Stephen O'Malley (sometimes referred to as SOMA; born July 15, 1974) is an American guitarist, producer, composer, and visual artist from

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

, who has conceptualized and participated in numerous

drone doom Drone metal or drone doom is a style of heavy metal that melds the slow tempos and heaviness of doom metal with the long-duration tones of drone music. Drone metal is sometimes associated with post-metal or experimental metal. Characteristics ...

, death/doom, and

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

bands, most notably Sunn O))).

Biography

O'Malley is a founding member of several bands including Sunn O))) (1998–present),

Thorr's Hammer Thorr's Hammer was an American-Norwegian death-doom band. History Thorr's Hammer was formed in Ballard, Seattle, Washington by Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley during winter 1994–1995. Soon after, Runhild Gammelsæter, then a 17-year-ol ...

(1994–1995),

Burning Witch Burning Witch was an American doom metal band from Seattle, Washington, active between 1995 and 1998. Aside from EPs and split releases, the band released a compilation album called '' Crippled Lucifer'', which had songs of their early EPs. H ...

(1995–1998), KTL (2005–present), and

Khanate A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or empire. Mo ...

(2000–2006). Within these projects and alone, he has collaborated with a variety of musical artists, including Greg Anderson, Scott Walker,

Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...

Eyvind Kang Eyvindur Y. Kang (born 23 June 1971) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. His primary instrument is viola, but has also performed on violin, tuba, keyboards and others. In addition to his solo work, Kang has worked extensively wit ...

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

, Iancu Dumitrescu,

Ana-Maria Avram Ana-Maria Avram (1961–2017) was a Romanian composer, pianist, conductor and musicologist. Biography Avram was born in 1961 in Bucharest, Romania.Schell Michael. "Women in (New) Music: Remembering Ana Maria Avram (1961–2017)", Second Inversio ...

Alvin Lucier Alvin Augustus Lucier Jr. (May 14, 1931 – December 1, 2021) was an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University in ...

, F.M. Einheit,

Randall Dunn Randall Dunn is an American record producer, audio engineer, and musician. As a record producer, he has worked with musical acts such as Sunn O))), Six Organs of Admittance, Marissa Nadler, Wolves in the Throne Room, Boris, Anna Von Hausswolf ...

James Plotkin James Plotkin is an American guitarist and producer known for his role in bands such as Khanate and OLD but with an extensive catalogue outside these bands. He has played guitar for Phantomsmasher and Scorn and continues to remix tracks for ban ...

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side pro ...

, Joe Preston,

Attila Csihar Attila Csihar (; born 29 March 1971), also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian extreme metal vocalist, best known for his vocal work in Norwegian black metal band Mayhem and American drone-doom project Sunn O))). Author Ian Christe descr ...

Stuart Dempster Stuart Dempster (born July 7, 1936 in Berkeley, California) is a trombonist, didjeridu player, improviser, and composer. Biography After Dempster completed his studies at San Francisco State College, he was appointed assistant professor at th ...

Mika Vainio Mika Tapio Vainio (May 15, 1963 – April 12, 2017) was a Finnish electronic musician. He was best known as a member of Pan Sonic. In addition to his real name, he recorded under the aliases Ø, Kentolevi, Philus, and Tekonivel. He has worked w ...

Peter Rehberg Peter Rehberg (29 June 1968 – 22 July 2021), also known as Pita, was a British-Austrian composer of electronic audio works. He was the head of Editions Mego, which he founded in 2006 as a successor to Mego. Early life Rehberg was born in To ...

Lee Dorian Lee Dorrian (born 5 June 1968) is an English singer, best known as a former member of grindcore band Napalm Death and later frontman of doom metal band Cathedral. Career During his early teenage years, Dorrian was the editor of a local punk ...

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Mo ...

Jóhann Jóhannsson Jóhann Gunnar Jóhannsson (; 19 September 1969 – 9 February 2018) was an Icelandic composer who wrote music for a wide array of media including theatre, dance, television, and film. His work is stylised by its blending of traditional orchest ...

