Boris (band)

Boris is a Japanese experimental heavy rock band. The band formed in 1992 and released their first album Absolutego in 1996. Their early sound is steeped in drone and sludge metal, styles to which they have continually returned throughout their career while incorporating other styles such as hardcore punk, noise rock and psychedelic rock.

Boris has amassed a vast catalogue of studio albums, EPS, singles, live albums, compilations and collaborations. Notable studio albums include Absolutego (1996), Flood (2000), Heavy Rocks (2002), Pink (2005) and Heavy Rocks (2011). They have a confusing habit of releasing different versions of their albums depending on format and/or country of release. The 2011 Heavy Rocks is not an example of this, but actually an album of new material that is linked to 2002's Heavy Rocks by title only.

Present Lineup:


 * Takeshi - vocals, bass, guitar
 * Wata - guitar, keyboards, vocals
 * Atsuo - drums (1996-), vocals
 * Michio Kurihara - touring guitarist (2007-)

Past Members:


 * Nagata - drums (1992-1996)

Tropes present in Boris' work include:


 * A Good Name for a Rock Band: Boris takes its name from a song by The Melvins.
 * Bilingual Bonus: Some of their song titles are in Japanese, some in English. Lyrics are typically Japanese with the occasional English phrase. The US releases of some of their albums feature translated lyrics in the liner.
 * Indecipherable Lyrics: It's unlikely that even Japanese speakers can catch every lyric in the faster numbers.
 * Lead Bassist
 * Loudness War: Boris' CDs are some of the worst victims of the war.
 * New Sound Album: Quite a few by virtue of the fact that their albums are based on whims rather than concepts and their sound expands rather than evolves. Heavy Rocks (2002) saw the band move beyond its sludge origins to include faster numbers; Attention Please was a complete left turn, an experiment in dance-rock.
 * Nobody Loves the Bassist: Averted by Takeshi. Not only does he also handle most of the vocal and lyrical duties, but he plays one of those guitars that are, like, double guitars, except the top one is a bass. How can you not love that?
 * Only One Name
 * Rock Trio
 * Step Up to the Microphone: Takeshi took over lead vocals from Atsuo in 1996. Wata handles all the lead vocals on Attention Please.