Sunn 0))) - Monoliths & Dimensions

http://www.southernlord.com/images/promo/md_200.jpghttp://www.southernlord.com/images/promo/md_header.gif
SUNN O))) is proud to present their 7th studio album, after 10 years of existence, entitled Monoliths & Dimensions. The album showcases the core guitar duo - Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson - incorporating influences from a plethora of guest musicians, bringing the SUNN O))) sound to epic new levels. The band also collaborated with composer Eyvind Kang (notable for his work with John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell, etc.) on various acoustic ensembles, in addition to the Helios fueled electric guitars and basses. Key players on the album include Australian guitar genius Oren Ambarchi, enigmatic Hungarian vocalist Attila Csihar (Mayhem, Tormentor, etc.) and slow music godfather Dylan Carlson (Earth), as well as Julian Priester (worked with Sun Ra in the 50s, John Coltrane’s African Brass band, and Herbie Hancock’s Sextant band) and new-music horn player Stuart Dempster. There's also an upright bass trio, French & English horns, harp & flute duo, piano, brass, reed & strings ensembles, and a Viennese woman's choir led by Persian vocal savant Jessika Kenney.

The album is not "SUNN O))) with strings" or "metal meets orchestra" material. The band took an approach concentrating on more of allusion toward the timbre of feedback and the instruments involved, so the piece is really illusory, beautiful and not entirely linear, stating that the end product is "the most musical piece we’ve done, and also the heaviest, powerful and most abstract set of chords we've laid to tape" The album was recorded and mixed by Randall Dunn & Mell Dettmer at various points over the last 2 years. As can be expected the packaging for this album is beautiful and appropriately compliments the audio content. Jewel case is sheathed by a velum O-card. Expansive 24 page booklet with velum cover and specially coated heavy-weight paper. Truly a site to behold!

Monoliths & Dimensions is practice in density, gravity and momentum.

Monoliths & Dimensions track listing:

1.
Aghartha (17:34)
2.
Big Church [megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért] (09:43)
3.
Hunting & Gathering (Cydonia) (10:02)
4.
Alice (16:21)

MAXIMUM VOLUME YIELDS MAXIMUM RESULTS.

*The cd is available by itself or available with shirt or sweatshirt for a special "package" price.

*All cd orders receive sunn 0)))-Monoliths & Dimensions badge!

It's out in the UK now. Anyone heard it?
anyone want to give me their vinyl promo? :)

best album since Flight of the Behemoth no lie

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2009/04/sunn_o_leaks_mo.php

PSYCHED FOR THIS

It really is a great record. Most Sunn albums don't work at home on a stereo, but I can really see myself actually pulling this one out and listening to it.

i may have to get this

Anyone giving away or selling their promo vinyl?

I really can't wait to hear this.

Anyone giving away or selling their promo vinyl?

Mine hasn't arrived yet; I'll let you know.

thanks!

"Agharta" !!

i recognize its unlikely that this is a miles davis cover im just pleased at the confluence

been looking for this. really psyched.

The album is full of Miles Davis references, 'The Big Church' being one as well.

That said the name of the track Agartha is down to the fact that Davis and Csihar are/were both obsessed by hollow earth theory rather than O'Malley and Anderson being heavily into electric jazz fusion.

this band is fucking terrifying.

STOKED

I've been excited to fuck about this for a while now and I'm getting to the stage where I fear it will only disappoint. Still: everything I read about it makes it sound like one of the best fucking things ever, so ...

village voice article makes me drooool

psyched for this

this is a really, really amazing record. by some way sunn o)))'s most ambitious and engaging record. each track is a stunner, but 'big church' and 'alice' are particularly incredible. kang's input is really apparent, and utterly invaluable.

incidentally, not only is miles referenced on this album, but 'alice' is a direct nod to mrs coltrane.

in other words, the buzz is really justified in this case...

Album of the year?

It's mine so far.

PURE SICKNESS says:

ANY ONE THAT WORSHIPS SATAN IS COMMITTING A GREAT SIN, AND DESTROYING HIS LIFE.
Posted On: Monday, Apr. 6 2009 @ 10:55AM

the only comment on that vv article

has this leaked?

Nice wee piece in the current Plan B (May 2009) going through it track by track with O'Malley & Anderson.

listened this morning. first track seemed pretty standard sunn. not bad, but nothing on here to match all the jazzbo hyperbole.

fell asleep for the next two, lol.

woke sometime during "alice." seemed cool.

Part-way through a first listen -- I've not heard Alice yet -- I'm sadly disappointed. I wanted huge, zero-gravity captivation and what I get is a Sunn O))) record with bells and whistles ... it's like all the choirs and horns and so on have just been slapped on the top, rather than becoming an integral, miasmic part of the sound.

I don't listen to stuff like this because I've got a hard-on for heaviness: I listen to it because, at its best, it's transcendently beautiful. This has a couple of moments where it's touched that so far, but really: so much less than the sum of its parts.

