Sunn O))), Meltdown review: Too loud? You ain't heard nothing yet

Roof-rattlingly loud drone metal means this gig is a physical endurance test, says John Aizlewood
Gothic majesty: Attila Csihar of Sunn O))
Maria Jefferis/Redferns
John Aizlewood19 August 2015

Since before the turn of the century, Sunn O))) (just pronounce them “sun”) have refused to compromise. Age has not mellowed them and last night, for the best part of two hours, they turned the very notion of performance on its head, while physically and intellectually testing their audience.

The Seattle trio, plus Hungarian Attila Csihar, hurt to listen to. Indeed, their drone metal was so roof-rattlingly loud that they transcended mere earplugs. My fillings tingled, my stomach somersaulted and my sinuses ached. More than anything, watching Sunn O))) is an endurance test.

If playing in near-darkness wasn’t enough, they further obscured themselves by enveloping the Festival Hall in banks of dry ice, while wearing the hooded robes of understandably defrocked monks. Shielded by the stygian gloom, the drummerless foursome moved in slow-motion like giant fairground teddy bears. Their stagecraft consisted of arcing an arm occasionally, although at one point they stood in a circle and took turns to swig from a bottle. There was no between-song chat: this was an experience best left unexplained.

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The absurdity factor was high, and towards the end Csihar donned a costume part Statue of Liberty, part am-dram Godzilla and started grunting like a wounded stoat. But this was patient, painstaking music, assembled with the care of craftsmen and the bravery of a high-wire act.

While they were challenging in the extreme, occasionally unsettling and physically demanding, Sunn O))) repaid the investment with interest. There was an epic, gothic majesty to every crunching riff (think Black Sabbath, but blacker) and every snail-paced musical progression, particularly the spellbinding 30-minute epic Agartha, which conjured visions of hell while sounding surprisingly heavenly.

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