, Nurse With Wound, Boris,

Michio Kurihara (born 23 November 1961) is a Japanese guitarist who has played with Ai Aso, Cosmic Invention, Hazama, Ensemble Pearl, Overhang Party, Onna, Ghost, Damon & Naomi Damon & Naomi are an American dream pop/indie folk duo, formed in 1991 by Damon ...

, Jim O'Rourke,

Keiji Haino Keiji Haino ( ''Haino Keiji''; born May 3, 1952) is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise music, percussion, psychedelic music, minimalism and drone music. He has been active since the ...

, Daniel O'Sullivan &

Kristoffer Rygg Kristoffer Rygg (born 9 September 1976), also known as Garm, Trickster G. Rex and God Head, is a heavy-metal vocalist, musician and producer known primarily for his work with Ulver, Arcturus, and Borknagar. Biography Born in Oslo but raised ...

(in the free improvisation act Æthenor together with Vincent de Roguin and Steve Noble),

Aaron Turner Aaron Turner (born November 5, 1977) is an American musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal bands SUMAC and Isis, while also ...

David Tibet David Tibet (born David Michael Bunting; 5 March 1960) is a British poet and artist who founded the music group Current 93, of which he is the only full-time member. He was given the name "Tibet" by Genesis P-Orridge, and in January 2005 he ...

Oren Ambarchi Oren Ambarchi (born 1969) is an Australian musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mainly electric guitar and percussion. Biography Oren Ambarchi was born in Sydney to an Iraqi Jewish family. Ambarchi has been performing live since ...

, Alexander Tucker, Z'EV, and more recently with

Senyawa ''Senyawa'' (; en, One Soul) is an Indonesian album released by Musica Studios in 2004. It was Chrisye's last studio album and features a collaboration with numerous Indonesian singers and bands, including Project Pop, Peterpan, Ahmad Dhani, a ...

, Félicia Atkinson, Kali Malone, and François J. Bonnet. O'Malley also produced work together with the Franco-Austrian choreographer and director Gisèle Vienne on the pieces ''Kindertotenlieder'' (2007), ''Jerk'' (2008), ''Eternelle Idole'' (2009), ''This Is How You Will Disappear'' (2010), ''Last Spring: A Prequel'' (2011), ''The Pyre'' (2013) and ''L'Etang'' (2021). He has also worked with American sculptor

Banks Violette Banks Violette (born 1973) is an artist based in Ithaca, New York. Biography Violette was born in Ithaca, New York and studied at the School of the Visual Arts in New York earning at BFA in 1998, and graduated with an MFA from Columbia Univer ...

(various projects between 2005–2009), the Italian performance artist Nico Vascellari (2007–2011), Swiss art collective

KLAT KLAT (1010 AM "TUDN Radio Houston") is a commercial radio station in Houston, Texas. It is owned by the Uforia Audio Network and airs a Spanish-language sports radio format from the co-owned TUDN Radio Network. The station serves as th ...

(2009), and the Belgian film maker Alexis Destoop (''Kairos'' with

, 2010). O'Malley has designed record covers since the early 1990s for groups such as

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

Burzum Burzum (; ) was a Norwegian music project founded by Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a part of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most influential acts in black me ...

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dr ...

Gehenna The Valley of Hinnom ( he, , lit=Valley of the son of Hinnom, translit=Gēʾ ḇen-Hīnnōm) is a historic valley surrounding Ancient Jerusalem from the west and southwest. The valley is also known by the name Gehinnom ( ''Gēʾ-Hīnnōm'' ...

, Boris,

Dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...

, Oneohtrix Point Never, and

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

. He has also worked as a rock/metal music journalist & published a

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

fanzine called ''Descent'' in the 1990s. He was involved with creation of both the

Southern Lord Southern Lord is an American heavy metal record label that was founded in 1998 by Greg Anderson. It specialized in experimental metal: particularly doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal. The label later expanded its line-up to include arti ...

label and the experimental/neofolk/black metal label

The Ajna Offensive The Ajna Offensive is an American independent record label which releases extreme metal, experimental music and neofolk records, and books related to occultism, ritual work, magic theory and meta-history. The proprietor of the label is Tyler Davi ...

