''Monoliths & Dimensions'' is the sixth studio album by
drone metal band
Sunn O)))
Sunn O))) (pronounced "sun") is an American experimental metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington. The band is known for their distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, drone, bla ...
. 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, Hungarian vocalist
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 ...
,
Dylan Carlson from the drone band
Earth, and trombonists
Julian Priester and
Stuart Dempster. Also present is an upright bass trio; French and English horns; harp and flute duo; piano, brass, reed, and string ensembles; and a Viennese woman's choir led by composer and vocalist Jessika Kenney.
However, the band said, "The album is not Sunn O))) with strings or metal-meets-orchestra material." The band took an approach concentrating on more of allusion toward the
timbre of feedback and the instruments involved, so the piece is really illusory, beautiful and not entirely linear, stating, "
he end product isthe most musical piece we’ve done, and also the heaviest,
ostpowerful, and most abstract set of chords we’ve laid to tape."
When speaking at the launch of ''Monoliths & Dimensions'',
Stephen O'Malley
Stephen O'Malley (sometimes referred to as SOMA; born July 15, 1974) is an American guitarist, producer, composer, and visual artist from Seattle, Washington, who has conceptualized and participated in numerous drone doom, death/doom, and exper ...
told
Alex Templeton-Ward that the album was "like a prism... our music is the white light going in, a lot of the colour comes out the other side through the amazing arrangements and personalities of the guest performers and core collaborators… I think the main topic of this album is elaboration, expansion and prismatic detail. The source of that detail is inherent in the sounds of the guitars and the notes of those arrangements."
The final song, titled "Alice", is a dedication to the jazz harpist
Alice Coltrane who died in 2007.
Reception
Initial critical response to ''Monoliths & Dimensions'' was very positive. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an
average score of 88, based on 16 reviews.
Track listing
Production
*Produced by Mell Dettmer and Randall Dunn
*Engineers: Mell Dettmer, Randall Dunn, Nik Hummer and Armin Steiner
*Assistant engineer: Floyd Reitsman
*Mastering: Mell Dettmer
*Cover art: "Out-of-round X" (1999) by
Richard Serra
Personnel
*
Stephen O'Malley
Stephen O'Malley (sometimes referred to as SOMA; born July 15, 1974) is an American guitarist, producer, composer, and visual artist from Seattle, Washington, who has conceptualized and participated in numerous drone doom, death/doom, and exper ...
– electric guitars, acoustic arrangements (1)
*
Greg Anderson – bass guitar (1/3/4), electric guitars (2/3)
*
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 ...
– voices (1/2/3)
*
Oren Ambarchi – electric guitars (2/3/4), oscillator (1/4), guitar effects (1), gong (3), wolf log (3), motorized cymbal (4)
*
Eyvind Kang – viola (1/2/4), choir arrangements (2), brass arrangements (2), string arrangements (2), ensemble arrangements (4)
*
Dylan Carlson – electric guitars (2), choir arrangements (inspired by) (2)
*
Julian Priester – conch shell (1), trombone (4)
*
Stuart Dempster – conch shell (1), dung chen (1), trombone (4)
*Mell Dettmer – hydrophone (1), tubular bells (2)
*Timb Harris – violin (1/4)
*Jessika Kenney – lead alto vocals (2), lead soprano vocals (2), choir arrangements (2), brass arrangements (2), string arrangements (2)
*Tim Smolens – double bass (1/4)
*Moriah Neils – double bass (4)
*Keith Lowe – double bass (1/4)
*Daniel Menche – male choir (3)
*William Herzog – male choir (3), electric tamboura (3)
*Steve Moore – trombone (2/3/4), conch shell (1), dung chen (1), organ (2), Korg MS20 (3), Roland Juno (3), brass arrangements (3)
*Brad Mowen – concert bass drum (3), percussion (3), man choir (3)
*
Joe Preston (bassist) – man choir (3)
*Rex Ritter – Korg MS20 (2), Moog Voyager (3)
*Hans Teuber – clarinet (1/4), bass clarinet (1), alto flute (1)
*Cuong Vu – trumpet (2)
*Tony Moore – trumpet (3)
*Melissa Walsh – harp (4)
*Taina Karr – English horn (1/4), oboe (4)
*Eric Walton – piano (1)
*Josiah Boothby – French horn (1/4)
*Jutta Sierlinger – choir alto (2)
*Angela Kiemayer – choir alto (2)
*Varena Bodem – choir alto (2)
*Katharina Einsiedl – choir soprano/Alto (2)
*Stephanie Pfeffer – choir soprano/Alto (2)
*Loma Döring – choir soprano/alto (2)
Release history
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monoliths and Dimensions
2009 albums
Sunn O))) albums
Southern Lord Records albums
Albums produced by Randall Dunn
Ambient albums by American artists