Band Profile // Sunn O)))

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Associated Entries: Earth, Khanate

[nextpage title=”Biography” ] Much like their Southern Lord labelmates Khanate Sunn O))) represent a newer breed of doom/drone metal bands. Although not nearly as noisy/confrontional as Khanate, they’re still oppressively heavy and much of their musical foundation is based on work of bands like Earth (early on, they were also called Mars, which was a tribute to Earth).

Band consists of Stephen O’Malley (Khanate, Burning Witch) and Greg Anderson (Goatsnake) who met in Seattle in 1991. However, their first record didn’t materialze until 1998 – “Grimmrobe Demos” originally came out on Aaron Turner (Isis) label Hydra Head Records and contained a track titled “Dylan Carlson”, named after Earth frontman. Initially, it came out as a limited edition release, but was since reissued by Southern Lord and Japanese label Daymare Recordings. In 2008, the band announced that they will do a tour commerating a 10th anniversary of the record.
Their second album was ØØ Void featured better production than Grimmrobe Demos and it was also their first album to utilize samples. It contained a cover of “Hung Bunny” – Melvins song from the album “Lysol” – here retitled “Bunny’s Revenge”. Daymare Recordings reissued album as a double-disc set, with first disc containing the original album and the second disc (The Iron Soul Of Nothing) featuring a collaboration between Sunn O))) and Nurse With Wound.
2002 “Flight Of The Behemoth” featured a collaboration with noise guru Merzbow and also featured curiously titled “FWTBT” – a cover of Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” and the full song title was “F.W.T.B.T. (I Dream Of Lars Ulrich Being Thrown Through The Bus Window Instead Of My Mystikal Master Kliff Burton),” a reference to original Metallica’s bassist.

Further years brought 2003 “White1”, 2004 “White2” and 2005 “Black One”. However, according to a band themselves, “Black One” was not a continuation of previous albums and there will be no sequel for this one. All of them featured many guests, including members of black metal bands Xasthur and Leviathan, as well as members of Thor’s Hammer, Julian Cope and Attila Csihar from Mayhem.
In 2008, the band released “Demkirke” – a live album recorded in a cathedral in Bergen, Norway. Unlike previous albums, it came out only on vinyl and will not be reissued in other formats. It also featured a huge number of guests, including Attila Csihar (Mayhem) and Lasse Marhaug.
For 2009, the band is planning a number of releases – a full-length entitled “Dimensions” and a 10″ picture disc, a collaboration with Finland’s Pan Sonic/cover of Suicide’s classic “Che”. 2009 will also bring “Clean Hands Go Foul” – final album by Khanate.
Band Members:
Greg Anderson
Stephen O’Malley
[/nextpage] [nextpage title=”Discography” ] The Grimmrobe Demos CD / 2xCD / 2xLP / 3xLP (Double H Noise Industries + Hydra Head, 2000 / Dirter Promotions, 2003 / Southern Lord, 2005 / Daymare, 2007 / Southern Lord, 2008)
ØØ Void CD (Double H Noise Industries + Hydra Head, 2000 / Daymare, 2008)
3:Flight Of The Behemoth 2xLP / CD / 2xCD (Bisect Bleep Industries, 2002 / Southern Lord, 2002 / Daymare, 2007)
LXNDN Subcamden Underworld Hallo’ween 2003 CD (Bastet, 2003)
Veils It White EP 12″ (Thin The Herd, 2003)
White1 CD / 2xCD / LP (Southern Lord, 2003 / Daymare, 2007)
Cro-Monolithic Remixes For Iron Age (With Merzbow) EP 12″ (Southern Lord, 2004)
Live White CDr (aRCHIVE, 2004)
White2 2xLP / 2xCD (Southern Lord, 2004 / Daymare, 2007)
Black One 2xLP /CD / 2xCD (Southern Lord, 2005 / Daymare, 2007)
Candlewolf Ov Thee Golden Chalice 12″ (Anti-Mosh, 2005)
Altar CD / 2xCD / 3xLP (Southern Lord, 2006 / 2007 / Inoxia Records, 2006 /Daymare, 2007 )
Angel Coma LP (Southern Lord, 2006)
La Mort Noir Dans Esch / Alzette CD (Southern Lord, 2006)
White 4xLP (Southern Lord, 2006)
Domkirke 2xLP (Southern Lord, 2008)
Compilation Tracks:
“Catch 22 (Surrender Or Die)” on Frog: Remixed & Revisited (Misanthropic Agenda, 2003)
“My Wall (excerpt)” on Rome Wasn’t Burned In A Day (Head Heritage, 2003)
“Hell-O)))-Ween” on Let There Be Doom || (A Kult Collection Of Massive Sub-Harmonics) (Southern Lord, 2004)
“It Took The Night To Believe” on Southern Autumnal Killer Megamix (Southern, 2005)
“It Took The Night To Believe” on A Snapshot Of The 2006 Domino Ten-Day (Wire Magazine, 2006)
“It Took The Night To Believe” on Darkness Hath No Boundaries (Southern Lord, 2006)
“Etna” on Darkness Knows No Boundaries (Southern Lord, 2006)
“BP///Simple” on Jukebox Buddha (Staubgold, 2006)
“The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)” (with Boris) on Mind The Gap Vol.65 (Gonzo Circus Magazine, 2006)
“Báthory Erzsébet” on Prix Ars Electronica CyberArts 2006 (Ars Electronica Center, 2006)
“Ultra Orthodox Caveman” on Visioinare No.53: Sound (Visionaire Publishing, 2007)
“Orakulum (edit)” on Within Thee Church Of The Overlords || (Southern Lord, 2007)
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