Sunn O))) + Om @ The Asylum, Birmingham – 10th December 2009
Despite the bill reading on paper like a misheard snippet of Black Country conversation, this colossal meeting of like-minded alchemists Sunn O))) and Om was quite possibly the hottest doom ticket in Birmingham for this year, and continues the time-honoured tradition of Capsule leading the way for top-drawer decibel abuse. The signs around the venue virtually imploring people to pop in earplugs gave as good an indication of what to expect as does the collective past exploits of the artists playing tonight.
Having parted ways with drummer Chris Hakius before the release of their latest album, ‘God Is Good’, bassist / vocalist Al Cisneros now remains the sole link to renowned stoner godheads Sleep. With new sticksman Emil Amos and even newer third member Robert Lowe (previously of the highly regarded Chicago act 90 Day Men), Om now seem to be relishing the chance to finally break free of the shackles of their ‘ex-Sleep’ tag which seems to have followed them around since their inception, seemingly much more so than fellow ex-Sleeper Matt Pike with High on Fire.
With their foundations still undeniably moored in the concrete base of stoner and doom, Om have developed notably from the days of first album, 2005’s ‘Variations on a Theme’, casting their net to the astral realms and beyond, bringing a beatific, spiritual bent back down to terra firma with them.
Influenced by Buddha as much as Boris, their lengthy compositions incorporate Tibetan chanting and new-age mysticism in their mix. Lowe’s input adds a greater depth to their sound with psychedelic guitar effects and drawn-out chants providing additional textures and ambience, making for a much more interesting take on the Om sound than their more stripped-down version, as seen up until now. Indeed, the addition of ex-Grails drummer Amos, which caused rumblings of discontent amongst the diehards initially, makes much more sense having seen them live as a trio, with a busier style and higher workrate, losing a touch of their trademark slothier tendencies.
Not to say that Om have changed significantly, indeed Cisneros’ blissfully monged drawl is as recognisable as ever, it just seems that having expanded to a trio, they have edged their targets away from the stoners on the sofa, instead aiming for the spirits in the skies.
With the stage lights dimmed to a murky green hue and the dry ice machine working overtime, enveloping the entire venue in a thick haze, the atmosphere was primed to await the arrival of Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson, the cowled duo that comprises Sunn o))). Virtually unseen, cloaked within the oppressive smog, they wasted no time in making full use of the immense wall of amplification flanking them both, effortlessly conjuring an almost impenetrable, blackened dirge that succeeded in triggering numerous car alarms in the vicinity of the Asylum.
In a recent Terrorizer feature on the development of sludge metal, a member of Glasgow-based Black Sun mentioned that one of the main reasons for his appreciation of this most slow and depressive of the subgenres, was the feeling of ‘waiting for the hammer to fall’. In that quote we find the essence of Sunn o))), who stuck to their characteristic modus operandi of writing possibly the heaviest doom metal riff ever, before breaking it down and stretching it out to an agonizing crawl.
Crafting huge tectonic plates of sound, each drawn out note acts as a precursor for the next one — usually at much greater volume, depth or heaviness than the one before. The bands detractors often miss the deft handling of tone, frequency and subsonics at work, trying to appreciate their output on a musical rather than a physical basis. I found that the optimum method to experience Sunn o))) was hood up, head down and eyes closed, letting the waves pulsate around me, like an atavistic massage in slow moving lava.
Featuring guest vocalist Attila Csihar for the majority of the set, the man who made Mayhem’s ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas’ arguably the most potent distillation of black metal to date added his distinctive croak to the monolithic rumblings. The shamanic Hungarian acted as the visual centre to the band, given that O’Malley and Anderson were still lost in the peripheries. His mid-set arrival dressed as a tree lent proceedings a slightly more abstract edge, yet still felt like an army of nefarious Ents were trying to level this concrete warehouse to the ground with their beginning-of-time sonic primitivism.
Comics writer extraordinaire Alan Moore argued that all art is inherently magical, given its ability to transform the state of mind and consciousness of the audience, and Sunn o)) stand proudly as one of the best examples of such an ideology. Their work operates on a transcendental plane and invokes a change in perception and outlook from the listener, if not just for the duration of the set then certainly in its wake, with both tinnitus and an inability to listen to anything faster than 0.5bpm evidence that magick was at work tonight. And the fact that on Friday morning Birmingham awoke to a thick blanket of fog can not have been mere coincidence.
Review – Duncan Wilkins
Photos – Katja Ogrin