sunn 0))) - Live White

Live White presents Sunn 0))) as perhaps the most primitive and heaviest power trio in history. Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson are here joined only by Rex Ritter, who honed his drone with neo-shoegazers Jessamine. Live White covers the basics in the Sunn 0))) discography, containing five tracks of material that appear on White1 under different names, one from Flight of the Behemoth, one from 00 Void, an early version of a track that would appear on Black One ("Caveman Salad" here, "Orthodox Caveman" on the studio album), and some otherwise unreleased tracks ( "Funeralmarch (To the Grave)," "Funeraldrone") on the second disc. The set ranges from the early, Earth-worshipping droning of "NN O)))," through the avant-doom of "B-Alien Skeleton" to the chugging Melvins homage of "Funeralmarch." Needless to say, the album sounds absolutely fantastic the louder that it is played, as the hidden dynamics in the harmonic overtones do not appear at lower volumes. White1's liner notes state "Maximum Volume Yields Maximum Results" and the same is true here. This is true power ambient music, meant to be felt as well as heard. A highlight in Sunn 0)))'s catalog, and also the one that is hardest to get, unfortunately. This was severely limited by the label, with no more than 500 copies produced. But it is worth the search.

sunn 0))) - Cro-Monolithic Remixes for an Iron Age

Cro-Monolithic Remixes for an Iron Age contains Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley's epic remix of (their idols) Earth's "Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine" and a remix of Merzbow's "Catch 22 (Surrender or Die)." For "Rule the Divine," Sunn 0))) opens up Dylan Carlson's original, so much so that large stretches of the track are heavily reverbed guitar scraping, mere hints of melody. Clocking in at over 15 minutes, the track seems to stop somewhere in the middle, as if time itself had stopped and the last sound heard echoes into infinity, before slamming back near the end with Carlson's trademarked guitar drone. This track also appears, in apparently the same form, on Earth's Legacy of Dissolution remix album. Sunn 0)))'s remix of Merzbow, on the B-side is almost exactly what you'd expect. Masami Akita's violent digital squeals are enveloped in the Anderson/O'Malley drone and, while not rendered impotent, are less abrasive as they would be on their own. This is a different, longer version of the remix that appears on the Merzbow album Frog Remixed and Revisited, and which makes this one of the more sought-after items in the Sunn 0))) catalog, and because of its limited nature (500 only), is not designed for newcomers.

Sunn 0))) - Veils It White

On Veils It White, James Plotkin (who plays with Sunn 0)))'s Stephen O'Malley in Khanate) remixes various track elements from the Flight of the Behemoth album, and in the process, creates a fantastic introduction for newcomers. Using the familiar low-end guitar rumblings as a canvas, Plotkin paints an elaborate soundscape, using a haunting piano and some digital glitches. Rooted deep in the isolationist-ambient genre, the controlled feedback and glistening drones from O'Malley and Greg Anderson would be trance-inducing, if not for Plotkin, ever the prankster, who inserts tiny details of sound, needles that prick at the inner ear, and makes it certain that wherever this long track is going, it isn't where it's expected to go. Its 17 minutes contain sections that trace Sunn 0)))'s progression from an Earth tribute band, to the avant-metallers that they would become on White2. Anyone interested in Sunn 0)))'s music is encouraged to start here, if a copy can be located. This release was limited to 700 copies.

Sunn 0))) - The Libations of Samhain

Sunn 0)))'s music has been described as "power ambient" or "ambient metal," and while both are apt, they can't fully contain the visceral feeling that the music evokes at loud volume. Indeed, White1's sleeve notes contain the axiom "Maximum volume yields maximum results." And while there might be a few enthusiasts with the stereo system to fully exploit this, the only real chance to experience this music as it is intended is in a live setting, hearing the band with the entire body, not just the ears. Does the live Sunn 0))) experience translate to album? On the sister release Live White, it does. That recording has no distortion and is well-mixed. Libations of Samhain, however, suffers from a lack of fidelity, sounding better than the average bootleg, but not professional grade. And that's a shame, because the performance is exceptional, evoking a massive, churning beast, like the Toxic Avenger amped up on both Dilaudid and Jagermeister, lumbering through the LaBrea Tar Pits. Sunn 0))) regulars Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley are joined here by Jessamine's Rex Ritter on "ProtoHarmonics," Dawn Smithson on "Ampeg" (bass guitar), and Mayhem's Attila Csihar on vocals. Ritter and Smithson's contributions are almost lost in the sludgy six-string riffing of O'Malley and Anderson, but Csihar's "vokills" add a layer of atmospheric menace to the gestalt, with his alternately wailing and growling whispers. Although it is one long, 40-minute track, Libations of Samhain seems to contain a number of themes that have appeared on other album tracks, making this a live "best-of," in a way. As such, it is a decent introduction to the band, but suffers in comparison to Live White and the studio albums because of its sub-par fidelity.

Throbbing Gristle - 24

The lavish box set 24 Hours of Throbbing Gristle presents the bulk of Throbbing Gristle's live concerts, from their first gig at the Air Gallery in London on July 6, 1976 to March 13, 1980 at London's Goldsmith's College. Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Chris Carter, and Peter Christopherson here raise a holy racket, a churning mass of metal-on-metal percussion, droning bass, and swirling, stabbing, unidentifiable noises. The set lists appear largely improvised (the lack of any sort of track listing for each disc does not help). Tracks which seem to reappear in new versions over the course of the set include the classic "Discipline," "Persuasion," and "single" "Hamburger Lady." The gigs were recorded live to cassette, and are presented here with little cleanup. So what we have here are bootleg quality recordings of improvised industrial noise. More accurately, what we have here is the audio equivalent of mud, with no discernible instruments and "singer" P-Orridge's screeching-cat "singing." Some recordings sound better than others, but for the most part, these are aggressively lo-fi recordings. So the questions is, is that okay? For the die-hard fans who will purchase this set, it probably is. The age of the original tapes and the attendant degradation in sound quality is audible and adds to the overall gestalt. Very few bands from this era have made the entirety of their live recordings available for sale, and even fewer so-called industrial bands. So as documentation of a scene, this set is important. For the casual listener, this is prohibitively expensive, and a daunting set to approach. There's 24 hours of music here! For the truly dedicated, the remaining ten live concerts are released in a follow-up set, TG+.