Sunn O))) - 'Monoliths and Dimensions'

The best album in Sunn O)))'s experimental career.

Sunn O)))’s last album Black One was an often depressing but riveting trip into the sonic underworld. Perhaps the only shortcoming was that the music was of such a dark hue that it was hard to feel much more than a sense of encompassing dread and suffocation. What makes their seventh album Monoliths and Dimensions so powerful is that Sunn O))) has widened their musical palate and tapped into a new mix of sounds without sacrificing their black-hole bass and sonic rhythms. It’s the best album of Sunn O)))’s decade-plus career and a testament to the limitless potential of the metal genre.

Dedicated Sunn O))) listeners know that there’s more to their previous music than bass but this album contains their most varied songs. The first track “Aghartha” opens with the traditional Sunn O))) bass chorus before adding violins, a conch shell, English horn and piano.

The second track “Big Church,” nudges the darkness aside for a mesmerizing female choir and church bells. These touches aren’t curious asides; they are expertly woven into the tapestry of each piece to create a more diverse whole. There is a spaciousness and sense of dynamics on these four tracks missing in Sunn O)))’s earlier work.

Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley rely heavily on the expert contributions of other key players. Attila Csihar’s end-of-times drawl adds life and texture to the music, and Oren Ambarchi’s guitar is the perfect balance to the omnipresent low-end. The individual parts make up a metal symphony.

Monoliths and Dimensions exists in that rare crossroads where art becomes transcendent. This is an awe-inspiring album.