Band:	Sunn O))) / Boris
Album:	Altar [Collaboration]
Style:	Dark Ambient, Drone doom metal
Release date:	October 31, 2006
A review by:	Herzebeth

01. Etna
02. N.L.T.
03. The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)
04. Akuma No Kuma
05. Fried Eagle Mind
06. Blood Swamp

Ok this is what happens; I received this album over a month ago, I tried it the first time and I liked a lot, the next few times something changed actually, then people began telling me "nah! This album kinda sucks dude, I prefer old Sunn O)))" so I kept listening to it and I kept digging it more and more to finally realize the general scheme of this album?

First of all, many people disliked this album because they were expecting a "Black One" follow-up, let's face it, the majority of people who found themselves interested by "Altar" were Sunn O))) fanatics. So, when the album starts and shows a different (in few ways) scheme of what "Black One" or "White Two" were, people get disappointed indeed, and I can't blame them, Sunn O))) used to deliver 20 minutes songs with repetitive as hell chords and really long passages remember?

This album is way more digestible than any of the Sunn O))) albums, it even features calm, melodious and not scary vocalizations, it also has shorter songs and even some "Pop" (don't let this word scare you!) structures in "The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)" for example (just read the name of the singer). The vibe is neither dark or grim, I think this "new" sagacity was the work of Boris actually, then everything obviously runs in a less sadistic way.

What's the problem? I think each track has an obvious "thing" which depicts who actually was in charge of the songwriting. I might be wrong as I don't know this for a fact, but the palatable songs ("The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)", "Etna", etc.) are perceptibly cuts that Boris crafted, and the darker tunes ("Akuma No Kuma", "Blood Swamp", etc.) are the ones which Sunn O))) might have shaped, so in the end this album sounds a little polarized if you know what I mean.

I still think this album will please many avant-gardists out there, even though this album has little replay values (with the exception of the already mentioned "pop" song) and it slowly falls down with each listen, it is a very interesting record (the best of its kind this year at least), and let me tell you one thing, the first listen is one blasting experience!

Best Tracks: "The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)", "Etna"