As Boris continue to steer in and out of avant-rock territory, the 30-year-old Japanese band increasingly splinter genre ideas and expectations fans might foist upon them. The trio have been prolific during the pandemic, releasing nearly a dozen albums whose variety almost necessitates a disregard for boundaries: they include studio full-lengths, EPs, and live and […]
Tag: Boris
Prolific Japanese artists Boris and Merzbow bid farewell to 2020 together
I tried to tally up the total number of releases by noise wizard Masami Akita, better known as Merzbow, and polymorphous metal trio Boris before I started writing about their new joint album, but it proved to be a fool’s errand. These Japanese artists are among the most prolific musicians in modern history, and their […]
Merzbow’s four-decade-plus reign of sonic terror continues with Screaming Dove
Japanese sound artist Masami Akita has been revolutionizing noise with his project Merzbow since 1979—he’s put out somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 albums, singles, and live recordings under that name, but who’s counting? Akita has bounced between electronics, tape manipulations, and scrap metal and contact mikes, both in his solo work and his collaborations […]
Boris rage against a world turned upside down on the urgent, hardcore-driven No
In their nearly 30 years as a band, Boris have developed the rare ability to alchemize practically any sound in the vast realm of heavy, atmospheric, and psychedelic rock into their distorted, amplified vision. The Tokyo trio’s release and tour schedules have been equally ambitious (they’ve played Chicago so often over the past decade they […]
Two of modern heavy music’s most prolific acts, Boris and Uniform, hit the road together
Japanese metal trio Boris have been at it for nearly 30 years, and over the course of nearly 40 full-length releases and collaborative albums they’ve covered nearly the entire spectrum of loud, harsh, and heavy music. On the band’s latest single, “Love” (the first taste of the upcoming album LφVE & EVφL), they blur the […]
Boris celebrates 25 years of mastering the heavy music spectrum
One of the greatest joys of pressing play on a new Boris record is the excitement of hearing which direction they take each time around. Formed in 1992, the Japanese trio have dabbled in—and mostly perfected—the entire spectrum of heavy and heady music. They kicked off their career tipping their collective hat to the doom […]
Reader’s Agenda Sun 8/10: All Our Tragic, Chicago Hot Dog Fest, and Boris
What’s on the Reader‘s Agenda for Sunday, August 10
12 O’Clock Track: ‘Naki Kyoku’ is a groovy stoner-rock gem from Boris’s massive catalog
The Japanese trio play Bottom Lounge this Sunday.
Best shows to see: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Motley Crue, Carlene Carter, Boris
The best shows to see through Sunday include Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Motley Crue, Carlene Carter, and Boris.
Off Color’s DinoSmores stout: Not quite extinct
Catching up with the goings-on at Off Color, using the pretext of reviewing their sought-after DinoSmores Russian Imperial Stout
12 O’Clock Track: New melodic thrash from Boris
Boris is back with more heavy metal on their 24th studio full-length.
Oktoberfest shootout: Metropolitan, Revolution, and Two Brothers
Some of the best Oktoberfest beers available in Chicago were brewed right here.
Best shows to see: Dumpster Babies, Wolf Eyes, Coppice
The best shows to see for the weekend of 5/10.
Wire’s gooey-sweet Change Becomes Us and 15 more record reviews
Reviews of 16 fresh releases from all over the map: Wire, Aosoth, Julia Kent, DJ Koze, Pedrito Martinez, Sax G, and lots more
This Week in the Reader’s Music Section
Metal, hip-hop, psych, and getting psyched out by Joan Jett