Sunn O))) - White1 & 2

2003/2004, Southern Lord Records

White1
1. My Wall (25:17)
2. The Gates of Ballard (15:32)
3. A Shaving of the Horn That Speared You (17:52)

White2
1. Hell-o)))-ween (14:11)
2. BassAliens (23:22)
3. Decay2 (Nihils' Maw) (25:15)

White1 is the fourth album by Sunn O))). It was the most significant departure from their original style to date. Each track was experimental in its own way, with Julian Cope reciting occultic druidist poetry for half of "My Wall", Norwegian lyrics sung by Runhild Gammelsæter of Thorr's Hammer as an intro to a drum machine and stoner metal bass riff in "The Gates of Ballard", and the drone track "A Shaving of the Horn that Speared You."

The lyrics to "The Gates of Ballard" come from "Håvard Hedde", a Norwegian folk song. Another metal version of Håvard Hedde had been recorded in 1995 by Storm.

In Q Magazine's August issue (named the loud issue), they named White1 as the 18th loudest album of all time, just below Jimi Hendrix's album Are You Experienced?

White2 is the fifth album by Sunn O))). It was actually recorded during the same sessions as White1, but it was not released until a year later.

This album features Attila Csihar of Mayhem fame quoting the Srimad Bhagavatam on "Decay2 [Nihils' Maw]". "HELL-O)))-WEEN" is a more traditional Sunn O))) track, harkening back to The Grimmrobe Demos in its all-guitar-and-bass approach. A DOD Buzz Box effects pedal designed to imitate the sound of Buzz Osborne of The Melvins was used for the bass effects on "bassAliens."
-Wikipedia

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