. In 2011, he began curating and art directing the Ideologic Organ record label, in association with the Viennese

Editions Mego Mego was an experimental electronic music independent record label based in Vienna, Austria. The label has been superseded by a new company, Editions Mego, which was set up both to keep Mego albums in print and to issue new albums, run by Peter ...

. Although he is originally from

, he lives in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

.
O'Malley interview at lesinrocks

Discography

With Sunn O)))

*'' The Grimmrobe Demos'' (demo 1998, CD 2000, 2xPLP 2003, 2xLP 2004, 3xPLP 2008) *''

ØØ Void ''ØØ Void'' (pronounced in interviews as "double-O void") is the first studio album by Sunn O))). The album was recorded on 24 track 2" tape at Grandmaster Studios in Hollywood, a large step forward in production values from the band's demo r ...

'' (CD 2000, 2xLP 2003, CD & 2LP 2011) *''

Flight of the Behemoth ''Flight of the Behemoth'' (also known as ''3: Flight of the Behemoth'') is the second album by Sunn O))). Background and release The band collaborated with the Japanese noise artist Merzbow, who mixed tracks 3 and 4, and a recording of the t ...

'' (CD & 2xLP 2002) *''

White1 ''White1'' is the third album by Sunn O))), released in 2003. It was the most significant departure from their original style to date. Each track was experimental in its own way, with Julian Cope reciting poetry for half of "My Wall", Norwegia ...

'' (CD & 2xLP 2003) *'' Veils It White'' (12" 2003) *'' The Libations of Samhain'' (live CD 2003) *'' Live Action Sampler'' (promotional mix 2xCD 2004) *'' Live White'' (live 2xCD 2004) *'' White2'' (CD & 2xLP 2004) *'' Cro-Monolithic Remixes for an Iron Age'' (12" 2004) *'' Candlewolf of the Golden Chalice'' (12" 2005) *'' Black One'' (CD 2005, 2xLP 2006) *''Black One'' & '' Solstitium Fulminate'' (2xCD 2005) *'' AngelComa'' (split LP 2006) *'' La Mort Noir dans Esch/Alzette'' (CD 2006) *''

WHITEbox The discography of Sunn O))), an American drone metal band, consists of nine studio albums, three collaborative albums, six EPs, four demos, one remix album, eight official live albums (plus one hundred and fifteen collected bootleg live recordi ...

'' (4xLP Box 2006) *''

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

'' (CD 2006) *''

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ...

'' (12" 2007) *'' Dømkirke'' (live 2xLP 2008) *''Che'' (with

Pan Sonic Pan Sonic was a Finnish electronic music group founded in Turku in 1993. The group consisted of Mika Vainio, Ilpo Väisänen, and Sami Salo. Salo left in 1996 leaving Pan Sonic a duo. The group was originally named Panasonic until 1998. In De ...

) (10" 2009) *''(初心) Grimmrobes Live 101008'' (Cassette 2009) *''

Monoliths & Dimensions ''Monoliths & Dimensions'' is the sixth studio album by drone metal band Sunn O))). The album was created and recorded over a period of two years and features the collaborations of composer Eyvind Kang, Australian guitar player Oren Ambarchi, Hun ...

'' (CD & 2xLP 2009) *''Agharthi Live 09-10'' (LP + 7" 2011) *''The Iron Soul of Nothing'' (with Nurse With Wound) (2xLP 2011) *'' Terrestrials'' (collaboration with

Ulver Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album '' Bergtatt'', were categorised as folklore-influenced black metal, but the band ha ...

, February 2014) *'' Soused'' (collaboration with Scott Walker, October 2014) *''

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...

