It became clear when I entered Tivoli . On notes the visitors were notified there were free ear plugs available at the wardrobe, and on the stage the speakers were standing ready for Sunn O))) in a intimidating setup. But before Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson could start with their Sunn speakers, the duo Eagle Twin had to warm up the audience. With Tyler Smith on drums and Gentry Densley on a guitar made out of Perspex, these gentlemen performed an ear deafening set. The singing was inaudible at times, which seamed to be depending on the place you were standing.

More than fifteen minutes before Sunn O))) started the smoke machine was making overhours filling the venue in a thick layer of smoke while the tones of the intro sounded. The atmosphere became sinister at once. The audience became nothing more than silhouettes in the light of the emergency exit signs. When the smoke is thick enough, the gentlemen of Sunn O))) appear on stage, dressed in dark habits, and a flood of sound is pouring over the audience.

You have to experience a concert of Sunn O))). The low tones are not only audible, but you can feel it. On the bass guitar of Greg Anderson a sticker is visible: “Warning; contains ultra-low bass – not responsible for speaker damage.” With every other concert this could be a joke, but with Sunn O))) this warning seems to be real. The water in my water bottle on stage is showing a standing wave. It is an unreal experience, dark, obscure and sometimes creepy. The figures on stage are moving slowly, almost in trance by the sounds that are produced by the guitars and bass. That all is completed by an exorcising and threatening singing, inaudible but a supplement to the sounds that is coming from the speakers. When he puts on a scary mask, the picture is complete. And in the meanwhile the smoke machine keeps working, making it a play between singer and fumes of smoke. During the apotheoses the singer is clad in a robe of mirrors that is reflecting the laser beams emitting from his fingers.

Time has stand still for a moment, the universe existed of nothing more than sounds. But than it end nevertheless. Sunn O))) leave the stage but they have left a memory that will not disappear quickly.

Review by: Nando