The Rock Blogger

Boris. Smile. 2008. Southern Lord. 3 stars.

Tokyo’s Boris have continually proved themselves to be one of the world’s premier drone bands, expanding their sound to encompass everything from punk to psychedelic styles, notoriously creating noisy and feedback drenched epics that make your ears bleed and your synapses melt. The tradition carries on to their latest full length Smile, which has finally come to grace the shores of the Western Hemisphere.

While Smile isn’t nearly as awe-inspiring as last year’s Rock Dream, or even 2005’s more punk inspired Pink, it still packs an enormous punch, with a flair for monstrous riffs and echoing distortion. Those accustomed to Boris’ inhuman use of gritty noise and electronic effects will find much comfort here, as their sound is still massive and overpowering. Making this release standout though is the inclusion of simmering melodies that peak in from time to time, as drawn out Japanese vocals careen across in slow crescendos, just before the songs are set aflame by processed guitar fuzz.

Despite Boris’ dabbling in experimental bass loops, effects and even some catchy hooks, many of these jams meander, becoming self-indulgent acts of amp worship that drains your emotions and your attention span. I’m sure more seasoned ears will appreciate the near 20 minute “You Were Holding an Umbrella (Pt. 2)”, but I just found the whole affair to be excessive. Smile may not be breaking new ground for Boris, but it does showcase their attention to detail and willingness to push their sound in new (if not confusing) directions. A must for fans, a cautionary recommendation for newcomers.

‘Statement’

Pyramids. Pyramids 2008. Hydra Head. 4.5 stars.

If the term ‘bliss-metal’ doesn’t make you cringe too much, then I would use it to describe Pyramids, an experimental metal/shoegaze band from Texas that follows with the heavy ambient drones of label mates Jesu. Like the work of Justin K. Broadrick, The Angelic Process and the more abstract efforts of Georgia’s Deerhunter, Pyramids play ethereal and occasionally noisy jams that are rich in buried melodies, hidden amongst layers of electronic sounds, fuzzed out guitars and blasting drum rolls. The crushing waves of sound pour out with drugged emotional intensity, as distant vocals glide across the industrial clamor like colorful ghosts.

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Nadja. Skin Turns to Glass. 2008. 3 stars.

Toronto’s Nadja are one of the most prolific and experimental drone bands to occupy the genre, crafting dense and heavy works not unlike those of seasoned acts Sunn o))), Boris and Jesu. Skin Turns to Glass is a re-recording of an earlier CD-R of the same name which had a limited release in 2003. Like the title suggests, this album is a slow, plodding act of transformation, where thick layers of guitar noise, keyboards, and industrial percussion lap over each other to produce a terrifying and psychedelic atmosphere.

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A strange and innovative video for “It is Not Sound” from The Blood Inside (2005). Featuring bizarre human animation, the video follows the plight of the band members through a twisting sea of limbs. Crazy stuff.

Today is the Day. Sadness Will Prevail. 2002. 4.5 stars.

A tour de force of misanthropy, Sadness Will Prevail is easily one of the most psychotic and disturbing albums you will ever come across. Sprawling across two discs and 30 tracks, this magnum opus is the tortured psyche held up for display, with abrasive mood swings and psychological fits that are compositionally complex and brutal in their honesty.

Today is the Day take elements from hardcore and noise rock, with grinding drums, menacing bass lines and terrifying shrieks, and melds them with an almost avant-garde flair for atmosphere and horror, utilizing film samples, sound effects, field recordings and ambient touches to stir this album’s bleak emotional undertow. There are dramatic shifts between songs here, raging between spastic riffs and pummeling drums a la Converge , and despairing passages of acoustic guitar, ambient noise and angular piano compositions.

The wide array of sounds being explored here is not merely a novelty to set Today is the Day from the rest of the hardcore pack, but serves to enhance the intense catharsis taking place, giving front man Steve Austin a claustrophobic space for his demons to run amok. With less concern placed on fitting within genre conventions, Today is the Day tread into blacker compositional territory that gives prevalence to thematics and naked emotional outbursts.

Sadness will Prevail, needless to say, is terrifyingly dismal and requires a certain fortitude to approach. But any effort made in entering the band’s uncompromising and insular black holes will be a rewarding one, if not to appreciate the vast subtleties and nuances awaiting within the madness, then to come away with an understanding of how unmitigated experimentation can release the artist’s most demented and pained sensibilities. For its unfiltered and unrelenting spasms, Sadness will Prevail remains not only a landmark for hardcore, but for dark and aggressive music as a whole, standing alongside NIN’s The Downward Spiral as one of the greatest expressions of self-destruction and personal torment.

Ocrilim. Annwn. 2008. 3 stars.

You can file this one under wtf. Ocrilim is the brainchild of avant garde/metal guitarist Mick Barr whose incredibly fast math rock compositions are the sole attraction on this 60 minute plus album. No drums, no bass, just relentless shredding that will either completely hypnotize you in its rapidity or drive you to commit murder.

Like other avant-garde metal artists Sunn O))) and Barr’s own Orthelm, Ocrilim’s technical assaults are focused on developing the artist’s distinct musical language rather than crafting songs. While Ocrilim’s mathematical exercises are certainly progressive and awe-inspiring in their technique, the monotonous nature of these 7 untitled tracks may be too overpowering for those expecting a conventional metal record.

This is experimental music that should be approached as a work of art, rather than being codified within a specific genre. I would recommend this to anyone who is fascinated by by Barr’s intense virtuosity and won’t be put off by Ocrilim’s sparse and noisy production. To give you an idea of what Ocrilim is about, I found this YouTube video of Barr performing in NYC. Enjoy.

Boris with Merzbow. Rock Dream 2007. 5 stars.

Easily one of the most intense live albums I’ve ever come across, this 2 disc collaboration between psychedelic/drone masters Boris and famed Japanese noise artist Merzbow is a sublime exercise in wailing guitar solos, monstrous feedback, distortion and impossibly raw energy - this rocks you to the core.

The first disc features the mammoth, 35 minute “Feedbacker”, where Boris lays down their heaviest guitar drones as Merzbow plays deliriously with delays and electronic effects, creating an incredibly dense wall of sound that progressively swallows up everything in its path. The following three tracks edge off into shorter bursts of propulsive noise and jangly guitar solos, with neither artist overpowering the other. The timing and pacing between them is impeccable.

The second disc is a more prominent showcase of Boris’ more punk inspired diversions, as the band rips through the most powerful and energetic tracks from their 2005 LP Pink. Just as that album rollicked in reckless abandon, their live counterparts are equally explosive.

For those not familiar with the work of either Boris or Merzbow, this is an excellent place to start. Rock Dream, in all its fuzzed out and psychedelic glory, has raised the watermark for all the rock genres Boris has dabbled in, from punk to drone to the avant garde.

Here are three incredible videos of Sunn O)))’s performance in Berlin, 2006.

In a word: monolithic.

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