A grower? Maybe. Doubt it, though.

grimly i plan to use the phrase 'hard-on for heaviness' whenever ppl ask me what kind of music i like

have been soooo broke, so have yet to spring for this but will prob weaken come payday - but im worried that the record i'm imagining is better than the one that Sunn O))) made, to paraphrase ts eliot

Ward, I'd be privileged for you to do that :)

And yes, I think that's exactly what I did: imagined something that maybe was never going to exist. Still, I've actually just been discussing it with a colleague (a colleague who's excitedly rushing home with his newly imported Omar Rodriguez Lopez album): he hasn't heard it, is waiting for the vinyl and wasn't put off by my moaning at all. Good.

Simon please read http://www.foreverdoomed.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=6220&start=610

Hahahah. I absolutely appreciate that: I mean, I hadn't even listened to the whole thing when I posted that first message, which is pretty unforgivable.

And I'm not for one second saying: "Here, this is shit." Alice continued in the vein I sort-of expected and I stand by my original verdict -- disappointed -- but that's about me and my expectations, not necessarily this record, which I think I'd raised to impossible levels in my mind.

Three other points:

1) Despite all that, I'm looking forward to listening again. That's something I didn't expect when I posted this afternoon.

2) When I finished listening, it took me ages to find something I wanted to listen to next; it certainly creates a strong mood in its wake.

3) I haven yet concentrated on it, for want of a better word; immersed myself, if you like.

The bottom line is that I don't think it's ever going to live up to my absurd expectations. But whose fault is that? (Clue: mine.)

what I get is a Sunn O))) record with bells and whistles ... it's like all the choirs and horns and so on have just been slapped on the top, rather than becoming an integral, miasmic part of the sound.

XD

what I get is a Sunn O))) record with bells and whistles

dude this has been EVERY sunno))) record since Flight of the Behemoth. It's like jazz albums. Sunn with Oren Ambarchi. Sunn with Julian Cope. Sunn with Xasthur. If they didn't it would just be 8 albums of BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. I think this is the most seamless of the lot.

'Big Church (Megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért)' is absofuckinglutely WOW

I liked "Big Church (Argybargypuddingandpie)" except for the middle section that is just BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

This is the end of my trying to like Sunn O))) on record. Just doesn't work for me, though I'd still see them live.

I would like confirmation of when the vinyl is coming out. Id rather have it on vinyl than cd. But usually the vinyl is like 6 months later forcing everyone to buy it on cd.

first listen and this is pretty good, love these trombones. Alice really sounds like Alice which is sweet.

This should be sitting in my mailbox when I get home tonight, cannot wait.

This is friggin' great.

Yeah. Is anything else of theirs this good?

Yeah. Is anything else of theirs this good?
― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 19:45 (3 hours ago) Bookmark

Well, it's early days, but I'm beginning to think this might be their best. But I'm not too precious about them moving away from the heavy drones of previous albums (great as they were), combining the vestiges of drones past with adventurous arrangements of choral vocals, horns etc.

But, to answer your question, the last Sunn O))) album, the Black One is absolutely fantastic, if a different beast to Monoliths & Dimensions. More more indebted to black metal in its musical ideas, moods artwork etc, but still using digital sound textures as well as the guitar drones. Closer "Báthory Erzébet" has to be one of the finest pieces of the past few years. Classic.

I'm liking everything but these stupid vocals.

Is anything else of theirs this good?

They've only become a viable studio concern in the last couple of years, but you should definitely get Black One and Oracle, if you can find it. The former is, as described above, their black-metal-influenced album; I think they go too far in that direction, but mine is a minority opinion. Oracle's first track is sort of their tribute to Einstürzende Neubauten (Joe Preston plays jackhammer, and Attila Csihar's vocals are very Blixa-esque). Those two, and this new one, are the only Sunn discs made to be listened to in your home.

just got this and skipped ahead straight to "alice." i'm at work, so the volume's not as high as it should be, but whoa.

Very good album. Been listening to it on and off all week.

when the horn (horns?) come in about halfway through, that's when i decided o listen to it over and over again.

I'm just back from a week in Rhodes and I spent an unlikely amount of time lying on a beach listening to this ... I'm increasingly fascinated, but still can't quite get it to "work" for me. Yet.

I'll happily admit there are many nuances I missed on the first listen -- while there are some bits of the sound that still jar with me (there's one moment in Alice that makes me think of horror-movie soundtracks, and not in a good way) there is a lot more subtlety to the horns etc than I first realised. As Kerr says, it's a grower. I'm sticking with it, certainly.

O_O

Okay, I've had this since Tuesday but I didn't listen to it until tonight because I wanted an uninterrupted listening experience on my good headphones. This is absolutely fantastic. "Alice" is easily the most gorgeous thing they have ever done.

