It is safe to say that neither Boris nor Uniform have shied away from collaborative projects in the past. The former frequently teaming up with atonal industrial/noise artist Merzbow and their legendary collaboration with Sunn O))): Alter; as well as the latter regularly crossing paths with Rhode Island experimental metal project The Body for joint singles and albums. After sharing stages together across the US in 2019, Boris and Uniform saw a spark and decided to pursue their onstage chemistry, taking the form of Bright New Disease. Written and recorded in the depths of the pandemic, this project blends the best of both worlds as well as exploring some more uncharted territory for both bands.
The album explodes from the word go, with the unexpected thrash tinged opener ‘You are the Beginning’ kicking things off from a ferocious starting point. It sets the tone well, to expect the unexpected, with claustrophobic riffing and oppressive soundscapes for the thirty-two minute run time, with very few moments to breathe. Immediately following is ‘Weaponized Grief’, a sub two-minute ode to Japanese hardcore, chaotic and frenetic performances ensue. The track flies by in a blur of unbridled fury before careening into the strangely anthemic energy of ‘No’, a deliberate reference to the hardcore influenced energy of the Boris album of the same name.
“Boris and Uniform saw a spark and decided to pursue their onstage chemistry, taking the form of Bright New Disease.”
Even at moments where it seems like the pace has slowed, such as ‘The Look is a Flame’ and the instrumental track ‘The Sinners of Hell (Jigoku)’, the unnerving blend of Boris’ theatric doom drones, experimental instrumentation and wailing vocals paired with Uniform’s penchant for piercing synth tones, industrial synthesis/noise and aggressive barked words keep the atmosphere just as bleak and weighty as the more overt, fast-paced moments. This becomes even clearer with ‘Narcotic Shadow’, building upon a series of electronic arpeggiations, leaving an uneasy atmosphere as the heavily dark-wave and new-romantic inspired vocals and instrumentation swells, feeling like the closing song in the basement of an underground goth club at 3am bathed in neon lights.
The two bands seamlessly weave between each others soundscapes, complimenting each other, simultaneously producing something that sounds like both Boris and Uniform, yet somehow at times sounding completely unique in the context of both artists. Even the monolithic album closer “Not Surprised” tips its hat to earlier doom-centric volumes from Boris’ past, but with the added howls of Uniform vocalist Michael Berdan and extra industrial synthesis layering the soundscape underneath the backbreaking drone riffs.
“'Narcotic Shadow'... like the closing song in the basement of an underground goth club at 3am bathed in neon lights. ”
The tones and textures vary a lot throughout, as to be expected from both acts tendency to experiment with various instrumentations and styles throughout their varied discographies. There is an excellent bridging of the analogue and electronic aspects of the mix, moving each side as necessary when it takes the instrumental focus. The project was conceptualised with the idea of collaborative live performances in mind, lending Bright New Disease a raw edge to the production that works in the atmospherics favour to great effect. On top of that, all members of both bands are frequently tracked and layered on top of each other, lending to huge walls of guitars and bass, as well as both drummers interwoven drumming achieving almost like a (un)natural delay and undeniable power between the two.
Whilst those on the outside looking in may not be too enthralled with the deeply experimental and claustrophobic nature of this project, for fans of either Boris or Uniform its hard to deny to power of this collaborative effort. At just over half-an-hour as well, its well worth anyone’s time who’s looking for something a little different from the world of experimental noise influenced artists.