My love for vinyl only started after an amazing experience with King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King a few years back. Ever since my heart starts beating faster whenever a possibility to buy an LP by one of my favorite bands, because that’s back in fashion recently. Luckily also with a few Japanse bands, among which Boris.
My latest purchase is what I already had on CD, but because of Boris celebrating the 10th anniversary of their album PINK by releasing a Deluxe LP Set containing 3 records filled with the album PINK and PINK Sessions “Forbidden Songs”, it got extra interesting to get my hands on this special edition. Thanks to the European tour the band just finished the set was available at their shows.
Tracklist PINK
A.
1. PINK
2. Woman on the Screen
3. Nothing Special
4. BlackoutB.
5. Electric
6. Six, Three Times
7. Afterburner
8. Pseudo-BreadC.
9. My Machine
10. FarewellD.
11. Just Abandoned My-SelfTracklist PINK Session “Forbidden Songs”
E
12. Your Name -Part 2-
13. Heavy Rock Industry
14. SOFUN
15. non/sha/lant
16. Room NoiseF.
17. Talisman
18. N.F. Sorrow
19. Are You Ready?
20. Tiptoe
The Deluxe Set of PINK has a cardboard pink shell hugging the 3 LP’s inside tightly, keeping them well protected. If you are in doubt whether or not you have your hands on the right set, don’t worry: it’s written on the cardboard clearly. Or rather, it’s punched in. Once opened you’ll see the three discs aren’t painted black like traditionally, but are instead see-through with a creative print of pink paint and paint splashes. De cover is just as pink as the CD that came out 10 years ago. The album is so special because PINK meant mainstream success for Boris.
PINK is the favourite album for many listeners too, even though it wasn’t the first musical meeting with the band for me. That was the album Smile, released in 2008, even though I bought it two years later in a small metal CD store –unfortunately no longer in business- in Den Haag. Boris has been active since 1992 and can be called an experimental band, but mostly winks to the metal genre.
The album PINK only has amazing songs, starting off dreamy with the song Farewell which blows out of your speakers with the powerful guitar play of Wata and the pure vocals of Takeshi who took up a double electric guitar next to that about a minute in. In the background you hear the slow drum beats frm Atsuo. The tempo changes quickly with the start of the song Pink, and from that moment you’ll mostly hear fast-paced tracks with a strong beat and sometimes even dirty because the sound doesn’t seem to sound as pure, most notably in Nothing Special.
Aside from the fast tracks, Boris can also make heavy, slow tracks like Blackout and Afterburner. Even though Afterburner has a cheerful note because you can clap your hands and lull along while Blackout tries to push you to the ground through it’s sound. My favourite of the album is also the longest song of the band, with well over 18 minutes, Just Abandon Myself. Before you’ll start this song you’ll enjoy the calm tones of My Machine, which ends after only 2 minutes already. On the LP Just Abandon Myself is the sole track on one side of the record. Then it’s time for a good portion of rocking out with rough guitars, loud drums and screaming vocals. The song is so good because from start to finish it’s fascinating to listen to. At the end, it’s nothing but racket because of Wata and Takeshi letting their guitars speak for themselves by slowly hitting the strings and eventually being able to call it drone music. As a whole PINK is an album where noise metal comes to the front and you can definitely turn up your volume to it’s maximum.
The “Forbidden Songs” are songs that have been recorded during the time of PINK, but never made it to the album. It’s nice that it’s released now, finally, because this extra album gives off the same PINK vibe with fast, screaming tracks alternated with a few calmer tracks. SOFUN is a super fast and cheerful song and is clearly perfect to play live. Room Noise makes me think that the track hasn’t been adjusted after recording, because you hear a noise in the background like the quality of the recording is lower, but this doesn’t bother the song at all. Your Name -Part 2– is the sequel of the song found on the soundtrack of the movie Mabuta No Ura, released in 2005, which was an instrumental piece. In Your Name -Part 2- you’ll hear the same instruments as used in Your Name, but this time the song has been dressed more through effects, and Takeshi sings as well. non/sha/lant is somewhat comparable to Afterburner because the song starts off slow as well with raw guitars and smashing the drums, but non/sha/lant remains instrumental. Talisman is noticeable due to it’s slow and rough noise, but especially because of the powerful voice of Takeshi. Are You Ready? is also one of thé best songs of “Forbidden Songs”. The song is purer in comparison to the other tracks. With Tiptoe the album is closed of instrumentally, but it makes you want more!
What you can certainly expect with Boris is the amazing guitar work, which stands high and mighty, and especially Wata knows how to play her guitar to get the right sound out of it. This is a feast especially for guitar loves, especially if they don’t shy away from metal and especially noise metal. PINK is definitely the album you should know if you want to get to know Boris. This Deluxe Set is a gift to the fans, because the forbidden tracks should be heard by everyone!
Rating: 90/100