I gave in and bought the CD today in Glasgow since the vinyl doesn't seem to be imminent. I hate it when SL try make you buy it on 2 formats. But I'd still like the vinyl promo if anyone is giving it away or selling it at a reasonable price.

this is fucking incredible btw

i'm relistening to domkirke and the horns on cannon, hearing the beginnings of what they do on M&D, but this is just so far beyond. there was a point in every song that gave me goosebumps. agharta is probably the weakest here imo but as a whole the record gets better as you go and jesus christ alice--once the guitars drop out and its just 4 minutes of strings & a fucking JAZZ TRUMPET SOLO ARE WE BEING SERIOUS

just

jesus

i have shit to do and i'm considering ignoring it so i can listen again

its just like

stupid good

The LP version sounds staggering, that's for sure. This is far and away my favourite of theirs.

after the 10 min mark Alice totally turns into In A Sunn o))) Way

Saw them last night doing the Grimm Robe Demos or whatever it's called. Simply stunning, one long drone-a-thon lasting
90 minutes. And all the better IMHO for it being just the two of them, no vocals or other instrumentation.

after the 10 min mark Alice totally turns into In A Sunn o))) Way
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 4 June 2009 07:35 (13 hours ago) Bookmark

Yes, the In a Silent Way references are unmistakeable.

TRUMPET SOLO

guess we gotta add it over here In A Similarly Silent Way

Picked up this http://www.insound.com/Sunn_O_and_Pan_Sonic__Alan_Vega__Stephen_Burroughs_Che_bw_13_Crosses_Live_2008__Goodbye_Darling_10inch/productmain/p/ins60947/ on thursday in glasgow

"404 not found."

weird
http://www.insound.com/Sunn_O%29%29%29_and_Pan_Sonic_|_Alan_Vega_|_Stephen_Burroughs/artistmain/artist/INS40557/

http://www.insound.com/Sunn_O_and_Pan_Sonic__Alan_Vega__Stephen_Burroughs_Che_bw_13_Crosses_Live_2008__Goodbye_Darling_10inch/productmain/p/INS60947/

im just copying and pasting from the page i have open. yet the link wont work

it works when i copy and paste from here and paste it in my browser

here it is on boomkat
http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=196301

yup. got it at. cut-n-paste did the trick.
i keep thinking i need to hear the new sunn 0))) album.
i liked that Earth one - same kind of noise ?

SUNN 0))) & PAN SONIC / ALAN VEGA / STEPHEN BURROUGHS - Che
BLAST FIRST PETITE
10" // £7.99
http://static.boomkat.com/images/231381/112.jpg

*White Vinyl** No, your eyes aren't decieving you, this really is a collaboration between darkside icons Sunn O))) and Pan Sonic, backed with original material from Alan Vega and Stephen Burroughs. For many moody souls this is a union made in the pits of your imagination, featuring a full blooded Sunn O))) line up including The Melvins' Joe Preston on vocals, and spooked Hammond organ from Steve Moore of Earth creating a hellish miasmah of fugged-up drones and psychedelically altered atmospheres finished with a brittle coating of electronics from Pan Sonic's Mika Vainio. The results are outstanding and in the light of their awesome recent LP, shows Sunn O))) to be at the peak of their mystical powers. Like the 'Monolith' session, the expanded range of instrumentation is fully incorporated into the group's sound. When Moore's Hammond organ settles into place after the introductory heavy sighs of Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson's abyssal guitar plumbing they evoke a deeply religious spirit, while Vanio's hi-end decorations serve to form an aura of intangibly spectral interference. Alan Vega's 'Thirteen Crosses (Live 2008)' offers a distantly recorded excerpt of a recording displaying him in muffled and slightly worn form. The B-side is rescued however with Head Of David frontman Stephen Burroughs' morose 'Goodbye Darling', a solo composition for acoustic guitar apparently recorded in one take. Pressed on white vinyl and with hand stamped sleeves featuring designs from O'Malley, this is a must for any bastards with a blackened heart - LIMITED COPIES!!!

well, early Earth is totally different to recent Earth. So no, Sunn 0))) aren't like recent Earth if that's what you meant.

TRUMPET SOLO

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, June 4, 2009 6:58 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark

fair enough.
its the epic line up in the musicians that impresses - so have been interested in hearing this.
just that i dont normally like drone stuff (saw Thrones a couple of years ago and found it fucking dullsville)

Kudos to Oren for imposing Alice Coltrane wherever he can. :)

Thrones can be very hit & miss, though I havent seen them live.
On the Southern Lord upcoming releases there is

COMING SOON

* Burning Witch - "Crippled Lucifer (Ten Psalms For Our Lord of Light) (reissue w/bonus material) 4XLP

Holy shit this is gonna be expensive.

anyone listen to the sunn/pan sonic collabo yet? mildly curious....

yes, i like it

what's it like?

Did anyone notice Oren Ambarchi playing the riff to "Black Sabbath" at the end of "Hunting & Gathering"

Article on ESPN
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/thelife/news/story?id=4342297

Nice article (in ESPN(?!)) although the writer seems a bit baffled by O'Malley's methodology.

all great articles start with the word "I"

Judas Priest? Iron Maiden? Maybe, but in retrospect, even those bands seem cartoonish compared to the real thing. After my talk with O'Malley, I've decided that true metal is hardly cartoonish and is most definitely smarter than people think.

so dumb.

It is dumb, but I like that last phrase. It still irritates me that so many people view metal as some dumb, boneheaded genre. Seeing an outsider acknowledge that is nice once in a while.

It still irritates me that so many people view metal as some dumb

and that's just on ILM

x-post -

I can see that... but I just hate the attitude that music has to be VERY SERIOUS to be worthy of consideration. (or to be "true" in this case.) guess I'm preaching to the converted here, but hey.

also, most metal is cartoonish! or, at least, funny. it's one of the things I like about it!

