Band:	Boris
Album:	LφVE & EVφL
Style:	Drone doom metal, Psychedelic stoner metal
Release date:	October 2019

01. Away From You
02. Coma
03. EVOL
04. Uzume
05. LOVE
06. In The Pain(t)
07. Shadow Of Skull

Over 20 years and 30 albums in, Boris still manage to impress and mesmerize with new material.

Across their mammoth discography, Boris have demonstrated that they more or less alternate between three different styles: colossal, feedback-laden drone metal, groovy stoner metal, and relaxed, airy psychedelic rock. While the majority of their albums often lean more toward one of these styles than the other two, 2019's LφVE & EVφL is unique in the sense that it somewhat straddles all three areas, creating the feeling that there's something on the album for all fans of Boris's various approaches and demonstrating the versatility of the band's composing abilities. Upon first starting LφVE & EvφL, one may be tempted to believe that Boris are going for a lighter, more melodic sound here, as the dreamy opener "Away From You" suggests. In this case, however, first impressions can be deceptive.

As it turns out, LφVE & EvφL is a skillful mix up of nearly all the tricks Boris have up their sleeves, resulting in a diverse listen that offers satisfying moments both heavy and pounding as well as smoother and more relaxed. Some tracks tilt more in one of these directions, while others are more of a blend. The defining track here, which seems to be a sum up of all three of Boris's main styles, would be "EVOL," which transitions seamlessly from a drone heavy opening laden with Atsuo Mizuno's phenomenal drumming and Wata's imposing guitar waves into lighter ambient wanderings, before climaxing with a delicious, stoner metal type ending.

While previous albums have demonstrated Boris's ability to incarnate into many different sounds, LφVE & EvφL really merges those different sounds together and transitions between them unlike ever before. It's quite difficult to affix this album with an exact genre label due to just how much of a mash up of different, though fundamentally interrelated sounds it is. Is it a chilled out psych rock album, as "Away From You" would suggest? Is it stoner doom, as "LOVE" seems to let on? Or is it a drone album, as tracks like "Coma" and "Uzume" suggest? It could be all, and it could be none. But the mystique that results from this distinct combination of the three is just part of what makes Boris so special, and continues to demonstrate their formidability as composers.

Love the Evol.