There are many ways that bands can celebrate a landmark moment in time. Live albums, best-of collections, tours focused on certain records, and special merch are manners in which that’s been done, and it depends on the artists and their audience as to which approach works best. When it comes to Bossk, the above isn’t quite enough.

Moving in on two decades together and the end of their first era that also marks the departure of vocalist Sam Marsh (he was replaced by Simon Wright), the long-running post-metal juggernaut is releasing “.4,” an interesting compilation of pieces from their history displayed in an entirely new way that their audience hasn’t heard before. Bossk—they’re rounded out by guitarists Alex Hamilton and Rob Vaughan, bassist Tom Begley, and drummer Nick Corney—have a slew of mini releases and two great full-lengths to their name, and as they look ahead to their third record, planned for 2026, they’re closing their first chapter with this nine-track collection. Assembling new versions of rare tracks, remixes, and takes by like-minded colleagues who try their capable hands at classic Bossk songs, this is a more thought-provoking and interesting collection than a mere best-of or something of that nature. This is a riveting adventure that, no matter how deeply you’ve consumed their music, you will find something surprising and refreshing to absorb.

“Kobe” features UK-based post-metal band Pijn, and they stay faithful to the original with their own flourishes. They capture the doomy swing and the pummeling low end, rumbling with emotion and momentum, making your blood rush as they keep driving deeper and harder to push you over the edge. “Truth II” is a new take of the song that also features Dubai-based composer Sheenagh Murray, whose own version of the song inspired the new take. Her singing floats above the thunder, adding new textures and visions to this band classic, power swelling and the guitars adding heat. Wordless calls surge as lush, dreamy playing swims in the clouds, pulsating as the spirit collects and a synth wave chills bones. “Albert” is a new track the band only played live once, and in a different version. Corney reworked it, and now it exists with fuzzy beats, jolting, stabbing guitars, and battering energy. You might find your mind drifting into the cosmos, taking on a cosmic glaze, the guitars spiraling away. “Events Occur In Real Time” was recorded so that outgoing vocalist Marsh could put his glass-shredded voice to this 13-minute epic. The only version that existed before this was a live take, so this is a different animal. Mariachi-style horns greet you, guitars chiming and noise buzzing, Marsh’s throaty wails laying down the hammer. The song is devastating both musically and emotionally as the band pours every ounce of themselves into this, acting as a powerful centerpiece that pays homage to their past and paves a path into the future.

“White Stork,” the first song on 2021’s “Migration,” still features Japanese sound experimenters Endon, but with the Bossk elements significantly pushed back. That makes for an eerier track, one that feels like it’s crawling down your spine, cosmic pressure growing, weird trickling hovering as sounds hiss, finally escaping into the atmosphere. “I” is a 2006 remix from Twin Zero guitarist Reuben Gotto, and noises scrape over it, rattling as guitars glow, sounds bustling as the spirit grows threatening. The gust and gaze unite, the steam rising and everything coming to a chilling end. “The Reverie” gets a more delicate treatment by instrumental band Maybeshewill, splashing chilling keys and giving the track and ambiance that feels like a foggy early morning, sun doing its best to push through the clouds. Synth gathers and collects, bringing a sense of serenity, slowly dissolving and melting into the ground. Canadian prog-psyche beast Crown Lands takes on “The Reverie II” and pushes it even deeper into space, the guitars gushing and zipping past alien worlds, hypnotic forces taking you under and helping you see visions you couldn’t before. Keys zap as the prog elements thicken, sinking into an insurmountable deluge that enthralls and settles into the galaxy. Closer “181 To Beulah” also is a song that previously only was available in a live version, and this track, played entirely on guitar, is breezy and reflective, a dark, shadowy figure that lifts and numbs, disappearing into darkness, feeling like a temporary being that haunts and then slips back into a different fold in time.

Anyone who has been on the ride with Bossk should revel in this collection as it presents their previous work in a way you’ve never witnessed it before. “.4” might be the ending of one story and the start of a new one, but it’s also a testament to some really great, riveting work that has captured imaginations and whisked spirits into entirely new territories. We wait in great anticipation of what comes next for Bossk on their forthcoming album, and this collection will act as a connective thread to the first era that has passed but will remain in hearts and minds forever.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/bosskonline/

To buy the album, go here: https://deathwishinc.com/collections/bossk

For more on the label, go here: https://deathwishinc.com/