'' (CD & LP 2015) *'' Life Metal'' (CD & 2xLP 2019) *v/a ''The Beast of Attila Csihar'' "Decay: The Symptoms of Kali Yuga" (CD 2003) *v/a ''Let There Be Doom II'' "Hell-O)))-Ween" (demo) (CD 2004) *v/a ''Darkness Hath No Boundaries'' "It Took The Night To believe" (CD 2006) *v/a ''Darkness Knows No Boundaries'' "Etna" (as Sunn O))) & Boris) (CD 2006) *v/a ''Jukebox Buddha'' "BP//Simple" (CD 2006) *v/a ''Within The Church of Thee Overlords'' "Orakulum (edit)" (CD 2007) *v/a ''VISIONARE 53 SOUND'' "Ultra Orthodox Caveman" (4xPictureLP & 2xCD magazine 2007) *v/a ''Does Your Cat Know My Dog?'' "Isengard (Chopped & Screwed)" (LP 2009)

With Khanate

*''

'' (CD & 12" 2001) *'' Live WFMU 91.1'' (CD 2002) *'' No Joy'' (12" 2003) *''

Things Viral ''Things Viral'' is the second album by American drone metal band Khanate, released in 2003 on the Southern Lord label. The CD was released in two versions: a European digipack version and a U.S. jewelcase version. There was also an LP versi ...

'' (CD & 12" 2003) *''Let Loose the Lambs'' (DVD 2004) *''KHNT vs. Stockholm'' (CD 2004) *''Live Aktion Sampler'' 2004 (CD 2004) *''

Capture & Release ''Capture & Release'' was the third album by the drone metal Drone metal or drone doom is a style of heavy metal that melds the slow tempos and heaviness of doom metal with the long-duration tones of drone music. Drone metal is sometimes ass ...

'' (CD, 12", picture disc 2005) *''Dead/Live Aktions'' (DVD 2005) *''It's Cold When Birds Fall from the Sky'' (CD 2005) *''

Clean Hands Go Foul ''Clean Hands Go Foul'' is the fourth album by American drone metal band Khanate. It was released in May 2009 on Hydra Head Records. Track listing Personnel * Alan Dubin – vocals * Stephen O'Malley – guitars * James Plotkin – bass ...

'' (LP & PLP 2008, CD Japan & CD+live DVD 2009)

With Burning Witch

*''Demo'' (cassette 1996) *'' Rift.Canyon.Dreams'' (12" 1998) *'' Towers...'' (12" 1998) *'' Crippled Lucifer'' (CD 1998, cassette 1999, 2CD 2008) *''Burning Witch/Goatsnake split'' (CD 2000) *''Burning Witch/Asva split'' (12" picture disc 2004) *''Burning Witch'' (4xLP + DVD boxset 2012)

With Ginnungagap

*''1000% Downer'' (CD & 12" 2004) *''Return to Nothing'' (CD 2004, 12" 2008) *''Remeindre'' (CD & 12" 2005) *''Crashed like Wretched Moth'' (12" 2006)

With Lotus Eaters

*''Alienist on a Pale Horse'' (CD & 12" 2001) *''Four Demonstrations'' (CD 2001) *''Mind Control for Infants'' (CD 2002, 2xLP 2009) *''DR-55'' (7" 2002) *''Wurmwulv'' (CD 2007, 2xLP 2011)

With KTL

*''KTL'' (CD & LP 2006 on Aurora Borealis) *''KTL 2'' (CD & LP 2007 on Thrill Jockey) *''KTL 3'' (CD & LP on OR 2007) *'' Eine eiserne Faust in einem Samthandschuh'' (CD 2007 on Editions Mego) – limited to 300 copies *''KTL – Live in Krems'' (LP released in December '07 by Editions Mego) *''IKKI'' (CD 2008 on Editions Mego) *''

Victor Sjöström Victor David Sjöström (; 20 September 1879 – 3 January 1960), also known in the United States as Victor Seastrom, was a pioneering Swedish film director, screenwriter, and actor. He began his career in Sweden, before moving to Hollywood in ...

