Wilytank (Originally posted by me to Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives; http://www.metal-archives.com/)

One of the fun things about Sunn O)))'s live album is that they almost never reproduce their studio material exactly as it is. They've done some unique things to change up 'White 2' in 'Live White', 'Black One' in 'La Mort Noir dans Esch', and now 'Monoliths...' to 'Agharti'. 'Monoliths and Dimensions' was one of Sunn O)))'s more well received offerings, and 'Agharti' is the live companion to that album. Even those who are simply into Sunn O))) for 'Monoliths...' fandom should probably be curious to see what they did live.

For instance, the song "Aghartha" from 'Monoliths and Dimensions' is only about 17 minutes long; but in 'Agharti', the song is stretched to two whole songs. "Aghartha"'s first five and a half minutes of nothing but heavy guitar droning is drawn out for 18 minutes in the song "Descent/Ascent", and Attila Csihar's monologue doesn't come in until the second track, the awkwardly titled "A/Interior I/Eye". There's no even flow between these two pieces though, so you could easily skip the 18 minute droning if you really wanted to. The overall atmosphere in the live album isn't nearly as dark as the studio album either. The heavy riffs in the beginning of "Aghartha" are not quite as heavy and menacing in the live version. The guitar work and Attila's monologue are also notably lighter sounding in "A/Interior I/Eye".

However, despite 'Agharti''s delivery of elements being lighter than its studio counterpart, the atmosphere generated here is no less mystifying. The light spaciness of "A/Interior I/Eye" is just as capable of evoking daydreams as "Aghartha"'s dark dreariness. Though the guitars in the live version follow roughly the same notes as "Aghartha", they're played with this lighter sound like you'd hear on the closer to 'Monoliths...', "Alice". These guitars are eventually joined by some sort of bells or chimes or keyboard, or some other sort of mystic sounding instrument. It's an interesting change from "Aghartha"'s vertigo inducing violins, conchs, and creaky wood sounds. Attila here reads his monologue with the same script he had on "Aghartha"; but in this live version, the song is only half way through its length when he's done reciting the monologue.

It's here where things really take a turn for the incredibly interesting. Following the monologue in "A/Interior I/Eye", Attila performs some Hungarian throat singing, something he doesn't do in the studio. And it sounds great here because it just sounds so alien, especially since the guitars stop playing at this point and he's just going on. It's parts like this on Sunn O)))'s live material that make me think "Why didn't they do this in the studio? It would have been awesome!" On top of the throat singing, there's a French horn that comes in to accompany his throat singing when he gets to this second verse invoking an interesting image in my head of a vast, open field at night; its a pretty notable difference from the claustrophobic, underground ruin feeling in 'Monoliths and Dimensions'.

The remaining two songs, "H&G (Foraging)" and "Churchdust", are based off of two more songs from 'Monoliths...', "Hunting and Gathering (Cydonia)" and "Big Church (Megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért)" respectively. "H&G" is the less interesting of the two here. Despite being shorter than the album version, the tempo is slower and the main riff is dragged out for almost the entire song. Also, the awesome spacey breaks in the studio version of the song are absent from the live version which was a real bummer to me.

Meanwhile, "Churchdust" is a much more interesting piece. Though it's shorter than its studio counterpart, it takes an interesting approach of its own. There's no choir in this live version. Instead, there's synths here to create an eerie atmosphere while Attila does a clean vocal chant and the guitars go from heavy droning to cleaner strumming back to heavy droning. There's only one major crescendo here as opposed to "Big Church..."'s three, but the one that is here tolls the end of the song and the live album, so it ends up working just fine.

'Agharti' is a refreshing second look at 'Monoliths and Dimensions', and I feel that this live album is superior to the studio one in some parts. It's a very cool drone doom metal composition, and the only really big instance of it being uncool is the fact that it's a vinyl release. Regardless, I recommend fans of Sunn O))) to figure out some way to listen to this, because in the end it's well worth it.

(90/100)

Warthur Sunn O)))'s Black One is essentially the band's drone doom metal tribute to the spirit of black metal. Such a concept sounds odd at first, until you consider that both drone doom and black metal are both about atmosphere; in particular, if a drone band doesn't evoke an interesting atmosphere, they have no hope of holding a listener's interest.