Yeah I agree with the first part, I was really only defending his last 6 words.

yeah, I hear you.

I've decided that true metal is hardly cartoonish and is most definitely smarter than people think.

uh huh

true metal like sunn 0)))

L0)))L

Uh, SunnO))) are the biggest goofballs of all. They dress in druid robes not because they're "TRVE" but because they have a sense of humor.

Any metal that ISN'T cartoonish is pretty much a fucking embarrassing joke

it's a textbook case of the "repressive tolerance" phenomenon- "I like this one thing because it lets me continue to believe that all the other things supposedly like it are still, and will always be, crappy, thus meaning that I can continue to basically ignore this stuff"

not the band's fault though

Any metal that ISN'T cartoonish is pretty much a fucking embarrassing joke

eh, whatever brah.

the cartoonish and the serious are really one and the same

In danger of creating a false binary here. Stuff can be dumb fun and intelligent at the same time - Zappa, Beefheart etc. But people will accept this because it's canonical. People won't give metal the same breaks.

Not that I'm *too* bothered. At the end of the day, dressing like a monk and playing drop tuned Melvins riffs at retina detatching volumes is awesome whether it's accompanied by an intelligent rationale or not.

Should have said XP then.

At the end of the day, dressing like a monk and playing drop tuned Melvins riffs at retina detatching volumes is awesome whether it's accompanied by an intelligent rationale or not.

Cosign.

I finally got this record.

Never really listened to Sunn before except a few times at a friends house.

I don't really know their career or if it's TRV KVLT or whatever

but

this is some really fucking gorgeous music. julien priester was kinda what got me interested in it...and yeah i'm w/HOOS the fucking trumpet solo is gorgeous.

my friend thinks the record is supposed to be a journey from hell/the underworld to heaven and the end with the trumpet solo shows that you've arrived in heaven...

but yeah it's like a black hole or something. listening to it loud through my speakers was pretty overwhelming....

reminds me somewhat of arvo part.

also i like the bells and whistles, the way sometimes the choral stuff and the strings sort of meld with the guitars is pretty cool...there were times when the drone was so overpowering then i realized that the guitars had sort of disappeared w/o me knowing it

i have never gotten into these guys because i don't nec. want to shell out for a record and sampling them via downloading is totally pointless. maybe it's time....?

i think it's pretty cool.

i def think you need to listen on a "real" stereo though for the full effect...the fucking bass frequencys are goddamn CRAZY

CAD this is def. the record to shell for.

What he sez.

cool--next time i buy records it's a go. thanks guys.

Also I wouldn't say that sampling via downloading is pointless w/ the past couple of albums/EPs/live stuff (basically starting w/ Black One.) I would say that listening loud is suggested whatever the medium.

i've been listening to this exclusively on computer speakers & headphones btw i can't wait to put it on the stereo

i've been listening to this exclusively on computer speakers & headphones btw i can't wait to put it on the stereo
― BIG HOOS's wacky crack variety hour (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Friday, 31 July 2009 23:14 (29 minutes ago)

This needs to be cranked up on a stereo system. Get the floor shaking etc. Fucken fantastic.

yeah i mean it's a good record but it was sort of awe inspiring loud.

The bass even at -5 shakes my car.

just wanna cosign the need to hear the CD on a good system, this is one of probably less than five new-in-2009 CDs that I ran out and bought. listening to this band on MP3 is really pointless, I tried and gave up.

yeah i meant to say to alex that my comment was shorthand for the fact that in order to listen to anything LOUD i need a physical release with my current setup.

yes, 'Alice' is a masterpiece. beautiful music. really reminded me of Arvo Pärt and Alice Coltrane and that's what I was expecting from this record.

not so sure about the rest. hope it's a grower

it is

Did anyone go to either of the Seattle shows?

Will Sunn O))) ever come to Texas?? I am so there.

i thought i read they were doing an austin show this fall sometime

This sounds so fucking amazing on vinyl. so so so good.

i assume you have the promo vinyl?

i finally picked this up last week. so far only listened to the first song on headphones but it was pretty fucken rad.

I don't know a lot about this band but I heard "Hunting And Gathering" the other night and I'm excited to hear the rest.

yep the promo. can't wait to see the art they come up with for the proper release.

someone give me the promo please

Anyone seen them on this tour? Did they bring any of the strings/horns/etc. along, or is it just the usual Wall of RARRRRR guitar doom?

they never play anything from albums, they just wing it.

Anyone seen them on this tour? Did they bring any of the strings/horns/etc. along, or is it just the usual Wall of RARRRRR guitar doom?

DLee means the Monoliths/Dimensions tour, anagram -- not the Grim Robes set. They're playing Monoliths here in Berlin in a few weeks (only 8 weeks after playing the Grim Robe set). Looking forward to it.

"Anyone seen them on this tour? Did they bring any of the strings/horns/etc. along, or is it just the usual Wall of RARRRRR guitar doom?"

When I saw them it was Attila, guitar & bass and a keyboard + trombone guy. It was mostly a Wall of RARRRRR though with occassional chanting underneath.

