Monoliths & Dimensions

Last updated

Monoliths & Dimensions
Monoliths & Dimensions.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 18, 2009
Recorded2007–2009
Genre
Length53:39
Label Southern Lord (SUNN100)
Producer Mell Dettmer, Randall Dunn
Sunn O))) chronology
Dømkirke
(2008)
Monoliths & Dimensions
(2009)
Soused
(2014)

Monoliths & Dimensions is the sixth studio album by American drone metal band Sunn O))). 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, 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. [1]

Contents

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, "[The end product is] the most musical piece we’ve done, and also the heaviest, [most] powerful, and most abstract set of chords we’ve laid to tape." [2]

When speaking at the launch of Monoliths & Dimensions, Stephen O'Malley 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." [3]

The final song, titled "Alice", is a dedication to the jazz harpist Alice Coltrane who died in 2007. [4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 88/100 [5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [6]
Drowned in Sound 10/10 [7]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
musicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [10]
Pitchfork 8.5/10 [11]
Rock Sound 9/10 [12]
Spin Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Tiny Mix Tapes Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [14]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]

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. [5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Anderson and O'Malley, with lyrics on tracks 1 to 3 by Csihar.

No.TitleLength
1."Aghartha"17:34
2."Big Church [megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért] [16] "9:43
3."Hunting & Gathering (Cydonia)"10:02
4."Alice"16:20
Total length:53:39

Production

Personnel

Release history

RegionDateLabel
EuropeMay 18, 2009 Southern Lord
North AmericaMay 26, 2009Southern Lord
Asia and AustraliaTBASouthern Lord

References

  1. "SUNN O))): More 'Monoliths & Dimensions' Details Revealed". blabbermouth.net. February 13, 2009.
  2. "Sunn O))) Reveals New Album "Monoloths And Dimensions" Details". metalunderground.com. Metal Underground. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  3. Compared with the Sunn Archived 2010-11-26 at the Wayback Machine livemusic.fm. 2010-10-28. Retrieved on 2010-10-29.
  4. Blumensheid, Jess (July 2, 2009). "Interview: Greg Anderson, Sunn O)))". Invisible Oranges . Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Monoliths & Dimension Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic . Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  6. Jurek, Thom. Monoliths & Dimensions review. AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  7. Doran, John. Monoliths and Dimensions review Archived 2009-05-23 at the Wayback Machine Drowned in Sound 2009-05-21. Retrieved on 2009-12-18.
  8. Thomson, Jamie (December 17, 2009). "Sunn O))): Monoliths & Dimensions". The Guardian . Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  9. Mojo magazine, issue #187, p.98. Monoliths and Dimensions review by Manish Agarawal.
  10. Shepherd, Sam. Monoliths and Dimensions review musicOMH Retrieved on 2009-12-18.
  11. Currin, Grayson. Monoliths & Dimensions review Pitchfork 2009-05-29. Retrieved on 2009-12-18.
  12. Gardner, Neil (June 2009). "Sunn O))) – Monoliths and Dimensions." Rock Sound (123): 87.
  13. Beta, Andy. Monoliths & Dimensions review Spin 2009-05-11. Retrieved on 2009-12-18.
  14. Mangoon. Monoliths & Dimensions review Tiny Mix Tapes Retrieved on 2009-12-18.
  15. Their seventh LP is a(nother) case of "none more black," but 'Big Church'--in which a Viennese women's choir provides the counter to crushing, sustained chords are striking departures from Sunn)))'s awesome canon. [Jun 2009, p.103]
  16. "SUNN O))) Monoliths & Dimensions". southernlord.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021.Retrieved15-5-2020.