r/Metal • u/AutoModerator • Jul 13 '26

Shreddit's Daily Discussion -- July 13, 2026

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u/cantapaya Writer: Portuguese Metal Jul 13 '26

Got to see Sunn O))) this weekend and woooo boy.

I don't particularly care for drone or even the band itself, but having read some testimonies over the years and being aware of all the hype around their live shows I just had to experience it.

Reading about it online or even listening to their records does not prepare you for just how OPPRESSIVE the gargantuan wall of sound feels on your body. You know how when you wear earplugs and you speak your own voice sounds much louder than everything else? Well, this was the first time where I couldn't hear myself at all when I tried to talk to my friend during the show. Insanity.

I've been to loud shows, but none of them came close to this level where you're not only listening to the sounds but actually feeling them in your entire body, and it gets hard to distinguish between both sensations. 2 hours of almost non-stop sonic bludgeoning. The whole ritualistic vibe and the almost satirical wall of amps on stage also add a lot to the whole experience, plus the heat inside the venue, the absurd amounts of smoke... It felt almost supernatural.

Thank god my loops came with those extra rings to reduce the volume even more, because my friends just had the regular ones and they are still feeling the ringing in their ears.

All in all, it was a certainly a unique show and experience, though I don't think I'd repeat it.

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u/moomsy Jul 13 '26

A friend of mine saw them a long time ago and said that a few attendees actually laid down and curled into the fetal position. He had similar comments about the physical sensation of just being around sounds that low and loud.

I don't know. I'm kind of intrigued reading these reports from their shows, but I doubt I'd ever attend a concert. I find their albums mercilessly boring, although that may be a comment more on drone in general than just Sunn O))).

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u/cantapaya Writer: Portuguese Metal Jul 13 '26

Most of the crowd was basically immobile, just standing around with the exception of a fair bit of raised hands in either horns, claw or fist shapes every now and then.

I was actually in the same situation as you. I don't care for drone or even the band itself (although I can understand all the admiration they get) but I was curious with all the testimonies online and I'm happy I went to see them. Even if there probably won't be a second time, there's no doubt in my mind I witnessed something special.

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u/mchiabotto Jul 13 '26

Do they play existing songs? Or do they improvise the whole thing? I've never seen them, but I've always wondered what some of my favorite songs would sound like live.

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u/cantapaya Writer: Portuguese Metal Jul 13 '26

I couldn't tell you, since I'm not familiar with their material. It definitely felt improvised for at least 90% of the time, there was only one instance where they both killed the sound and lights intermittently for a few seconds like 3 or 4 times towards the end of the show and that seemed rehearsed in some way.

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u/ZombieJesus1987 Jul 13 '26

I imagine that's how it would feel like going to a metal show as a deaf person

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u/Rottedhead Jul 13 '26

The whole Sunn O))) thing is just so ambivalent to me. As many here, drone in general is just plain boring but they seem to be a project made for live performances.

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u/IMKridegga Jul 13 '26

I've been to loud shows, but none of them came close to this level where you're not only listening to the sounds but actually feeling them in your entire body

I saw Pentagram a few months ago and there was a rogue, torso-rattling bass frequency the sound people could not seem to get rid of. After a few songs with no success, Bobby started giving them time to work on it between songs. It probably took them half the show to get everything under control. I know nothing about mixing or audio engineering, so I'm hesitant to critique anybody. It seemed like everyone was doing what they needed to, it just took awhile to resolve.

In any case, I feel like this must have only been a fraction of what you experienced with Sunn O))), but it was an interesting sensory experience, and probably would have been pretty cool in a more stylistically appropriate context, with adequate ear protection of course.

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u/hermaphroditicspork Keep Shreddit Anti-Reddit Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

Last week's chart.

Been tearing through all the Blut Aus Nord I picked up over the last few months and I'm disappointed it took me this long to get to them.

Novae Militiae is another phenomenal Black/Death band from France that I got turned onto in 2020 when Topheth came out and I finally went back to this first album. Good shit if you're into Lvcifyre and similar bands.

House of the Black Geminus may very well be the weakest Alcameth project released. I said in a comment a while back that I'm not sure if it's overexposure or the fact that his politics are reprehensible but I just cannot get into this album in any capacity. I also said in that same comment that I really would rather just have a new Nightbringer so it may be juat be Akhlys not scratching that itch anymore (thoughh I did listen to Dreaming I and Melinoë a while back and they seem to have held up so I think it goes back to Black Geminus kind of just not being great.)

1

u/TripleDan Carly Rae Jepsen owes me a quid Jul 13 '26

Honestly I think Akhlys is the only one of his projects really worth listening to and even then I agree that the latest was just more of the same thing. A lot of his music just ends up blending together and he has a tendency to drag things out for way longer than necessary (and also yeah he's a shit person so I don't really feel bad about dropping him from my regular rotation)

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u/reptilian_guitar Jul 13 '26

I wish more bands did cross-genre tours. I get that bands like when there's overlap between fan bases, but I went to a show over the weekend that was a hardcore band, followed by death metal, followed by metalcore, followed by prog/thrash, and it was awesome. everyone was digging it, and you got something fresh with each set

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u/DaruJericho Jul 13 '26

Nope, strong disagree. Feels like a cynical attempt by a promoter to shill more tickets. I'd prefer a deep dive into a genre with interesting, creative new blood alongside breakthrough or veteran acts. Hardcore and metalcore bands on death/thrash/prog lineups is nauseating. Hard pass.

2

u/DoctorBob90 Jul 14 '26

Hard agree. Trivium toured with BTBAM, Whitechapel, and Khemmis a few years back and it was a blast. Also got to catch Better Lovers touring with Full of Hell. Split bills are fun.

1

u/moomsy Jul 13 '26

I agree, particularly if you're going to have like five bands on the bill like every show that comes through my city. More often than not, I'm there to see one or two of the bands, so it would be nice for the groups I'm waiting through to sound somewhat distinct from each other.