When I saw them it was Attila, guitar & bass and a keyboard + trombone guy. It was mostly a Wall of RARRRRR though with occassional chanting underneath.

Poifick.

Bring lots of money for the merch table too.

You can fund your retirement that way; just take 10 of everything.

Can someone get me a grimmrobes tape please?

Yeah the Grimmrobes demo cassette I bought is already going for like 4x what I paid for it on ebay.

At the end of the day, dressing like a monk and playing drop tuned Melvins riffs at retina detatching volumes is awesome whether it's accompanied by an intelligent rationale or not.

I think I just read the ultimate ILM sentence that nobody could disagree with!

Anyway, late to this album -- hell, late to this band -- but this is some incredible stuff. I already have (and love) Earth's The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull plus a few things by Boris, but this completely floored me. I want to listen to it over and over right now.

Herman: you coming to the Stereo gig in December? Got my ticket yesterday ...

They're playing in Glasgow? Have to check that out - I think I went to Instal instead last time, and have regretted it ever since.

Didn't know they were playing. I'll probably be going but why Stereo. ABC2 is better

seeing them tonight!

Yeh, they're doing a couple of UK dates around ATP. Not sure who's supporting at Glasgow yet.

http://strangeglue.com/news/sunn-o-announce-december-uk-tour

I have ticket #11, which makes me seem like more of a rabid fanboy than I am. Hell, my posts above make clear what a neophyte I am with this mob. But yes, I think experiencing them live is U&K.

Excited about the ATL show next week.

anyone going to the show at the Masonic Temple tonight? I haven't decided yet

I'm going. I can't figure out if there's a definitive word on whether it starts at 8 or doors are at 8.

I may finally get to meet surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally

I texted my friend in Atl "should I drive or swim over there on Fri?" and he texted back "oh the rain is just one of the apocalyptic conditions Sunn O has in their rider."

i really wish i knew some more masochists

they were strangely not-very-loud in providence last weekend. there were only one or two points where I briefly popped in earplugs and I didn't have any ringing in the ears the next day. frequencies were still crazy tho, I could feel my clothes vibrating!

who's in the band on this tour? preferably that vocalist that wears the crazy costumes....

http://assets1.pitchforkmedia.com/images/original/42568.sunno1.jpg

I can't wait for next Sunday's show in Athens....

seeing them tomorrow. girlfriend who listens primarily to pleasant indie rock stuff doesn't know anything about the band but demanded to go (despite my protestations) because she didn't want me to go alone. pretty awesome, but i can't imagine her tolerating 90 minutes of BRRRRRRRR. we'll see i guess.

also getting some weed tomorrow. don't know if i should dive into that beforehand or not. could make for a pretty amazing experience or it could send me running out with a panic attack. decisions here.

man, that show last night at the Masonic Temple torched my cortices. anyone have pic of Attila in that Statue of Liberty-laser fingers get-up?

all my pictures are of smoke

The show last night in Baltimore was killer. Who's on horn for the touring ensemble? Did they convince Stuart Dempster to do the tour?

yeah, that was fucking fantastic. glad i picked up the 2LP Monoliths & Dimensions there. didn't realize it wasn't readily available elsewhere.

neither did i

monoliths is one of the few records that makes me wonder if i should go CD or LP.

Great show in Atlanta. I celebrated getting a clean bill of health from the audiologist by leaving the earplugs out for about half the set.

I can hear something from 'In a Silent Way' in 'Alice'

Atilla totally made the show for me....that second outfit is ridiculous

though I could've sworn he said "the secrets of the ESKIMOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEESSSSSSS" during his first song

glad i picked up the 2LP Monoliths & Dimensions there. didn't realize it wasn't readily available elsewhere

Well it's in my local record store so that seems pretty readily available to me

the last five minutes of this album are pretty spiritual for me.

though i think that CD did fuck up my nice headphones : /

doh!

I'm listening to "Aghartha" right now, and it sounds like the dude just said "I search for Derrida of clouds."

picked up ticket #101 for the stereo gig this lunchtime, excited

For those in the UK who don't want to pay £33+ inc shipping for the album from Southern Lord in the US, you can get it from Southern in the UK for £20 + postage

Saw them live last night in Berlin. Fucking brilliant. Atilla on vocals for all of the gig in ridiculous costum(s) -- i.e. mask. They played thru most of the new album, which worked well in the adapted live format. Wonderfully low-frequency (skin crawlingly so) without being actually that loud to my ears (kept using plugs, then taking them out again for a while; I'd been to Sunn gigs where they were dangerously loud, so it's hard to be sure). They had problems filling the cavernous Berghain club with smoke, so not as creepy as previous Sunn0))) gigs, but great all the same.

I dunno about Attila, I personally feel Sunn O))) is best with just the two of them, no vocals or guest musicians. I saw them do the Grimm Robe Demos like that and it was just stunning, like having flies crawl into your skull. Having anyone else in the line-up with them kind of dilutes the intensity of it for me.

BWOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!

you can vote for it in a certain poll..

You can smoke a certain pole if you mention it in one more thread

would i like this

Er... Sunn O))) or the poll or the pole?

whiney's monolith and its dimensions

LJ, I think you'd hate it.

