Sunn O))) & Boris
Altar

Sunn O))) have started making pop, who would have thought! And yet, from the first cold and dark notes of the opener "Etna," one would have stated rather the opposite, given that the atmospheres are identical to those of the previous "Black One," a dark doom monolith with black metal veins. But it’s only a fleeting impression: indeed, a drum emerges, an unknown entity for the American duo, but don’t worry, it’s not a canonical four-four time (God forbid...), but rather uncoordinated and poorly placed hits that blend well with the sinister drones we cherish so much. What follows are gong strikes, an elephantine riff almost worthy of Neurosis, and a sick solo that seals one of the most beautiful and inspired pieces ever written by the band.

Oh yes, there are new things in this "Altar," an album written with the help of labelmates Boris. How and to what extent they influenced the evolution of Sunn O)))'s sound, I couldn't say, as I have no clue who they are or what they do in life. All I can say is that in "Altar" we find melody, drums, voices, and ultimately fewer guitars. And since Sunn O)))'s sound, as we know it and as it's been imposed on our ears, has always been the exact opposite—that is, zero melody, zero drums, zero voices, and deafening guitars—I'd say there's a serious risk that this album might baffle, if not disappoint, more than one fan of the band.

But it is just a matter of tuning your brain to other frequencies. It’s true that the sounds here lighten quite a bit, it’s true that the peculiar and uncompromising hostility that has always characterized and distinguished Anderson and O'Malley’s offering is lost. However, the territories explored here are those of noise, psychedelia, space rock, and avant-garde noise, sounds that marry well with our ruthless drones and guitar torrents. And then Boris are still Japanese, and like good Japanese, even in the calmer moments, they still manage to be light years away from many indie and post-rock gimmicks that are so popular today (which is why I much prefer Mono to Mogwai, but that's another story).

Therefore, instead of complaining that Anderson and O' Malley have started making music for ladies, we should rejoice at the result and let ourselves go to the dreamy and ethereal notes of songs like "The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)," where the more relaxed Sonic Youth seem to jam with an out-of-tune Julie Cruise, or like "Fried Eagle Mind," an ethereal and liquid space rock graced by sensual and minimal female vocals by the same singer from Boris. These tracks, as one can guess, don’t really fit with Sunn O)))'s characteristic sound, except for the indispensable drones and certain effects that make everything more confusing and lysergic. It almost seems that the title "Altar" (which indeed suggested quite another type of sound) wants to suggest that Sunn O))) themselves have been sacrificed on the altar.

However, that’s not entirely true (let’s not be too harsh), because even the most diehard and masochistic fans of the American combo will find something to sink their teeth into, and not just in the wonderful opener we already discussed, and in the subsequent "N. L. T." (an ultimately anonymous atmospheric interlude): "Akuma Na Kuma," disturbed by Joe Preston's distorted voice and peplum-style trombone inserts, is, for example, one of the craziest things Sunn O))) have written. While in the closing "Blood Swamp", Anderson and O'Malley finally decide to pick up their guitars, giving us a quarter of an hour of heart-stopping apocalyptic doom like only they can deliver, which repays us for the excessive catchiness of the preceding songs: a hallucinatory journey that opens with the acid and '70s arpeggio of ex-Soundgarden Kim Thayil and continues with the various layers of guitars, including those of Boris, which are progressively added.

What can I say, certain things could have been done better and with more care (in fact, there’s an impression that they rushed a bit both in the arrangement and mixing), so at times it can all seem a bit predictable and superficial. Nevertheless, this "Altar," oscillating between dark drone music and breezy psychedelia, is a pleasure to listen to, shining with freshness and immediacy unprecedented for Sunn O)))'s oppressive sound. Hardcore fans will be disappointed, but the rest of the world will rejoice instead.