For more than 10 years, Sunn O))) have been providing those interested in the darker, heavier side of music with the darkest, heaviest sounds possible from measly human amplification. Pushing guitars and amplifiers to new lows (which is a very good thing) and creating a soundscape suitable for the end of the world or the furthest reaches of space, Sunn O)) peddles Drone Doom in the finest, most crushing way possible.
Monoliths & Dimensions is Sunn O)))’s 7th full-length and features four tracks, the shortest of which clocks in at just under ten minutes. The entire album lasts a little less than an hour, so brace yourself for some good, honest ear-canal abuse.
Opening the album is Aghartha, a typical example of a Sunn O))) track, yet different from their usual offerings through the addition of discernable, spoken-word vocals from long-time session vocalist, Attila Csihar (of Mayhem fame). The sense of dread and looming horror is made even worse through the sounds of thick, harbour ropes straining against some unknown force. This is most-certainly uneasy listening. The track finally fades with the sound of oars in water, a fitting end to a truly epic opener.
The following two tracks again conform to the Sunn O))) formula of positively demonic frequencies coupled with equally unnerving lyrical content. The chants in Big Church are positively chilling.
The closing track, Alice, feels like a nod to fellow doomsters Earth’s most recent effort, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull, by going a far more subtle route in how they dispense their doom. A lone guitar meanders over orchestral chords and typical Sunn O))) axework and finally gives way to an (almost) Sigur Rós inspired horn and strings riff to wrap up the whole experience. Are Greg and Steve losing their mettle? Of course not, it is the perfect way to emerge from the hellish underworld of Monoliths & Dimensions.