More like Whitey's mini-lith? xpost

more like flight of the behemoth tbh

lj i think you would dig it

definitely.

ok well i'll give it a whirl! at some point. ooh i *was* given an hmv voucher for xmas...

If you don't dig it, you have no (((MRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNWWWWWWWWW!!!))) in you.

Unfortunately, Sunn bring out the (((YYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNN!!!!))) in me.

(((LLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLL!!!!!!!!!)))

ok, Big Church on headphones. Shit.

And there's more than half the album to go!

holy shit Hunting And Gathering has AWESOME SYNTHS in it

Alice (at about the 8 minute mark) is blossoming into something wondrous, I can tell. This is so graceful.

The section of Alice between about 7 minutes and about 13 minutes is out of this fucking world. After that it's a well-earned comedown. Doesn't need harp glissandos but I'm not exactly complaining. What does this compare to? It's like a simpler, huger Kayo Dot maybe? No, there's different compositional forces at work here. Wonder if Doran's a Kayo Dot fan, mind...

Actually, the closest parallel to this record that I can think of is Murcof's Cosmos. If you like this you should probably check Cosmos out; it's insanely good, and scary as fuck.

I saw Kayo Dot at a festival this year and was mighty impressed. It was Supersonic or Incubate I think. What albums should I check out?

any of 'em. they're all great. probably 'dowsing anenome with copper tongue' as a starter though. it's sort of the mid-point in terms of comprehensibility and coherence.

LJ, are you into eyvind kang at all? I love sunn o))), but the best bits of monoliths are quite clearly down to him. check out the albums 'virginal co-ordinates', 'live low to the earth in the iron age' and 'the story of iceland', or the track 'asa tru' off of 'the yelm sessions'.

Kayo Dot is less about the tectonic might, the fundamental expression of sonic power, than about the terrifying chaos of creativity. That said, the highlight on 'Copper Tongue' (and my own #8 song of the decade), '___on limpid form', reaches a slow-burn level of sustained brutality that is up there with anything Sunn O))) have done. It's more...punk than Sunn O))) but it's also the sound of some incredibly proficient musicians (and pleasant individuals) reverting to a sort of atavistic hostility. The first third of the song is largely violin-driven, sophisticated, reserved, so the subsequent fall takes on a very deliberate compositional significance. They don't mirror God, they chart dreams.

Anyway, yeah, Copper Tongue is my favourite (and it's the one they performed pretty much entirely live in the studio, which I can tell you is a feat) but Choirs Of The Eye is also a must. The latest one you can take or leave, but I like it.

The reason I mentioned Murcof is because "the tectonic might, the fundamental expression of sonic power" is precisely what that dude is up to as well. Cosmos is an instrumental album about deep space, and so might as well be an expression of the divine. It was compared to Sunn O))) on its release but it actually anticipated THIS Sunn O))) album more than it reflected the others. The tracks 'Cosmos II' and 'Oort' are key.

Don't know Eyvind Kang. Will osmose.

That sounds righteous. I will investigate. Cheers.

Let us know how you fare with all this braingutting musics!

louis one thing i would say is do make some attempt sometimes to hear this on a big stereo with decent speakers and not on mp3, it's enormous

My headphones are pretty good and it's a high-quality mp3. I usually listen to music from my computer, but routed by an extension wire through a small but serviceable hi-fi system. I made an exception for this, although it was so good I feel I really ought to listen to more music on headphones. I have an iPod Shuffle, and my mind is blown by its tiny earphones enough that better audio would possibly make me into some sort of blubbery giddy mess. Given the right music, obviously.

I *did* listen to it loud. It was indeed huge. Will investigate the possibility of obtaining a CD.

^do, the cover art is beautiful and of course it's interesting to see who played what.

I listen to it whilst driving from time to time.

I think I said this before on this thread but I just wanna second Matt's recommendation to go full fidelity on this one, it pays off.

LJ get the vinyl , you need the whole package

i don't do vinyl

MEGA-deluxe 180 gram vinyl version of the latest studio album from sunn 0))) is available now! Although the compact disc is convenient and has some advantages in regards to representing a album there is absolutely no denying the nirvana that can be attained from a well conceived and packaged vinyl release.

sunn 0))), Stephen O'Malley and Southern Lord have all gone to great lengths to make sure that the vinyl version of our latest album: "Monoliths & Dimensions" is of the utmost highest quality in both audio and packaging presentation. This is truly how we wish this album to be heard, seen and felt. The albums jacket is a heavy-weight cardboard "tip-on" style that contains two printed inner-sleeves and a fold out "poster" with the lyrics and album credits. This jacket is then encased by a printed velum dust jacket that resembles a dust jacket you would find on a hardcover book. This is then inserted in a poly-bag.

All copies of the vinyl pressing are on 180 gram black vinyl.

