Boris (ボリス, Borisu) is a Japanese rock band that draws variously from styles such as sludge metal, drone, noise, psychedelia, and minimalism. Formed in 1992 in Tokyo, the band is composed of drummer Atsuo, guitarist/bassist Takeshi, and guitarist/keyboardist Wata. All three members sing. Boris has released more than 20 studio albums on various labels around the world, as well as a variety of live albums, compilations, EPs, singles, and collaborative albums. They have collaborated with acts such as Sunn O))), Merzbow, Keiji Haino, and guitarist Michio Kurihara.

Boris was originally a four-piece band with Atsuo on lead vocals, Wata on guitar, Takeshi on bass, and Nagata on drums. The band is named after a song of the same name on the Melvins album Bullhead. Boris's debut single Absolutego was released in 1996 on their own record label Fangs Anal Satan. Nagata departed in 1996 and Atsuo switched to drums, while Wata expanded her duties to lead guitar and keyboards, and Takeshi took on bass and rhythm guitar duties, eventually in 2001 incorporating the use of a double-necked guitar and bass. All three adopted lead vocal duties, and the band has remained a three-piece ever since.

In Japan, Boris release their music on the indie labels such as Inoxia Records. Though lesser known in their home country, a series of reissues of their early albums on the American label Southern Lord Records caused a surge of popularity in North America. Boris also collaborates with other artists regularly, first on the 1998 album Black: Implication Flooding with experimental musician Keiji Haino. They have released seven collaborative albums with noise artist Merzbow, and have released collaborative albums with international artists like Sunn O))) and Ian Astbury.

Their international popularity was bolstered by their 2005 album Pink, which was met with considerable critical praise and a strong response from music fans when reissued in the US on Southern Lord. Blender magazine and SPIN magazine both named it one of 2006's best albums. The album also topped the metal section of Canadian magazine Exclaim!'s 2006 Reader's Poll, and it was named in the top 10 of Pitchfork Media's Top 50 Records of 2006. They also appeared on the avant-garde metal soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch's film The Limits of Control in 2009. Regarding Boris, Jarmusch said that "what's really remarkable is when they play live they're in the mode, in a way, of jazz musicians, not structurally or musically, but the way they listen to what the others are doing and build on it. Each time they play something it's obviously different, every time."

Boris focus a lot of their time on touring. In an interview, Atsuo said:

"That we tour so much and release so many albums, I think it is representative of what we're about. Direct communication is something we've lost in this day and age. It's a shame – [even] interviews are over [the] phone. I think it's important to see people face to face – that's why it's so important to go on tour. It's something very basic to humans that we've lost lately."

Boris received additional international exposure when they opened for Nine Inch Nails on part of the 2008 segment of the Lights in the Sky tour. From 2011 to 2017, they released several albums on Sargent House Records, and continue to reissue previous albums in new formats. In 2017, the band's 25th anniversary, they considered retirement after one final album. However, a successful songwriting and recording process for that album, Dear, encouraged the band to continue. While self-isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic, Boris self-released the rock-oriented album NO and the ambient album W, with the two constituting a project called NOW. The third volume in the album series Heavy Rocks, featuring explorations of hard rock and heavy metal sounds, was released in August 2022. During an American tour to support the album, drummer Atsuo returned to the role of frontman (which he had had not done since the 1990s), performing most lead vocals, while Mike Engle of the band Crawl performed as guest drummer. In December 2022, Boris released their third studio album of the year, Fade, which focuses on drone metal and appeared with no prior notice.

Throughout their career, Boris have made deliberate efforts to avoid a strong association with any musical style. In particular, they do not consider themselves a heavy metal band despite frequently being categorized as such. In an interview, drummer Atsuo stated: "Having some kind of preconceived message or theme is very boring to me. It becomes a crutch. Just say what you want to say."