SOUNDTRACK: BORIS-Archive Volume Zero “Early Demos” (2014/2020).
In early August, Boris digitally released six archival releases. Volume Zero is called “Early Demos” and it includes songs from when Boris was a four piece.
9 songs selected and compiled from 3 independently produced demo tapes, from the early period of Boris’s formation. Track 1,2 from 1st Demo 1993 ; Track 3,4 from 2nd Demo 1993 ; Track 5-9 from 3rd Demo 1994.
(Originally released on March 5, 2014. Included in Archive 2, limited to 1,000 copies)
Boris had more of a hardcore sound at the time and these early demos are pretty wild. Vocally, Atsuo was in prime screaming mode. Because I don’t speak Japanese, I don’t know if he is just screaming of screaming words. Either way, the result is intense.
Original drummer Nagata (who left soon after) plays on almost all of these songs.
“Loudd” opens the set with crashing guitars–a dramatic lengthy heavy metal opening. Then comes the fast rumbling bass and grunted vocals. Regardless of the other words, the chorus is a chanted “LOUDD!” Atsuo plays drums on this one.
“AYA” has loud distorted bass with a simple guitar melody. It’s a fairly traditional-sounding 90s grunge song. Atsuo sings in kind of a creaky style rather than he usual screams. “Spell Down” is nearly 5 minutes–quite long for these demos. It’s got a fast grungey riff with a hardcore underbelly. This song has a middle section of jump drums ans slow droning chords. This song also features an early Wata guitar solo.
“Nods” feels like a twisted call and response of groans and then vocals all set to a slow heavy riff. They play a little with recording effects as midway through the song the band stops. Then a disjointed guitar riff picks up in the left speaker before the whole band jumps in playing that same melody.
“Scar Box” opens with a riff that sounds like very early doom metal under the hardcore guitars and drums take over. Atsuo is playing on this one and there are lots of cymbals (no gong yet, though).
“Mosquito” and “Matozoa” are both under two minutes long. “Mosquito” plays with slow heavy chunky chords and “Matozoa” is more of a moshing song that’s mostly drums and vocals with an occasional crashing guitar chord.
“Deep Sucker” has a robust rumble with growled vocals and grungy guitars. Then around two and a half minutes a feedback wail starts. It continues for the next two and a half minutes. The feedback changes tone and seems to almost fade out. It’s as if Wata (presumably) is trying to keep that feedback alive and interesting–making the note swirls around. The feedback is accompanied by a low rumble and drums, but those fade out and the last 90 seconds are just feedbacking. The feedback” segues into “Water Porch.” A rumble enters this song and then the song turns into pure drone as occasional chords are played just to ring out allow nature to take over. With a minute and a half left the fast drumming kicks in and the song turns into a blistering song with a decidedly hardcore riff and growled vocals.
The final 10th track, “Soul Search You Sleep”, was recorded in 1996 during Boris’s first tour of the US west coast [at Capitol Theater, Olympia, WA. Mar 1st & 2nd 1996], and has been brought out of a long slumber to complete Volume Zero.
“Soul Search You Sleep” is two chords, feedback and a lot of screaming. This alternates with some fast sections of two chords, pummeling drums, and screaming. Around four minutes Wata adds a solo. The last minute is thumping bass and drums and punctuated by Atsuo’s screams. A Boris show has gotten more sophisticated in the last thirty years, but all of the elements were in place way back then.
Takeshi: Bass & Vocal ; Wata: Guitar & Echo ; Atsuo: Drums & Vocal ; Nagata: Drums(Track 2,3,4,6,7,8,9)
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As the story opens, Lee is a little boy. He lives with “Grampop, Granny, Father and Lee’s mother who was too important to have a name.”
Each person gets a lengthy introduction–the calm, intensity of his grandparents, the kindness of his father (who should have had a better job) and the ups and downs of his mother. (more…)