''No'' (presented as ''NO'' in conjunction with its follow-up album '' W'') is the twenty-sixth studio album by Japanese

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

band Boris, released 3 July 2020 on the band's label Fangs Anal Satan.

Background

''No'' was written and recorded quickly in March 2020 when Boris entered self-isolation due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Inspired by current international political trends, Boris described the album as "a mirror that gathers and reflects people’s negative energy at a different angle, one that is positive. That is the power and potential of the dark, extreme, and brutal noise music that we have experienced up to this point." Unlike the lengthy experimental tracks that dominated the band's last few albums, ''No'' consists mostly of short, hardcore-based songs. It includes the cover song "Fundamental Error" by 1990s Japanese hardcore band Gudon. Japanese hardcore guitarist Katsumi makes a guest appearance. The album was self-released.

Composition

With ''NO'', Boris craft "thrashing and exhilarating" hardcore. It is also seen as a "harsh", "violent" fusion of

crust punk Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stri ...

and

metallic hardcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

D-beat D-beat (also known as Discore, kängpunk, Discrust, and crust-beat) is a style of hardcore punk, developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, after whom the genre is named, as well as a drum beat characteristic of this subgenre. D- ...

sludge Sludge (possibly , or some dialect related to slush) is a semi-solid slurry that can be produced from a range of industrial processes, from water treatment, wastewater treatment or on-site sanitation systems. It can be produced as a settled sus ...

and thrash also appear, all wrapped in "thick squalling"

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''No'' received mostly positive reviews. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 84, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 6 reviews. ''Sputnikmusic'' noted the album's differences from its immediate predecessors, which could turn off longtime fans although the album "plays to enough of Boris’ many strengths that longstanding fans will be quick to pounce on it." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' called ''No'' the best Boris album in a decade, squeezing the band's many interests into "these breathless 40 minutes." ''Treble'' magazine noted that the album "cuts right through the feedback and drone in the interest of a more direct delivery of thrashy riffs and crust-punk intensity." ''Post-Thrash'' noted that the album is likely to satisfy both longtime Boris fans, plus fans of

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

and heavy metal. A reviewer for ''

Metal Storm Metal Storm Limited was a research and development company based in Brisbane, Australia, that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technology ...

'' noted that Boris is still capable of delivering surprising new sounds like those on ''No'', after more than two dozen albums. In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Thom Jurek claimed that "While hardly a political album, ''No'' reflects the frustration, anger, fear, and helplessness of the 2020 pandemic in a global zeitgeist. While its stylistic hallmarks are undeniably part of the band's musical signature, here they pay homage to the past while simultaneously reflecting the tense uncertainty of the present and future, directly and consistently, making ''No'' the band's strongest, most visionary outing since ''

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

''."

Track listing

Personnel

*Takeshi – bass, guitar, vocals *Wata – guitar, vocals, effects, echo *Atsuo – drums, vocals

References

{{Authority control 2020 albums Boris (band) albums