Boris

• Genre: Experimental
• Hometown: Tokyo
• Boris Website

About

Active since coming together in 1992, Boris remain unknown in Japan, but internationally they have long been recognized as leaders in experimental metal. Over the course of a 16-album and countless 7-inch career, the trio is largely associated with drone and doom but has also messed with straight rock, stoner, noise and ambient genres. Boris are legendary for unrelentingly slow, feedback-drenched dirges that stretch well over the 60-minute mark. They also construct equally long, highly orchestrated epics as well as shorter (for them) Melvins-influenced slow-jams. Their first album, Absolutego, came out in 1996, and as most of their material was not available in the U.S. until Southern Lord started reissuing their catalog in the early 2000s, they remained a sort of holy grail of stoner metal for years. With their latest releases -- as well as frequent and varied collaborations -- finally readily available, the band has consistently lived up to the hype while paying no attention to the praise given in the mainstream press. Boris may no longer be the sought-after prize of true metal geeks, but they remain a vital and groundbreaking part of the extreme metal scene.

- Mike McGuirk