, a bit like a droner's rave party. Choukoku No Niwa does the second half of the split in one approximately 25 minute long track. The track is divided into seven sections. Most of them are tribal sounding with grooving rock elements. The sound is the precise cup of tea for those who don't mind the music repeating itself over and over again, and then some. I don't know many bands that I can compare this to. At least this is a record that I won't be listening to much because my head keeps repeating the pattern of the music over and over even after the music has stopped.	Boris: 1. Kanau Part 1 2. Kanau Part 2 Choukoku No Niwa: 3. Fukurou Approx. 50 minutes
Reviewed by: Arnstein Pettersen