Boris (ボリス, Borisu) is a Japanese band that draws variously from styles such as sludge metal, drone, noise, psychedelia, and minimalism.
Boris was originally a four-piece band with Atsuo on lead vocals, Wata on guitar, Takeshi on bass, and Nagata on drums.
Though relatively unknown in their home country, a series of reissues of their early albums on the American label Southern Lord Records caused a surge of popularity in North America.
[4] Boris also collaborates with other artists regularly, first on the 1998 album Black: Implication Flooding with experimental musician Keiji Haino.
[8] Their international popularity was bolstered by their 2005 album Pink, which was met with considerable critical praise and a strong response from music fans when reissued in the US on Southern Lord.
Regarding Boris, Jarmusch said that "what's really remarkable is when they play live they're in the mode, in a way, of jazz musicians, not structurally or musically, but the way they listen to what the others are doing and build on it.
"[11]Boris received additional international exposure when they opened for Nine Inch Nails on part of the 2008 segment of the Lights in the Sky tour.
[20] In December 2022, Boris released their third studio album of the year, Fade, which focuses on drone metal and appeared with no prior notice.
Throughout their career, Boris have made deliberate efforts to avoid a strong association with any musical style.
[41] Akuma no Uta and Pink engaged in different stylistic experimentation,[42] including shoegazing, stoner rock, and post-rock.
Wata uses an E-bow to achieve bow-like sounds or to manipulate feedback; this device is held in the hand, like a pick, but relies on a magnetic field vibration to move the guitar's strings.