There are two different purchasing options:

1. The album itself: $25
2. Album package deal: $45

The Album package deal includes the following items:

* Monoliths & Dimensions turntable slipmat
(featuring the back cover artwork by Timo Ketola)
* Monoliths & Dimension Canvas Bag
* sunn 0))) earplugs in metal canister
* Monoliths & Dimensions 18x24"
(folded) Poster

(the Lp will be in the bag with the other items listed and then packaged for shipping)

Just get it from a shop or UK distro though, its cheaper and you dont need the extras.

that kind of blurb is frankly a turn-off. "ugh, what wank" doth the youth protest, as he playeth mp3s and surfeth Spotify

like, this album damn near blew my mind already! come on, at least i wore headphones. i don't want the full velum-coated heavy-cardboard interactive aural interface experience for heaven's sake

mp3s dont do sunn o))) any justice whatsoever

sorry, sunn o)))

maybe i will get the cd

your album is vv pretty btw

haha

dude just become a vinyl nerd already quit fighting fate

can i wait until i am employed and earning plz - if i did it now i'd pretty much have to sell my body

think of the TMI threads!

Quick, someone buy him the cd

maybe Sunn O))) will write an album about my plight

Gigolos & Damnations

hey maybe I'll have to take the advice I was given a while back:

serious, i highly recommend the "buy up the discography, focus on it for a week" approach. when i picked up SD's stuff, i didn't go on my computer for a month. try it!

― gear (gear), Thursday, 26 October 2006 23:13 (3 years ago) Bookmark

"SD"???

Steely Dan: "Steely Dan's name has been popping up as a hip musical crush. Remember, this glossy bop-pop was the indifferent aristocracy to punk rock's stone-throwing in the late 70's. People fought

this is clearly one of the greatest threads (if not the greatest) in the entire history of ILM

Ah, youth.

I listen to it whilst driving from time to time.

Have tried this, but the deep bass tones really fuck with my car speakers, they can't handle it -- and it's no cheap stereo.

don't want to hate (ok, maybe a little bit) but the sunn o))) back catalog is approx 1/1000th as cool as steely dan's.

i actually have the CD and the vinyl and probably recommend the CD

the vinyl art is BEAUTIFUL, but when dealing with a sound so pure, the occassional static electricity "pop" is mad distracting

don't want to hate (ok, maybe a little bit) but the sunn o))) back catalog is approx 1/1000th 1000x as cool as steely dan's.

Fixed (with apologies).

there are, unbelievably, more similarities between the two bands than you'd first think

do tell...

This sounds like a good feature.

1) Just two main dudes.

two auteur dudes working with motley virtuoso performers and making loads of witty cracks and being quite aloof and making well-regarded 'serious music' and being slightly enigmatic

yeah, I can see that

but you have to admit that behind the music: monoliths & dimensions would not be as entertaining.

really can't be so sure about that! this attila dude seems like a laughriot

haha

there is absolutely no denying the nirvana that can be attained from a well conceived and packaged vinyl release.there is absolutely no denying the nirvana that can be attained from a well conceived and packaged vinyl release.there is absolutely no denying the nirvana that can be attained from a well conceived and packaged vinyl release.there is absolutely no denying the nirvana that can be attained from a well conceived and packaged vinyl release.there is absolutely no denying the nirvana that can be attained from a well conceived and packaged vinyl release.there is absolutely no denying the nirvana that can be attained from a well conceived and packaged vinyl release.

this attila dude seems like a laughriot

You don't know the half of it. He's a loon, in the Julian Cope mold, and a blast to interview.

Slept on this for months, as much as I admire Sunn o)))'s earlier stuff, their schtick was more of an "interesting concept" to me than something I'd like to listen to on a regular basis. M&D though is bloody fantastic and it's fast become the kind of album where nothing else quite hits the spot. Rather than a Doom Metal album, I like to think of it as an instrumental alternative to Scott Walker's "The Drift". Helps that I'm reading Bram Stoker's Dracula at the same time and the two are becoming inseparable in my mind.

How does the vinyl version sound? I notice Whiney sez go for the cd because of the occasional staticky pop... I played a side from the Sunn o)))/Boris vinyl a few nights go and yet despite being barely played, it was all pops and crackles - it sounded like what they told us all vinyl sounded like when they were making us switch to cd. It made me wonder whether this was a nice quiet pressing or another one like that, and at £30 from my local vinyl store, that's a heck of an outlay if I'm actually going to enjoy the cd more. (I've played this on MP3 for too long, I need to sound-up.)

I proclaim this record [and band] a titanic glacier of delights.

I haven't really expressed my love for this album enough on ILM. Its become my go to album for halfway between awake and sleep. Especially "Alice". Incredible album.

I should buy this today.

And on vinyl

Rather than a Doom Metal album, I like to think of it as an instrumental alternative to Scott Walker's "The Drift".

^ A review that will really push me to go out & buy a record, for real.

psst psst

You sound like a hipster trying to justify buying a metal album.

:)

yeah, because i haven't spent most of my music buying money on metal records this year ;-)

You sound like a hipster trying to justify buying a metal album

I don't think it is a metal album, really. Sunn O))) have gone beyond metal.

Doom/drone metal, more than anything else -- though I agree plenty of outside genre influence is there.

