From The Editor: w/c Tuesday 11 July

Many artists attempt new things live or try to create a transcendent, hypnotic mood, but few are as successful and overwhelmingly acclaimed as Sunn O))). If you stream Aghartha from their 2009 album Monoliths & Dimensions you can get an idea of what to expect, but make sure you listen loud for the proper experience.

Sunn O))) strike me as a structural end point of metal, wherein distortion, guitars, bass and synth coalesce into a gloriously ominous, beautiful whole. Vocals spring up in Aghartha but are arguably more a contemplative accompaniment to the peaceful cacophony than a core part of the music.

Some find it odd to talk about such ostensibly gloomy music in terms of peace, but listened to in a certain way it can actually be quite calming. In a recent Guardian interview (bit.ly/2r6NXT9), synth player Tos Nieuwenhuizen mentions that in songs where he’s not playing he sometimes “lies down behind the amps on a nice wooden floor with a pillow behind my neck. I feel the healing properties: good for headaches, sore backs.” Guitarist Stephen O’Malley meanwhile explains that their music “isn’t a violent thing. It’s powerful, but our intention is not to be destructive. It’s nourishment.”
I saw them at Coalition in 2012 and it indeed felt like a meditative experience that’s moving if you give yourself up to it. Thankfully, smoke machines and quadrophonic sound aided the sense of immersion, and we can presumably expect a similar fug at Concorde 2 to get lost in.

Many artists also attempt to defy categorisation to try and stand out, but few could straddle fans ranging from those with an interest in black metal, or drone music, or even minimal classical. Tickets are still available at the time of writing and this is truly a great opportunity to catch a unique concert.

Joe Fuller
editorial@thelatest.co.uk