Boris - Boris at Last -Feedbacker- (2003)^{Release ID: 501}

I used to avoid Boris like the plague, but took the plunge with this album after seeing the constant raving about it - and now it's possibly my favourite drone metal album. Essentially a single 44 minute piece split into five parts, Part One is made up of the usual huge, droning, sustained chords most associated with drone metal before segueing into a very laid back second section (and the albums longest) that begins very post-rock and spacey-sounding then starts building in intensity (and volume!) before, finally, the vocals kick in. Part Three continues the theme and vocals of the end of Part Two, but also features an awesome, ultra-amped guitar solo before ultimately breaking down into the noise and feedback-drenched chaos of Part Four. The short fifth and final part heralds a return to the laid back theme from Part Two, albeit overlaid with residual feedback from Part Four. This is an album that is as much a sensation to be experienced as much as a piece of music to listen to, with it's changing and contrasting aural textures that seem to be intended to be listened to at volume. Anybody unsure about drone metal should probably start with this classic. If this don't do it for ya, then drone probably ain't for you!

According to The Infallible Denizens of RateYourMusic Dot Com, as of writing this review in the early winter of January 2026, “Boris at Last -Feedbacker-” is the *checking charts* 13th greatest Metal album of all time, and if recent years are anything to judge by, still rising. 

Here’s what I can tell you. Is this album one of the top 13 Boris albums of all time? Yeah, probably. Out of the ones I’ve heard, it’s easily one of their better albums, but they have like 69 albums so I can’t say for sure yet. Is it one of the top 13 Drone Metal albums of all time? Well, again, this album is labeled as a Drone Metal album by The Infallible Denizens of RateYourMusic Dot Com despite not having a single Drone Metal song on it, so, no, but if it counts, then it would possibly have a fair shot.

Boris at Last -Feedbacker- is inoffensive. It’s decent background noise. It does feature one guitar solo that is actually quite good. It features zero good riffs. It features zero interesting drumming, but the hypnotic, repetitive drumming on “Untitled” (2) works in the song’s favor. It features some vocals, but they aren’t special in any way, and most of the time they aren’t there. It probably features bass, but it didn’t do anything interesting. Sometimes the fuzzy, noisy textures are decent, often they are boring and entirely unevocative. “Untitled” (2) has a little bit of nice build up and progression in it, every other song goes absolutely nowhere, but “Untitled” (3) makes up for it a little by being the only song with a modicum of energy.

Instead of “Boris at Last -Feedbacker-” being in the top 13 Metal albums of all time, here are 13 Metal albums that I prefer to “Boris at Last -Feedbacker-” :

St. Anger – Metallica

Metal Magic – Pantera

Octagon – Bathory

Evolution – Disturbed

Cold Lake – Celtic Frost

Battles – In Flames (5-star album by the way)

Forbidden – Black Sabbath

Demolition – Judas Priest

Supercharger – Machine Head

Nation – Sepultura

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet – Avenged Sevenfold

Virtual XI – Iron Maiden

Volume 8 - The Threat Is Real - Anthrax