Boris

While I love Aquarius Records for their wonderful staff recommendations, I tend to glaze over whenever they ramble on about some Norwegian death metal band or one of their other bizarre sub-sub-sub-genre obsessions. One such act I’d been sleeping on is Boris — filed under “sludge / psych / doom / dirge / drone metal” by the heads at Aquarius. What a fool was I… Sure, they live up to “Japan’s answer to the Melvins” (another Aquarius line) just fine, but stashed between the rabid, big bully numbers sounds are careful, almost vulnerable, epics that build on the legacy of Flying Saucer Attack or even My Bloody Valentine. These two tracks are perfect examples (if you came looking for the headbanger bits, you’ll have to buy the albums). At times, Boris are not at all what you’d expect from a record label whose website features flames as the mouseover animation for its navigation. Then again, a “pink album” doesn’t really fit the genre either — so?

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