So, borrowing some talent and a few lyrics here and there from the black metal scene, and capping off the album with a tribute to Countess Bathory (who's been namechecked in so many black metal songs she may as well be the subgenre's patron antiSaint), Sunn O))) set about producing a grim and intense musical experience evoking feelings of dread and morbidity. It's certainly an intriguing trip and their mastery of production and sound is noteworthy, and though I don't think I'll revisit the album very often, but I'll certainly be prizing those visits.

SKwid I'm sitting in my car listening to sunn o))), and I think I have actually gotten to the point where I can FEEL sunn o))). Like sunn is pushing again me, feeling me, like a blanket. I feel like sunn is infiltrating my every pore and orifice, seeping into my very being, coating my very soal in a thick layer of music. It is though sunn is rubbing against my ribbs under my skin, and warming them up as a mother would do to an infant in the wintertime. Sound is seeping into my skull and pushing out all the blood in my head and replacing it with sunn. The pipes above my head seep into the cement ceiling as if the cement of the ceiling is being pushed through a playdoh former, and the space in the room continuously becomes more and more vast. My skin is peeling back across my face, starting at the nose, until all that is left is my bare skull. The car in the forepicture become a dark man before I look at him. He is shaking my car, on top of it I'm sure. He's stopped, for now. There seems to be hundreds of cables depending from the ceiling. The light to my left becomes a ghastly white woman, again in the forepicture, and and she proceeds to hide behind a car. I fear there may be mice coating the floor, and that they may pick up and carry my parked car. The black space behind my eye has transformed into some massively toothed monster, and I will try not to fall into its massive mouth. A security camera just appeared out of the ceiling. What is it doing there? Where did it come from? The light is being pulled downward by the sound as if sunn is forcing out all other matter from the space with the strums of their guitars. A crinkled crackled crickled crack is in my windshield, can you believe it? The nerve of some people! The light is casting its sunn rays upon the ground. I fear there may be someone else here, and but know that to be impossible. Steam pours from my wingmirrors as I contemplate the meaning of the word wingmirror. The engine has finally stopped, for and it feels like I have been sitting here for an eternity. I will leave when the cd is over, but the the tracks keep coming, the number on the sterio gets bigger and better, and I fear it will never end. The wingmirrors have stopped steaming, but now a spot dripping red Kool Aid out of the ceiling onto the floor. I fear the song may be over, but it continues. My Hair is flowing over my shoulders like a waterfall. I realize in hungry, and decided I might be best to abandon my musical experience and go get some food. But I muster on, realizing a quest like this cannot be abandoned, but must be seen to completion, regardless of my condition. I swear I can hear elves rustling behind my head, and as trains pass through the soundwaves. I think about realizing that I have been sitting here for a long time but dismissed that thought, just as the album comes to a completion.

I wrote this whilst sitting in my car for over an hour and a half listening to Sunn. I think Sunn should be more about the experience that the music is.

Wilytank Here's a particularly special Sunn O))) live album. They do this in a church in Norway, and they use a pipe organ to add some really awesome elements to their music.

"Why Dost Thou Hide Thyself in Clouds?" is just organ playing and Attila's chanting. He hits some really big notes, which I find surprising because he hasn't really done clean vocals since Mayhem's 'De Mysteriis...'.

The droning starts on track two, "Cannon". The organ is still present as is Attila's clean chanting. It's a very awesome experience. It feels like he's preaching a sermon (albeit in Hungarian). I love how Sunn O))) experiments with their live shows.

WHY THE FUCK IS THIS VINYL ONLY?!?

Wilytank Ever seen Sunn O))) live? I haven't, but this has to be the next best thing.

I've been up and down this drone-beast's discography, but I've skipped this live album due to its low score on Encyclopaedia Metallum. This is actually very very deep.

Disc 1 starts off in the style of "bassAliens" from 'White2', which gradually gives way to their standard drone chugging in "Hell-O)))-ween". As the rest of the tracks play though, you can definitely see a change in riffing and key as the music goes on, which means now is a good time to tell you that the best way to listen to this is to listen to it from beginning to end without any interruptions.

Disc 2 is much shorter, but the two "Funerael March" songs are pretty good on their own. I definitely prefer disc 1 more, but this is a nice bonus to have.

This live album should definitely be sought out to round off your Sunn O))) collection.