Much-loved stoner/doom band Boris have recently embarked on their most comprehensive North American tour and are riding high on the success of their latest Southern Lord record “Smile”.

Guitar World related site, MetalKult, has great video footage of Boris at a one-off New York City show the band played just recently.

The video showcases the band playing the songs “Statement”, “Laser Beam”, “Buzz-In” and “Pink” with the guitarists playing a double-beck guitar, as well as a Gibson SG custom. Well worth checking out if you’re a fan.

Boris: North American Tour Dates

Boris with Torche, Clouds
07/01/2008: Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
07/02/2008: Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
07/03/2008: Orlando, FL - The Social
07/05/2008: Atlanta, GA - The Earl
07/06/2008: Carrboro, NC - Cat`s Cradle
07/08/2008: Washington, DC - Black Cat
07/09/2008: Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
07/10/2008: New York, NY - Webster Hall
07/11/2008: Cambridge, MA - The Middle East

Boris with Torche, Nachtmystium
07/12/2008: Montreal, QC - La Sala Rosa
07/13/2008: Ottawa, ON - Barrymore
07/14/2008: Toronto, ON - Lee`s Palace
07/15/2008: Buffalo, NY - Tralf
07/16/2008: Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
07/17/2008: Pittsburgh, PA - Diesel
07/18/2008: Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall
07/19/2008: Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
07/20/2008: Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park

Boris with Torche, Lair of the Minotaur
07/22/2008: Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room
07/23/2008: Lawrence, KS - Granada Theatre
07/25/2008: Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
07/26/2008: Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
07/29/2008: Seattle, WA - Neumo`s
07/30/2008: Vancouver, BC, Canada - TBA
07/31/2008: Thu Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
08/02/2008: San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
08/03/2008: Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex

OM is a band I’ve been listening to for a while who is really amazing and yet may or may not be together at the moment and is also pretty much unheard of outside of certain circles. OM, (pronounced like the chant), is a 2 member band founded from the remnants of San Francisco stoner rock band Sleep. More specifically OM was Sleep’s rhythm section, the band is comprised of only a singer/bassist and drummer, there are no guitars.

The band’s sound could also be described as stoner rock, (slow, heavy songs in 4/4 time that make you nod your head and pay homage to black sabbath), but by listening closely to them a lot more is revealed. Their songs feature not only heavy abrasive moments, but quiet meditative passages that give-way to chant like vocal melodies. OM songs usually feature only a few riffs per song, yet most of their songs clock in over the 10 minute mark. On the surface this seems repetitive, but these few riffs evolve within the song, changing and mutating as the song progresses.

I saw them at the Echoplex here in LA about 2 months ago and they were great, ridiculously loud and hypnotic. Recently though, it has been reported that after 3 albums, the drummer Chris Haikus is leaving the band. Supposedly the bassist/singer Al Cisneros will continue on. Definitely a band worth checking out if you’ve never heard of them before. Below are the titles to their albums and links to their website and myspace page, where you can hear a few tracks.

- (2005) Variations on a Theme

- (2006) Conference of the Birds

- (2007) Pilgrimage

Omvibratory.com

http://www.myspace.com/variationsontheme

Video of OM performing live at Amoeba Records - San Francisco

I’ve been listening to the new Earth album, “The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull” a lot, and it is pretty amazing. If you haven’t heard of Earth, they could arguably be credited with starting a sub-genre called “Drone”, (really long, simple passages usually played slowly with a lot of effects). They formed in Olympia, WA, in the late 80’s and were signed to Sub Pop, they put out a bunch of records and took a fairly long hiatus. After which, they started to release records on Southern Lord, starting with Hex in 2005 and then Hibernaculum in 2007.

This new record though, builds on the themes and sonic ideas featured on their last two releases, but features a very different overall sound. It sounds like a weird mixture of slow gospel, yet its also psychedelic, very uplifting, and features heavily multi-layered and effected guitar tracks. It achieves this sound with the help of accomplished jazz/guitar effects wizard - Bill Frissell (featured on tracks 1, 4 & 5). It also features slow, yet soft, brooding drums, (played with brushes), and piano. The songs at their core are somewhat simplistic, but thats not what is important on a recording like this, all the little details add up to create an intense and airy atmosphere, where you can totally get lost in the music. It is interesting to see how the songs evolve and flow together seamlessly. This is definitely my favorite album by Earth. I highly recommend picking this up when it comes out.

Earth: “The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull”

1. Omens And Portents I : The Driver (mp3)
2. Rise To Glory
3. Miami Morning Coming Down II (Shine)
4. Engine Of Ruin
5. Omens And Portents II: Carrion Crow
6. Hung From The Moon
7. The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull

Earth @ Southern Lord Records