RSD 2023: ALTAR BY BORIS/SUNN O)))
“We had a lot of fun making Altar — we transcended all barriers and boundaries to create our own sonic language that still strongly resonates. It was incredibly adventurous for us at that point in time. We played in the moment without a preconceived direction then arrived at a beautifully heavy place together.”
Falling victim to listener error, when my ears first received the colossal and crawling drone metal manifestations of Sunn O))), I was not a fan. Immediate assessments, though, often deny us the time we need to acclimate to things that require more than a few weak attempts at understanding. Boris, whose excellent 2006 LP Pink had earned my lasting appreciation of the band that year, provided the incentive to challenge my dislike of Sunn O))) with their collaborative effort, Altar.
Released by Southern Lord the same year the label reissued Pink for U.S. audiences, Altar exemplified the level to which both Sunn O))) and Boris could bend creatively, exhibiting not only substantial versatility (for which Boris is especially known for following countless genre-bending releases) but also enough room for each respective group to retain their musical identity. It could’ve been easy for Sunn O))) to overwhelm the entire album, their high-volume dual-windmills blasting enough obliterating distortion to swallow anyone else attempting a noise act in the same room. Altar is a rare instance of Sunn O))) performing with drums in play.
I’d been looking for a relatively inexpensive vinyl copy of Altar for some time, so I was really excited to find out that the album is being reissued for Record Store Day. “Lava red” variant.
All info comes courtesy of Rarely Unable.
Out of print for over 15 years, Altar will finally return on double LP. The album is a collaboration between experimental music groups Boris and SUNN O))), originally released on 31st October, 2006 through Southern Lord Records. In addition to major players SUNN O))) and Boris, Altar also boasts an extensive roster of guest musicians/collaborators such as Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Joe Preston (Earth, Thrones, Melvins, High on Fire), Phil Wandscher and Jesse Sykes (both of Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter) as well as long time SUNN O))) collaborators TOS Niewenhuizen and Rex Ritter.
Greg Anderson comments, “We had a lot of fun making Altar — we transcended all barriers and boundaries to create our own sonic language that still strongly resonates. It was incredibly adventurous for us at that point in time. We played in the moment without a preconceived direction then arrived at a beautifully heavy place together.” He continues, “Altar is a monumental documentation of some early experiments with collaboration. We learned a lot from working with Boris and engineer/producer Randall Dunn as well as Bill Herzog, Jesse Sykes, Joe Preston etc. We definitely carried those ideas and spirit into recordings that followed Altar.”
Boris and SUNN O))) continue to circle each other with reverence; most recently, Boris’s Wata and Takeshi did a session with SUNN O)))’s “Life Pedal” which you can watch now courtesy of EarthQuaker Devices.
Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead
