Sunn O))) / HMV Empire / Coventry
A trip down the M69 and to the HMV Empire in Coventry for the first time, for a show that promises much, as American drone metal legends stop off on their 2024 UK/EU tour. Formed back in 1998 in Seattle, Washington State, Sunn O))) are renowned for their impressive audio / visual performances.
First up, we have a set from American singer/songwriter Jesse Sykes, flanked on stage by Bill Herzog and Phil Wandscher from her band, the Sweet Hereafter. All three on guitar, they deliver a set of gothic country. It feels minimal, simply sitting in a line on the stage as they deliver a set of laid back almost haunting tones. In a way the minimalist feel is what makes it so impressive, the subtle subdued tones, with a hint of feedback drifting over the crowd and reverberated around the venue.
It has a moody feel, somewhat similar in a way to Darkher. I really enjoyed it, its stripped back and yet monumental at the same time.
Loved it, a great start to the night.
The stage is readied for the entrance of Sunn O))), and security asks me if I have earplugs. I confirm I do and he smiles ‘you’ll need them tonight’ he smirked ! Heading into the pit, I realised what a visual challenge this would be as a photographer. Along the stage edge is a row of small spots all pointing up, and as the lights dim, smoke machines either end, blow huge clouds of smoke along the lights, creating an impressive (for the crowd) screen effect. The huge cabinet speakers with amps atop, form a semi-circle round the stage, a hit of the brutal assault we’re about to experience !
Stepen O’Malley and Greg Andreson slowly walk out onto the stage from either side, dressed in black monastic-like robes and raise their arms simultaneously to salute the audience. The plunge into the performance. The set actually consists of several pieces, but the feedback drags between the songs almost creating a single performance piece. The only way to know of the change in tracks is the raised arms to the crowd.
The performance is everything you would expect from drone metal. Right from the first notes, it’s a sonic assault on the ears, a wall of throbbing visceral guitar tones, heavy with reverb, feedback and distortion.
It strikes you as being more than just a musical performance, something more akin to a ritual of some kind, somewhere between the Nordic spiritualism of bands such as Heilung and Wardruna, and the heavy metal ritual feel of the likes of Batushka.
The visuals are incredible, with smoke and spots creating a wall, and with three simple large lights at the back of the stage that light up, casting rays through the smoke, adding to the ritual feed of worship to the metal / machine gods.
There are no vocals and the sound levels are off the chart, easily the loudest show I’ve experienced for some time. The experience is about what can be extracted from the simple guitar, delivering something deep, rumbling and almost hypnotic. Its utterly absorbing on every level.
Interestingly, reading this you may think it sounds boring, very ‘samey’…. Once you’ve heard 10mins that’s all you need. You’d be very wrong. There is something about what they do, that just draws you in and grabs your attention. Visually and sonically stunning, it also has a physical element as well, the deep bass tones physically impacting your body as they play. You can almost feel the music ripple through you.
Time seems to stand still, I could have been there for 10 minutes of an hour and a half, with no breaks its hard to tell where you are, and that just adds to the sense of being enveloped in the experience. Before you know it, guitars are lifted slowly aloft and left to reverberate through the speaker cabs, as they slowly walk off the stage.
After such as experience, the room feels strangely silent unlike any other show. WOW !
Sunn O))) will not be for everyone, and it certainly will never be a mass-market popular commercial success, but on tonight’s evidence, Sunn O))) are an astonishing experience a true meeting of metal and art, and something you just have to experience to fully understand it. Sadly, tonight was the last show on the current UK run, but watch out for future dates, I will certainly be back for more.
