MetalSucks

I’m planning a trip to Japan next year, and like many Americans who travel to foreign lands I’ve been reading travel guidebooks so as to prepare for what promises to be an unforgettable vacation and possibly a life-altering experience. Naturally, while reading publications like Frommer’s Japan and Time Out: Tokyo, my choice of soundtrack has invariably included Japanese artists such as Guitar Wolf, Yoko Ono, and Boris. As I’ve stated earlier, the latter of these are releasing a trio of monthly seven-inch records for Southern Lord, the first of which came out in September. H.M.A. (Heavy Metal Addict) b/w Black Original, the second installment in the series, officially goes on sale next week in both physical and digital formats.

Above you’ll find the incredibly fucking weird video for “H.M.A.” Before you even ask: YES THIS IS THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR THIS SONG! Boris drummer Atsuo (aka fangsanalsatan) directed this thing–seriously! I’m not sure if this is meant to be some homage to 80s Japanese metal or to a specific band that I’m unaware of, but needless to say this video should not be viewed on psychotropic drugs.

Did I mention how fucking weird it is?

-GS

[Gary Suarez says "sumimasen." He usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]

Earlier last month Southern Lord announced a new trio of monthly Boris seven-inch records entitled Japanese Heavy Rock Hits. The first “volume” came out last week, and fans of the band’s droning metalscapes will almost assuredly be disappointed considering its official description:

The first 7″, Volume One, “8″, features two newly recorded tracks. On Side A, the title track “8″ continues the spacey hard-rock sound established on their classic albums Pink and Smile, building from a mono, lo-fi wall of feedback into a ripping, slab of lush vocals, crunchy guitar and thunderous drums. Things get switched up on Side B with “ねえエヴリワン/Hey Everyone”, a chewy bit of power-pop bubblegum that sees the band mining a much lighter source for their sound. It’s a reminder that the most daring thing this band can do is record something so straight-forward it could easily be misconstrued as “alt-pop”. Dont fret its still got a dark core and is unmistakably Boris! Gorgeous tip-on, heavy-weight cardboard jacket designed by Stephen O’Malley.

Click to read more…

Our friends over at Crustcake tell us that there’s going to a Boris/Torche split a lil’ later this year:

The artwork you see above is from a post on Aaron Turner’s blog, in which he talks about a new split 10″ between stoner/noise rock kings (and queen) Boris and down-tuned, doom-pop princes Torche. The artwork goes with the split, of course.

No word on a release date, but the album’ll come out here in the US on Hydra Head.

Holy shit, is that some cool artwork.

-AR

Andrew W.K., I Get Wet (Island, 2002)
Andrew W.K. – vocals
Jimmy Coup – Guitar
Erik Payne – Guitar
Frank Werner – Guitar
Gregg Roberts – Bass
Donald Tardy – Drums
Produced by Andrew W.K., John Fields, Scott Humphrey, TSD, Frank Vierti

It has been suggested by some of our commenters that I don’t belong here. Be it my distaste for deathgrind, my inability to appreciate the tr00 kvlt nature of Norwegian black metal, or the fact that I don’t give a flying fuck about Protest The Hero, I’ve always felt like an outsider around you people. Yet at no point did I feel so out of place than during the countdown of the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century… So Far. Sure, I participated. I submitted a list. I presumed many of my picks would never make the cut (Unsane’s Visqueen; Zozobra’s Harmonic Tremors), but also acknowledged less esoteric favorites of mine from the past nine-and-a-half-years (Boris Pink; Down’s III: Over The Under) that I thought had a shot. Still, nothing could have prepared me for the sheer disappointment these past few weeks when none of my favorite albums made the goddamn list.

Rather than be mature about this sad state of affairs, I am now going to explain why everyone who voted in this poll is a fucking butthole for not selecting Andrew W.K.’s 2002 masterpiece, I Get Wet.
Click to read more…

Boris fanatics and headbanging skateboarders alike will definitely want to peep this awesome trio of customized “Feedbacker” decks. There are ones representing each member of the band and are at least semi-official. You can buy one of your very own from the Magic Bullet Records’ mailorder, and every skate deck comes with a free dropcard with which you can use to download eight Boris tracks, courtesy of Southern Lord. I doubt these will be available much longer, so you might want to hurry.

-GS

[Gary Suarez is more Queens carnivore than Brooklyn vegan. He also writes for Brainwashed and usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No.]

“Yes! Boris and Torche will tour together!” I remarked to myself as I read this bit of news on Lambgoat that Japanese sludge/doomsters Boris and doomy, majestic shoegazers Torche would tour together in the U.S. this summer. “July 10th in NYC at Webster Hall… wow, that’s a big venue for them!” I thought inwardly as I flipped through my planner. “Fuck! That’s the same day as the At the Gates reunion hits New York. Guess I’m not going to that one.”

Oh well.

-VN