Boris at the Bowery Ballroom

The Japanese experimental metal band Boris took its name from a song on the Melvins' Bullhead album. Although relatively unknown in its native land, the sludge/doom rock trio has a cult following in the United States that has followed the band through about 20 very different sounding conceptual projects since 1996. Boris' debut album, for instance, was one 65-minute feedback-heavy drone exploration, ultimately falling between psychedelic rock and heavy metal. The musicians in Boris go by singular names; drummer-vocalist Atsuo, bassist-guitarist-vocalist Takeshi, and guitarist-vocalist Wata.

During set-up at the Bowery Ballroom tonight, roadie's placed a tray of foot pedals around Takeshi's microphone, far more distortion devices than the average bassist would use. The crew then placed a larger tray of devices in front of Wata's microphone, and then added more pedals to the left and right. It is no wonder she hardly moved, as she was surrounded on three sides by foot pedals. Once the band came on, Boris' music was about as bizarre as rock can get. Combining tidal waves of heavy metal riffs with shoe-gaze minimalism, the band triggered an often sparse, loud and hypnotic soundscape. The rhythms were sometimes in odd time signatures, and would move from gentle ambience to the more frequent head-banging industrial-sounding eruptions. The soft vocals were largely insignificant, but the adventurous musical collaborations were arresting, particularly when led by Wata's slow, grinding guitar lines. Few psychedelic doom metal bands are as daringly uncompromising as Boris in concert.

Visit Boris at www.borisheavyrocks.com.