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Friday Full-Length: Boris, Akuma no Uta

Posted in Bootleg Theater on June 12th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

Boris, Akuma no Uta (2003)

For those not already initiated, the catalog of Tokyo experimentalists Boris can seem an insurmountable undertaking. In their 23-year history, they have 22 studio albums — including three already this year — and that doesn’t even get into different editions, limited reissues, special releases, singles, EPs, splits, or collaborations like those they’ve done with Keiji Heino, Michio Kurihara, SunnO))) or Ian Astbury of The Cult. They are among the most prolific and essential acts of their generation, proffering genuine creative boldness in being equally willing to take on feedback-laden heaviness, Jpop, or ambient drone on whatever whim they might be following at that moment, and their records often vary in concept and idea as much as sonics. For a genre where playing loud and then playing quiet often serves as “dynamics,” Boris are truly versatile, a decades-long whirlwind of creativity that shows no sign of stopping, slowing or giving up its adventurous spirit.

Akuma no Uta is the fifth Boris full-length, the title translating to English as “The Devil’s Song.” Originally released in 2003 with a shorter runtime and different artwork, it would be picked up by Southern Lord in 2005 — the label has also handled various pressings for several other releases, among them the band’s 1996 debut, Absolutego, and its 1998 follow-up, Amplifier Worship, both pivotal listens for anyone who might be bold enough to embark, and later works like 2006’s Pink and 2008’s Smile, of which there are so many versions it might as well be three albums — and reissued with its Nick Drake tribute cover and a different version of “Intro,” its opener, that shifted from under three to over nine minutes long. That track’s wide, riffy sprawl is immersive, but only scratches the surface of what the self-producing three-piece of drummer/vocalist Atsuo, guitarist/vocalist Wata and bassist/vocalist Takeshi would ultimately have on offer, shifting to blistering noise rock on a dime with the transition to the blown-out Hendrixology of “Ibitsu” before stripping down to the garage punk of “Free” to round out what comprises side A of the vinyl.

The highlight of the record, however, comes with side B’s “Naki Kyoku” (“Crying Song”), which keeps a mostly instrumental roll while jamming out with a vitality that makes believable the proposition that Akuma no Uta was recorded in one take, as the band has said. That track itself is a masterpiece of naturalistic heavy psychedelia, and Boris rightly take their time to let it unfold as it does before turning around for the more straightforward and classic rocking “That Woman’s Volume” and rounding out the album with the drone metal title-track, a huge, lumbering groove pushed well into the red, drums no less distorted than the guitar or bass amid a swirling, insistent, untamed chaos. Rawer than Heavy Rocks, which preceded it and was the beneficiary of a sequel with the same title in 2011 (they don’t make it easy to keep up), and less outwardly experimental than their landmark 2000 single-song third album, Flood, Akuma no Uta struck a balance all its own, and it’s a big part of why Boris are considered today as indispensable as they are.

As always, I hope you enjoy.

Ugh, today. Today was the first real day at the new job where I felt like I was completely overwhelmed and like my skull was about to cave in on my brain. I made it more than two weeks, so I guess that’s a win on some level. I’ve no doubt that today won’t be as bad as it ever gets, but woof, what a shitter. Kind of refreshing in a terrible, frustrating, here’s-me-sitting-at-my-desk-with-my-head-in-my-hands-cursing sort of way. I was due for a day like today, and now that it’s almost over, I’m relatively sure that I survived. Still, just fucking awful. Monday will be better.

If I’m totally honest, part of that feeling like crap comes from regret at missing the Eye of the Stoned Goat 5, which kicks off in about an hour on Long Island. It’s a four-plus-hour trip from here. Don’t think I’m gonna make this one. Or the Maryland Doom Fest at the end of this month. Both of which I’m thoroughly hating myself for, rest assured. Because punk rock guilt is a thing I need in my life.

I had the little dog Dio with me at the office today though, and she makes everything better.

Monday, a review of the High on Fire record. Tuesday, a lyric video premiere from Destroyer of Light. Wednesday, who knows? Could be anything. Look out for reviews upcoming for ValkyrieEternal Fuzz and Snail. Probably won’t all be before the end of next week, but soon. I’ve also just about got the Quarterly Review planned. Should finish that up this weekend and dig in starting June 29. Looking forward to that, though I have no idea how I’m going to pull it of yet. As I recall, I didn’t when I mentioned it last week either. Nice to have made progress.

BUT — I’ve got two days to bury my head and launch a recovery effort from the mess that was today, so I’m gonna go do that and be thankful for things like my wife, my dog, my family, my new Bloodcow t-shirt, Black Sabbath‘s Master of Reality, and so on.

All the best to you and yours. Have a great and safe weekend, and please check out the forum and the radio stream.

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