Amplifier Worship

Boris....what can you say about this band that would adequately surmise their sound and back catalogue? If I'm honest, and in no way attempting to be 'clever', the only word is Boris. I'll write what little I know about this stupendously awesome band and you can judge for yourselves...
Boris are a power trio from Japan, named after a Melvin's track from Bullhead, and originally formed from the Japanese hardcore punk scene. This sound is mostly evident in their earlier releases but they soon moved on from this to embrace such wide ranging genres as drone, doom, post rock, 70s hard rock, stoner, psychedelic and ambient. Their back catalogue is sprawling and, at first, can be quite daunting and confusing, especially when one release can be so disperate to the previous and subsequent. As such it's hard to pick their 'best' or even most popular albums as each fan will prefer one genre, and therefore album, over another. As such all I can do is attempt to present a few (I fully intend to post more of their albums at a not-to-later date) of my favourites.

First up I'm going with Akuma no Uta from 2003, mainly cos it's probably my favourite Boris release (right up there with Pink, which I hope to post next.) I suppose the first thing to do is explain the cover; it's an homage to the Nick Drake album Bryter Layter. Upon seeing the cover, my dad (who's a Drake fan) couldn't seem to grasp quite why they'd copy the artwork from an album that didn't musically reflect anything on their own. To this all I could respond with was it was an homage, a way to convey their respect for a truly great artitst that doesn't get anywhere near enough acclaim. Obviously, the most notable difference between Drake's and Boris' covers is that the latter features Takeshi holding his custom double guitar/bass instead of an acoustic. This instrument allows the guitarist to quickly swap between 4 and 6 strings live depending on the song/passage.
Musically, Akuma no Uta is perfect, featuring ambient post rock and straight up hard rocking, 70s style garage psych in the style of the Stooges. The tracks Introduction and Naki Kyoku are the primary ambient offerings while tracks like Ibitsu and Furi smack the listener from any atmospherically induced lethargy with balls to the wall, fuzzed out punkish rock.

In one breath you're washed over with waves of ambient drone, then next you've got the waft of weed infused, fuzzy punk rawk filling your lungs. Really, do not miss the chance to experience one of the world's most innovative, talented and fearless bands:
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