Boris, Earth
Recommended
In certain circles, ambient-metal trio Boris is pretty much Japan’s biggest artistic export since Shonen Knife or Ichiro Suzuki. The band’s classic 2005 album Pink has been reissued, repackaged, and revisited for a sort of victory lap as the band’s most well-known release. Pink was essentially one of the first contemporary metal albums to branch out of the axe-wielding realm of doom and huge riffs to include shoegaze-y contemplativeness, psychedelia, and ambient noise—a concoction so powerful it’s been more or less unparalleled in any major sense since its release. Staunch metal dudes will always find ways to dispute originality or authenticity within their community, but Pink’s imprint has been time-tested for posterity by now. The reissue also includes nine previously unreleased tracks, so there are new folds to explore in the dense sonic shroud of Atsuo, Wata, and Takeshi. Boris is playing the entire goddamn thing front to back for you, so get ready to feel good and weird. RYAN J. PRADO