15 Aug 2012

Session VI: [Incantation, G.G.F.H., Sunn O)))]



This particular 7" (Deliverance of Horrific Prophecies; Relapse, 1992) succinctly encapsulates what I've come to enjoy and respect about Incantation. These guys appreciate good songwriting and atmosphere - they don't need rapid time-signature shifts or lightning speed arpeggios to maintain a listener's interest. As soon as that trademark 'murky' guitar tone titillates your eardrums that's it, you're hooked. And even though it's been a good 20 years since its release it remains as intimidating and ominous as ever. Heck even the, by now, hackneyed Moyen cover artwork doesn't look cheesy. Unmistakably death metal through and through.



Serial killer inspired industrial courtesy of G.G.F.H. (Global Genocide Forget Heaven) with their 1992 EP Reality (Dreamtime, 1992; CD / 12"). Not unlike other ensembles of their ilk they remain strictly rooted in gritty realism. Accordingly they are riddled with audio samples of court proceedings, interviews and police reports which only accentuates the genuinely disconcerting vibe coming off from the release. Add their strange gnawing subtlety in terms of rhythm and sound layering to the mix and you've got a little gem on your hands. 



Sunn O))) isn't exactly music yet within a live setting the band attains a uniquely reverent and sonically imposing presence. This particular tape was recorded during their 10th anniversary show in Los Angeles back in 2008 (Grimmrobes Live 101008; Southern Lord, 2009) and it pretty much embodies the pure Sunn O))) aesthetic to a tee. The tonal interplay of reverberating chords washes over your conscious experience to the point of saturation, you feel almost suffocated just before the inner mindscape spreads open vast and inviting much like a calm ocean of sheer resonance. I imagine the audience, standing there transfixed lost in a moment stretched until time itself becomes a mere abstraction. As I said Sunn 0))) isn't music, it's an experience; one would even dare say a spiritual experience.




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