LIVE REVIEW: Sunn O))) @ The Roundhouse, London

Choose Life Metal. Choose multiple gains stages. Choose several kilowatts of vintage valve amplification. Choose Grimmrobes. Choose Attila Csihar. Choose Malefic and Wrest, too. Choose to record on analogue tape with Steve Albini. Choose all analogue mixing and editing as well. Choose to design and produce your own effects pedal. Choose to sell branded ear-protection. Choose to host your own yoga events. Choose fog machines: lots. Choose modal drones. Choose bisexual lighting. Choose to play in a cave. Choose to play in a labyrinth. Choose to collaborate with BORIS, ULVER and Scott Walker. Choose to release two albums in a year. Choose to release your own bootlegs. Choose to feature on BBC Radio. Choose to headline The Roundhouse. Choose SUNN O))).

Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson formed the band in 1996 – first as MARS, before taking the name from their preferred brand of amplifier – and set out to continue the legacy of the heavy minimalism of the early EARTH albums, particularly the genre-defining Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version. Across nine studio releases they have made themselves synonymous with the Drone Metal style; sustaining their intrigue through a decidedly experimental approach, and by incorporating the talents of musicians from the worlds of Extreme Metal and Sound Art alike. They have, accordingly, earned themselves a divisive reputation. SUNN O))) are often rebuked for their lack of listenability and for the apparent simplicity of their music, whilst successfully maintaining their core listenership with their unique brand of disquieting experimentalism. This year, they released two studio albums: Life Metal and Pyroclasts. These releases see SUNN O))) taking up a brighter and warmer sound, certainly as compared to fan-favourites Black One and Monoliths & Dimensions. They have become renowned for their intense and lengthy live performances, of which the band have said that their studio pieces are but a shadow.

We were fortunate enough to be at the event at which this concert was first announced, back in April: a ‘Pitchblack Playback’ event at The Institute of Light – a boutique cinema in Hackney, boasting a high-end sound system. Life Metal was being previewed in full, at an almighty volume, to an audience of journalists, musicians and other enthusiasts. Stephen O’Malley first introduced the album, describing the recording process with Steve Albini and the prestigious roster of accompanying musicians, before the audience were enjoined to wear the supplied blindfolds. This, we were told, was in order to produce a more vivid effect; to allow us to experience the latest drone metal opus to it’s fullest psychedelic potential. Once the album had concluded, and we were instructed to remove our blindfolds, we were greeted with a projected splash-screen: Sunn O))) Live at the Roundhouse 28/10. We survived six months of anticipation, and a few days before the concert were gifted another SUNN O))) album in which to immerse ourselves; a companion piece to Life Metal, Pyroclasts, containing four superbly rendered improvised rehearsals from the studio sessions.

It would be fair to say, then, that our expectations for their performance that night was just as high as our anticipation. To whet the appetite, Anna Von Hausswolff was featuring as a support act – whose impressive solo and collaborative performances at Roadburn had very much impressed us earlier in the year. Still firing on all cylinders, the organist was accompanied by her ‘rock’ ensemble, and delivered a scintillating set composed of some entirely new material, as well as some highlights from 2018’s Dead Magic. In their sound and approach, there is a discernible DEAD CAN DANCE experimentalism blended with a much darker SWANS-like intensity. There are a lot of textures and a wealth of interesting rhythmic and percussive choices for the chin-stroking crowd, who are certainly out in force this evening. Von Hausswolff’s vocals take centre-stage, of course: powerful and emotive without seeming remotely strained. It will, no doubt, not be too long before Anna Von Hausswolff and her ensemble are presiding over their own headlining slot at this iconic London venue.

Rating: 7/10

There is a distinct theatricality to a SUNN O))) performance, even before the performers have taken to the stage. Firstly, and most strikingly, is the backline which consists of tower-after-tower of vintage valve amplifiers and cabinets forming a continuous arc across the stage. Then, of course, there is the fog: several industrial-grade fog machines whir into action, producing a pair of voluminous clouds above the stage which slowly engulf and obscure the backline. And, inevitably, there is the stage lighting. In addition to the house-lighting – which is, in any case, consistently superb at the Roundhouse – there are potent LED cannons on stage, casting a saturated pink and blue hue upon the clouds, now ascending through the wrought-iron framing and towards the modest dome atop the venue. At last the house lights fade the interval music falls off, producing an eerie, inky stillness. Predictable jeering aside (“Play Free Bird!”) there is silence.

And then, there is anything but silence. For over two hours, SUNN O))) are on stage – presenting the fruits of their labours, ripened from nearly a year of constant touring. It would be reasonable to suppose that there would be a fair amount of improvisation in a SUNN O))) performance, yet they do not – for all that – appear remotely unrehearsed. There is not the usual ear-sore of feedback as the amplifiers are switched on and there are no technical hiccups throughout, which one might expect would otherwise blight a performance as gear-intensive as this. While their style could, in one sense, be described as being very minimal, their performance is, in another sense, completely overwhelming. Very few other performers are able to command attention so assuredly as SUNN O))): all sense of time and purpose is quickly eroded as we succumb to their deafening thrall.

It is plainly impossible to describe the sheer seismic weight of the sound pressure which this band is capable of producing. At the core of the sound is the bass. Low-frequency phasing is used to alternate between a sub-bass drone and a tactile throbbing effect. The mids are entirely saturated as the performers all vie for that crucial frequency-range, which creates a palpable buzzing sensation in the air. The highs are, for the most part, where the characteristic overdrive circuitry of the Sunn Model T expresses itself the most – and are almost intolerable without adequate ear-protection or sound-filters of some kind. There really is no shame in guarding against the tinnitus-inducing aural assault of a live SUNN O))) performance.

So far as we can make out through the dense fog – which has by now completely engulfed this vast space – there are five performers on stage. The core members of SUNN O))), guitarists Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson, assume their positions in front of batteries of their eponymous amplifier stacks; regularly tweaking and adjusting their output throughout. They are accompanied by long-term studio and live collaborator Tos Nieuwenhuizen on Moog, adjacent to synth and trombone player Steven Moore. Tim Midyett completes the ensemble on bass guitar. O’Malley and Anderson have always been adept at recruiting and incorporating other musicians into their collective, be it live or in studio, which adds a colourful variety and nuance to each incarnation of the band. The guitarists co-ordinate with the other musicians through slow, contemplative gestures – raising a robed right-hand to signal the next movement in the piece; while this is, no-doubt, a practical consideration – it also adds an air of dignified ceremony and purpose to proceedings. There will be no headbanging this evening, no throwing of the horns: just a sea of raised hands grasping invisible oranges.

SUNN O))) first present material wrought from Life Metal: their renditions bear some resemblance to their studio-recorded versions, but proceed far more slowly and bleed into one-another in such a way that it’s often difficult to ascertain whether a change has really been made. O’Malley and Anderson have commented on the interesting and often unexpected way in which their pieces evolve over the course of a tour, through improvisation and with whoever joins them on stage on a given evening, which has led them to archive fan-submitted recordings of live performances on a Bandcamp page. We are then indulged with Candlegoat, taken from 2005’s Black One, which concludes with a truly cacophonous festival of feedback as the musicians hold their instruments aloft and let the resonant frequencies work their magic. An encore performance of Frost (C) taken from the newly released Pyroclasts bookends their set, which comes in at just over two-hours this evening. Wide-eyed and dazed, hordes of initiates and drone-disciples spill out onto the icy October streets after yet another career-affirming performance from the drone metal savants.

Rating: 9/10