Monoliths And Dimensions
*Monoliths & Dimensions* is an appropriate title for this 2009 release as it opens with the monolithic “Aghartha,” a 17-minute epic instrumental that starts off with gargantuan, bass-heavy distortion. The track features a guest vocal performance by Hungarian black-metal vocalist Attila Csihar, who is reciting a poem about the creation of a new earth. The painstakingly titled second track makes good use of a bewitching a cappella female choir before four electric guitars crash down — creating a powerful contrast. Mammoth-sized static ushers in slowed Sabbath-esque riffs on “Hunting & Gathering (Cydonia)” as a choir of male vocals provide the feeling that all those listening are being initiated into some kind of druid cult.
Sunn O)))'s latest album may be their best, as dozens of collaborators join on four epic tracks that run from slow metal to shimmering orchestral drone.
That said, nothing could have prepared listeners for the wide-ranging adventure that is Monoliths and Dimensions.
With four songs split up between two shiny slabs of vinyl, "Monoliths & Dimensions" isn't exactly directed towards the iPod toting, digiphile crowd. While necessity has forced the folks at Southern Lord to issue a CD version of this release, there's no arguing that the best way to experience SUN...
Experiencing one of Richard Serra's massive steel sculptures in person can be revelatory.
<p>The most compelling – and important – avant garde record since Love's Secret Domain, writes <strong>Jamie Thomson</strong></p>