Nothing to do with a certain Japanese band and I bet they get that all the time, Boris Records is a label based in Atlanta Georgia dedicated in promoting and releasing music within the metal scene there. Perhaps not as renowned as neighbour Athens for forming some of the area’s most well-known acts such as The B52’s and R.E.M. there was still a thriving scene for Indie, alt-rock and grunge bands who were spawned in the hood as well as a huge array of hip-hop artists. As far as metal is concerned though it is without doubt Mastodon who are Atlanta’s most famous sons and one of the heaviest too but as far as looking for any underground scene is concerned all searches seem to lead back to one place and that is Boris Records. Just as well that they sent in some of their band’s latest 7” records so we can hear exactly what is going on then.
First up is Sadistic Ritual [7] whose artwork and logo on 7” Hellish Mercenary reeks of the old school and looks like it has been flung out the 80’s. Not far off the mark here either as so does the music on display. The band have a demo and some live tracks out prior to this and these two tracks deliver a clear indication of their blackened thrashing ways. ‘Neurotoxin’ bursts in virulently and violently with a solid instrumental backbone and hard hitting riffs before a wretched gurgle joins the fray and gradually singer Hayden Stamps rasps away with hellish razor-blade gargling vocals. This is meaty and heavy and definitely leans towards the likes of the primitive days of the Teutonic thrash warriors and has a blackened feel as well as throwing in some Slayer worship with some of the riffs for good measure. Its bullet belts and spikes that’s for sure, not denim and hi-top sort of thrash. B side ‘Hellish Mercenary’ is a sharp and tightly honed galloping rampage of tight riffs and head banging melody that powerfully swaggers and chops away at you getting in a groove before unleashing more hellish sounding vocals. It’s a slamming pit monster and one that commands some serious stage diving with it too and without doubt illustrates the power behind this lot live. This lives up to the band name being particularly sadistic stuff and has me hungering to hear more in the future.
http://borisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hellish-mercenary-7
Top of the trio of releases in the order I have been listening to them are Death Of Kings [8] whose ‘Knifehammer’ particularly impresses with its two offerings. Apparently the line-up is made up of four guys who used to be in punk bands but they have obviously decided on a different course of action as Knifehammer the opening cut proves with a more classic Bay Area thrash feel about it. To say these guys can shred would be an understatement as they power away with great melody and some fantastic flaming leads. The other noticeable thing is the higher yelled main vocals from lead screamer Matt Matson and the rest of the band are not afraid to add their lungs with some beefy gang shouts behind his perfectly pitched parts. This is cracking stuff and completely infectious. There is a heavy metal feel behind the thrash backbone and you could cite so many here from Exodus, through to Maiden and Municipal Waste and Gama Bomb. Some of the licks fired out are pretty stupendous and this one never stands still for a sec. Next up is the equally powerful ‘Beneath The Obsidian’ and quite honestly it’s almost a relief that this is only two tracks, a whole album and I reckon my head would fall off. Yells are completely commanding here and there’s a real in your face feel about the track which is complete with what sounds like an air raid siren in the background adding to the frenzy. Added bonus too as it is on glow in the dark mint green vinyl. Keep your ears open for this lot they could be a breakthrough band of the future
http://borisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/knifehammer-7
Sharing a drummer but similarities end there are the awesomely named Spewtilator [6] whose Goathrower 7” throws up 5 tracks but still knocks them out in under ten minutes. There’s much more of a DIY squat scene feel from everything about this from the artwork to the bass heavy recording and as for the songs, well they are crusty as hell. The title track beats heavily in and spews out a thickly coated or should that be goated mess of crust, punk, death and grind with some really low unnatural sounding growls along with cleaner vocals. It’s all rather schizophrenic but somehow holds together partly due to the cracking rhythm section and some chaotic guitar windmills. From what I can gather all vocals are handled by the same guy Ryan Mcgee and I have a bit of difficulty with the growls as for me they don’t fit in as well and by second track ‘Cherokee Curse’ have become a distraction. Some high screams suddenly invading the airspace make this even more odd and madcap but the doomy, nihilistic tone of the music itself is pretty good. At times this sounds like it was recorded in one take in a rehearsal space and perhaps it was, it definitely has little in the way of subtlety about it. Finishing off with a short romp through of Zeke number ‘Let’s Get Drugs’ is quite a fitting finale to this slab of distempered aggro core.
http://borisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/goathrower-7
https://www.facebook.com/borisrecordsatl
(Pete Woods)
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