It was awhile back when Ned called it some of the best Ambient he's heard in awhile. I agree. Despite sounding like it was recorded in hell I listen to this primarily when drifting off to sleep. And I mean that in a really good way.

this record is great, idk if it's metal or not or who really gives a fuck

then its settled

i'm the judge judy of art metal

Given that metal is more of an aesthetic than a clearly defined sound, I'd say that it's metal. There's a whiff of 'it's too awesome to be metal' about some of these posts. Of course it works as ambient music, something they nod at themselves by ironically terming their stuff 'Power Ambient'. But then most metalheads I know use death metal to chill out to and as background nodding off music.

I listened to it yesterday and immediately thought 'Why don't I listen to this once a day?'

I'm the Judge Anderson of art metal.

Given that metal is more of an aesthetic than a clearly defined sound, I'd say that it's metal.

OTM. I hate, hate, hate when critics use the phrase "transcends its genre" to describe a book or album or whatever, as if they're giving a sly wink to their audience to say "yeah we know you don't like anything so crass as 'genre', but this is ok to like. No one will laugh at you if they find it on your bookshelf/record player/iPod".

Anyone who has seen them play live, particularly on the Monoliths & Dimensions tour, would struggle to argue that Sunn0))) are anything other than metal.

I am an unashamed fan of genre personally, as I think it gives context to experimentation.

Don't care what it is, just love it (I'm with Judge Judy).

I'm the Judge Jules of art metal.

fuck that kayo dot album's coming out and i don't have it

does sunn 0))) have a sick drummer? no? NOT METAL.
I'm the Judge Reinhold of art metal

Mastodon have a sick drummer and they're less metal than SunnO)))

I'm the Judd Nelson of art metal.

http://www.revelationrecords.com/images.d/release/thumbnail/132/profile/rev020.jpg
I thought this band was the judge of art metal? (Ok, not really art metal.)

http://www.ghetto-rock.com/Afbeeldingen/produkten/judgedread-cd97101.jpeg

This man is not the judge of art metal.

FWIW I def don't need to justify buying a metal album, althoguh my interest in it has waned over the last few years. I haven't been too impressed or felt the need to delve too deeply into ILX faves like Baronness (who sound very flimsy for a "metal" band) and Mastodon (something just irks me about them), but since falling in love with M+Ds I'm seriously thinking about subjecting myself to a metal-listening month in order to get back to my roots in some way.

I think metal, somewhat justifiably, got a bad rep during the Big Hair & Spandex era. You even found metalheads arguing over who was genuine & who was 'false metal!' I found that phase amusing because it provided strong evidence of something I had always believed: When a candy-ass plays through big amps, it doesn't make him have balls, it just makes him a loud candy-ass. I think bands like Sunn o))), Monarch, Boris, Hey Colossus, Corrupted, etc. are closer to the spirit of the original sound, feel & spirit of H/M than False Metal boyz like Europe & Quiet Riot [as deemed by Kerraanng!! [sp?] magazine back in da day]. They also have crossover appeal to fans of drone & ambient music,which I suppose is what may be meant by 'transcending genre.' I've kinda like 'Sludge' as a vague catch-all for this sub-sub-genre...

ILM has covered all this before
When did Doom Metal/Black Metal and the like become "hip" and why?
John you were on ilx hiatus I think when this thread was active

Ah - thanks pfunk! Sorry is this was poorly located, but something about some of the recent posts got me going. :-)

Im sure you will have plenty to say on that thread too!

I'm listening to "Aghartha" right now, and it sounds like the dude just said "I search for Derrida of clouds."

― kshighway1, Thursday, October 22, 2009 9:25 PM (6 months ago)

DDDDDDDRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEE RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKK IIIIIIISSSSSSSS DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPP

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDD

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

http://www.southernlord.com/images/subscriptions_gallery/07.jpg

Don't care about the subscription series in general, but this looks sick.

been listening to eno music for airports a lot lately and realizing that monoliths and dimensions is kinda the metal version of that record

100%

and what a great album to have a metal version of. both are fantastic

i need to hear m&d like right now.

but i'm at work :-(

i think this record's great and all, and i do appreciate the ways they've expanded and diversified their sound, but for sheer replay value and just incredible, singular atmosphere, i always seem to reach for black one.

The Sunn O)))/NWW collaboration The Iron Soul Of Nothing is set for re-release next month on Editions Mego.

My vinyl is ordered. Oh frabjous day.

If anyone is stuck for a Ticket for this tonight in london with nurse with wound ive spare one

finally found a way into this album, by turning down the volume. the huge, buzzing wall of noise kept making me run away from it, but turning the volume down let me appreciate the subtlety and beauty here. the chamber ensemble on alice and aghartha is mind-blowing.

you mad? TURN IT UP

you trying to make me go deaf?

what use is hearing without self-respect?

when i can hear, i don't fall over as much.

i'm about to be 46. this shit is too loud.

pffft im 41 TURN IT UP

One assumes you have never seen them live

i've seen the wiggles live.

rockin' show. the one with the red sweater spat blood and shot fire from his mouth.

Thunderous resonant sounds call from beyond the depths
And the winds of gravity change,
In memories of the consciousness of the ancient rocks,
Nature's answer to the eternal question

uplifting!

you guys need to pop in here just now http://plug.dj/ilxors/

that you, playing some satan-loving song?

lol WHAT IS THIS DJ-WEBSITE?

well it was sund4r

still so good all praise false metal