Bossk - Migration

Angry Metal Guy

When post-metal gets talked about there are certain bands – the titans of the genre, if you will – that get routinely name dropped. While the UK’s excellent Bossk may not be on the level of genre progenitors Neurosis, for example, either in terms of influence or output – Migration is only their second full-length – they are, I believe, unfairly overlooked in post-metal circles. To test this theory in absolutely rigorous scientific conditions, I spent several minutes performing grueling searches of this site. Our post-metal tag has, at the time of writing, 263 articles associated with it. The Cult of Luna tag produces 53 hits, Neurosis 100, ISIS 82 … you get the picture. How many for Bossk, you ask? One. A single, solitary reference by yours truly in a review last year.¹ Part of this may be down to the band’s sporadic output: a couple of EPs in 2005 and 2007, a split in 2009 but then came the gorgeous, dreamy 2016 debut, Audio Noir, and still few heads were turned. Will Migration be the record to put one of Kent’s finest exports on the map?

If you’re not familiar with Bossk, don’t go into this expecting to be bludgeoned by mountain-sized riffs for the duration. These exist but Migration, and Bossk in general, is more experimental than this. The sound is as much about the sonic journey, formed of pulsing, yawing electronica, delicate keys and looped trip-hop-esque drumming (opener “White Stork”) or crackling static (“Iter”), as it is about Cult of Luna-like post-hardcore. When Bossk does first change up through the gears on second track “Menhir,” they do so with Cult of Luna‘s Johannes Persson guesting on vocals. In some ways, Migration’s most straightforward offering, its massive guitars feel like a release of pent up tension, after the beautiful, slow build dynamics and ambience of “White Stork.” Even with Persson’s harsh vocals on hand, which many bands would simply have given the track over to, Bossk has the restraint and songcraft to build something far more interesting.

Migration by Bossk

Similarly “HTV-3,” into which “Menhir” flows by way of brief interlude “Iter,” features Palm Reader‘s Josh McKeown on vocals but sees Bossk craft a compelling piece that shifts between moments of surprising groove, stuttering feedback, huge post-metal riffs and alternating clean-harsh vocals. “HTV-3” actually marks the end for vocals on Migration, with the remaining three tracks all instrumentals, save for some sampled vocals on “Lira,” contributed by Rob Vaughan, who also handles all the synths for Bossk. The unearthly manipulation contributed by Tako Aiko and Etsuo Nagura,² both of Japanese noise outfit Endon, which seeps through Migration, gives the whole a spectral, haunting quality that captivates throughout. As both “Lira” and album closer “Unberth” oscillate between drone and gorgeous, melodic, almost progressive, post-metal, we find Bossk operating at the outer edges of metal, sharing as much DNA with the likes of Year of No Light or Minsk, as they do with the Boris / Merzbow collaboration.

A casual listen to Migration would suggest that the two centerpieces are “Menhir” and “HTV-3,” with their respective guest vocal sessions. Persson’s vocals (of which I am a fan but I am aware engender some fairly Marmite reactions), actually contribute relatively little to the overall record and, while McKeown’s contribution to “HTV-3” is more striking, there is in fact no single highlight to Migration. Rather, it’s the complete package, in all its chameleonic shades, that will repay your investment of time. Everything is in perfect balance, from the brief explosions of fury (on “HTV-3,” for example), through the garbled radio signals that interrupt key moments to the perfectly constructed build of incredible closing duo “Lira” and “Unberth.” All the more impressive is that Bossk has crafted this in bang on 40 minutes. Produced my Martin Ruffin, who also contributes keys, the sound is rich and envelops you completely, and I really cannot find fault with it.

Patience is needed to appreciate everything that Migration offers. There are a few ‘pay off’ moments, delivered Persson and McKeown, but with each listen, more nuances and subtleties are uncovered in the ambient soundscapes, with the last few minutes of epic closer “Unberth” the icing on a multi-tiered cake. I don’t know if this will be the record to finally get Bossk the attention it deserves but it should be. Simultaneously starker and richer than Audio Noir, the bleak atmosphere that pervades Migration is addictive.

Rating: 4.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Deathwish Inc.
Websites: bosskband.bandcamp.com | bossk.co.uk | facebook.com/bosskonline
Releases Worldwide: June 18th, 2021

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