's The Phantom Carriage: KTL Edition'' (DVD 2008, USA DVD 2011) *''KTL IV Paris Demos'' (CDR 2008) *''KTL 4'' (CD 2009, 2x12" & 7" Japan 2009, CD Japan 2009) *''KTL V'' (CD 2012, 2xLP 2012) *''KTL V INA GRM Studies'' (12" 2012)

Solo works

*''Fungal Hex'' (CD 2001, 2x12" picture disc 2005) *''Caveman Skull 1&2'' (2xMP3CD 2004) *''Devolution/Evolution: Stephen O'Malley interviews Dylan Carlson'' (MP3 2005) *''Press Conference/Panel at Roskilde Festival 010705'' (MP3 2006) *''Magistral'' (with Z'EV) (CD 2007) *''Salt'' (CD 2008) *''6 °F Skyquake'' (with Attila Csihar) (CD 2008, Book & LP 2008) *''Keep An Eye Out'' (12" 2009) *''Petite Géante'' (Cassette on The Tapeworm, 2009) *''Cocon & Oiseau de Nuit'' (Cassette 2010, LP 2012) *''רומיאו'' (Cassette 2011, LP 2012) *''obscurantisme'' (2xCD & 2xLP 2012) *''"Epipsychidion"'' on the compilation ''Songs of Decadence: A Soundtrack to the Writings of Stanisław Przybyszewski'' (2013) *''Gruidés'' (LP DDS DDS013 2015) *''Eternelle Idole'' (2xLP 2015 Shelter Press) *''Fuck Fundamentalist Pigs'' (2xLP 2015 Ideologic Organ) *''Dread Live'' (LP 2016 Ideologic Organ) *''End Ground'' (LP 2016 Ideologic Organ)

With Grave Temple

*''

The Holy Down ''The Holy Down'' documents a series of shows played by Gravetemple in Israel during the summer of 2006. Illustrations for the series were done by Justin Bartlett. Track listing Line up *Attila Csihar - vocals * Stephen O'Malley - guitar *Oren ...

'' (CD 2007) *''Ambient/Ruin'' (demo CD 2008) *''Le Vampire de Paris'' (CD 2009)

With Æthenor

*''Deep in Ocean Sunk the Lamp of Light'' (CD & LP 2007) *''Betimes Black Cloudmasses'' (CD & LP 2008) *''Faking Gold & Murder'' (CD & LP 2009) *''En Form for Blå'' (CD & 2xLP 2011)

With Nazoranai

*''Nazoranai'' (CD & 2xLP 2012) *''The Most Painful Time Happens Only Once Has It Arrived Already...?'' (CD & 2xLP 2014) *''Beginning to Fall in Line Before Me, So Decorously, the Nature of All That Must Be Transformed'' (LP 2017)

Various

*Sarin – ''Nihilist'' (cassette 1996) *

– '' Dommedagsnatt'' (cassette 1996, CD 1998, CD reissue 2004, picture disc 2004, gatefold LP 2009) *

Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine is an English drone doom supergroup, formed in 2001 with musicians from other metal bands. The name is taken from the second song from the Earth album '' Earth 2''. The music is slow and heavy, similar to the m ...

– ''

Rampton Rampton may refer to: People *Cal Rampton (1913–2007), U.S. politician * George Rampton (1888–1971), English footballer *Richard Rampton (born 1941), British lawyer *Sheldon Rampton (born 1957), U.S. political writer * Lucybeth Rampton (1914� ...

'' (CD 2002) *Pentemple – ''Sunn O))) Presents'' (CD & LP 2008) * Brain Donor – ''Wasted Fuzz Excessive'' (CD 2009) *Spaceship – ''Spaceship'' (CD 2009) *Peeesseye – ''Robust Commercial Fucking Scream'' (Cassette 2009) *Stephen O'Malley & Steve Noble – ''St Francis Duo' (CD & 2xLP 2012) *ÄÄNIPÄÄ – ''Through A Pre-Memory'' (CD & LP 2013)

References

External links

* Stephen O'Malley's official websit
as of 2022

Discogs page

Ideologic Organ, O'Malley's record label imprint

Audio interview about O'Malley's music, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omalley, Stephen 1974 births 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians American expatriates in France American experimental guitarists American graphic designers American heavy metal guitarists American industrial musicians American male guitarists Burning Witch members Dark ambient musicians Guitarists from Washington (state) Khanate (band) members Living people Musicians from Seattle Sub Rosa Records artists Sunn O))) members Teenage Time Killers members Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine members Thorr's Hammer members