Specs & Pricing

Music
Rock etc.
sunnO))) & Boris:
Altar.
sunnO))) and Boris, producers.
Southern Lord/SUNN 62 (CD, limited
two-CD, and three-LP).
Something wicked this way has come. Pairing
two of music’s heavyweight experimentalists,
Altar is a collaboration in the truest sense of
the term—a sensory-numbing capitulation
to the power wrought by amplifier, guitar,
drum, and volume, written, executed, and
performed by sunnO))) and Boris. It arrives
as interest in both groups has reached fever
pitch, the timely result of increased exposure,
tandem touring, and overdue recognition of
their boundary-burning craft.
Led by Greg Anderson, owner of the
burgeoning Southern Lord label, sunnO)))
emerged in the late 90s, its initial albums
expounding upon the rough drone fields
explored by Earth. Named in tribute to the
now-defunct SUNN Amplifier company,
the duo wears druid robes, generally forgoes
vocals, and plays at volumes that make
standing next to a thrusting jet engine a
relaxing occasion. Gradually having attracted
a loyal, still-growing following, the Los
Angelinos’ surging influence can be directly
traced to their artistic maturation. SunnO)))
scaled new heights on last year’s Black One,
an ambient work that eviscerates the lines
between art-rock, trance, metal, minimalism,
and the avant-garde.
Boris pursues similarly unconventional
paths, the veteran trio’s output ranging from
soil-shoveling sludge to wallpaper-melting
noise to tuneful garage-rock, all touched
upon on the recent Pink, to date the band’s
most accessible and representative release.
Analogous to fellow Japanese peers Keiji
Music
Sonics
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148 December 2006 The Absolute Sound