Gensho

Gensho makes obvious how much each act enhances the other. [No. 130, p.53]

Merzbow’s creations add a new dimension to Boris’ material, so the whole thing sounds apocalyptic and huge.

These collaborations have been performed live over the past few years and for all its pristine yet textured presentation Gensho succeeds in capturing the dynamics of those live actions. [Apr 2016, p.46]

If you hear the record in the manner suggested to you, Merzbow’s music, unsentimental to the core, sluices through the elegant silences in and among the Boris tracks. There is an aggressive tension here, which often feels awkward or wrong. But then it can remind you of the aggressive tension you may have heard and liked in Boris or Merzbow in the first place.

Creatively, Gensho is so rich and expansive, fans of both acts should find it indispensable.

Rough going at 75 minutes, but it's as pure an expression of Merzbow's vision as the first half is of Boris'.

This is music made exclusively for musicians who want you to know how subversive they are. Prior knowledge of avant-garde music and culture is required.

By the fourth or fifth trip through Gensho, the idea begins to slip into pure gimmickry, as though this were a notion that sounded fun for old friends to try but isn't so fun to hear.