Nine Circles

Circumstances conspired, culminating in all the necessary tools required to pull me back in, penning (as if the saying has any grip in this electronic keyboard world) for the first time in years a Evcharist column. A band I love has an album coming out today, and I was just gifted a bottle of spirits that complements (even as it refutes) the abrasion rattling in my eardrums.

Is it kismet? Fate? Or simply a cheap justification for me to talk about two things I dearly love: Boris and whisky? Either way, drink from the cup of heresy with this week’s offering: Boris & Uniform‘s ripping collaboration Brand New Disease and Hibiki, the wonderful blended whiskey from the now 100-year old institution that is Suntory Whisky.

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The Tunes: Boris & Uniform — Bright New Disease

Boris is an absolute wonder, cranking out album after album (Bright New Disease makes it about album #45 by my meager reckoning) without ever sounding stale, perfectly at ease in drone, sludge, noise…even pop. The alchemic combination of Atsuo, Takeshi and Wata ensure that whatever it is you’re listening to, it’s going to be massively heavy – even in its quiet, contemplative moments. Those quiet moments are few and far between on Bright New Disease, where the trio collaborate with industrial noise/hardcore merchants Uniform. The results are some of the most straight up metallic moments the band have put down, and the magic of the record (clocking in at a brisk 32 minutes) is how each band perfectly comes through in the mix.

Opener “You Are the Beginning” was penned by Boris, but the glitchy thrash of Uniform bring it right to your face, with a killer vocal performance by vocalist and electronics master Michael Berdan. From there the record goes for the throat, with the glitchy screamo d-beat of “Weaponized Grief” and the almost technical thrash of “No” being early highlights. “Narcotic Shadow” goes for a techno darkwave riot that drips with menace, while the utter lunacy of “Endless Death Agony” might be my favorite track, with Wata trading devastating solos with Ben Greenberg during the track’s apocalyptic climax. Make no mistake: this is not a detour but another example of how you can never, NEVER count on Boris to be anything but themselves, regardless of how they sound. This one’s a winner.

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The Booze: Suntory Whisky’s Hibiki

Some things just slip by you. I’ve been passionate about the good good golden brown liquid for years, and yet this is my first time tasting Japanese whisky. At this point Suntory can be considered an elder statesman, currently celebrating their 100th year in the whisky making business. Hibiki stands for “resonance” and is a beautifully rich blend of malt and grain whiskies from Suntory’s Yamazaki, Hakushu, and Chita distilleries. Aged in a number of different barrels, the first thing you get on the nose is sandalwood mixed with citrus notes. A few deep sniffs from my glencairn yields a slight touch of rosemary, too. The smells are of the earth, the woods, and you begin to understand why the Hibiki carries the subtitle of “Japanese Harmony” – all the smells work toward a collective sense memory.

The palate yields a different perspective. The citrus is there, but it’s carried under a slight bitterness of chocolate, followed by sweet notes of butterscotch. The finish has hints of wood, but it’s not a woody taste, more a taste of the outside forest and less licking bark. The finish lingers, and despite the video of Keanu Reeves drinking it in a wide glass with a massive round ice cube, I found a neat pour to be ideal. Ice certainly lessens the stronger wood notes but also hides some of the chocolate. a few drops of water opened the honey-like qualities, but overall for me I’d start with a nice neat pour. Linger over the nose and enjoy it. Then, take a sip and let it hit every part of your mouth and tongue. You’ll thank me.

All that and I didn’t even mention how beautiful the bottle is. Doesn’t matter if it’s rock or whiskey on the rocks…they know how to make it work.

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Cheers, and be good to each other

— Chris