Sunn O)))
Great American Music Hall
January 24, 2023
Photos by Raymond Ahner.
Just when you think that they can’t possibly add to their ongoing legacy, drone metal masters Sunn O))) have stripped down to the 2 two core founding members Greg Anderson and Stephen O’ Malley for a project known as Shoshin (初心) Duo. The pair have been on the road for a 14 date tour, and recently pulled up to the Great American Music Hall for a two night stint, bringing all the smoke, strobes, and volume that they always have, and possibly even more.
With a wall of amplifiers that consumed a good portion of the newly expanded stage and the house lights already dimmed, the atmosphere for the evening was set before Sunn O))) even took the stage. As the anticipation built, the two members took the stage for a brief soundcheck without their customary robes, and once completed, multiple layers of fog were pumped from the stage and into the crowd.
Just when it seemed that there was no way possible for any additional fog to fill the venue, even more fog was blasted from the stage. A bank of lights that stretched across the stage created a literal wall of light and smoke for them to play behind.
Sunn O))) finally took the stage in their monk like robes, and with their purposely over-exaggerated posturing and posing, they pummelled the near sold out crowd for an almost 90-minute set of painfully slow yet epic heaviness. Just as they would let a riff ring out to a final note, another would be struck, and seemed almost louder than the last one.
By the time it was all said and done, Sunn O))) made it quite clear that they are just as heavy as a two piece as they are as an entire band, and two sold out nights worth of intensely ringing ear drums would agree.
