Boris with Michio Kurihara - 2006 - Rainbow

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

Boris is a top rate Japanese metal band with some pronounced noise rock, drone rock, and psychedelic flourishes. Michio Kurihara is the amazing, spaced-out guitarist from Japan's premier psych-proggers Ghost. Together, these two forces create some psychedelic nirvana. Boris gets the chance to aim their wall-of-noise at some top flight songs and cathedrals of sound while Kurihara-san end up with some musicians that promote the best out of his infinitely oscillating torrents of guitar noise without feeling the need to jam pedantically.

"Rafflesia" starts things out extremely strong with almost pained vocals placed upon a stately rhythm while Kurihara slowly but surely launches the song into orbit far above the outer reaches of your mind. "Starship Narrator" brings in the noise and ends up hitting right on an acid-rock sweet spot. Nevermind that the lyrics are all in Japanese. The understanding and appreciation of this music resides between the lines. Soon the album floats through the lattice of clouds that must be near the titular rainbow before slamming into the full-scale powerhouse "Sweet #1." Finally, we get the music box-esque lullaby of "..And I Want" to send us off calmly.

As far as neo-psych goes, this is some of the best we've gotten this decade. I caught the band with Michio Kurihara in tow a few weeks ago in Atlanta, and their stage show is not to be missed. As good as this, and some of the choicer other Boris albums are, the live rendition is a true narcotic. Still, Rainbow will get you most of the way there and it doesn't fail to shine with the light of true psychedelic creativity.

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Boris with Michio Kurihara - 2006 - Rainbow