Altar (album)

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Altar

Studio album by Sunn O))) & Boris
Released	October 31, 2006
Recorded	2006
Genre	Drone doom
Length	53:42
Label	Southern Lord Records Inoxia Records Daymare Records
All Music Guide link Sonic Frontiers link Pitchfork Media link
Sunn O))) chronology
Black One (2005)	Altar (2006)
Boris chronology
Vein (2006)	Altar (2006)	Rainbow (2006)
Japanese Version Cover

Inoxia Records version cover

Altar is a collaboration album between Japanese sludge/doom band Boris and American drone doom duo Sunn O))), released on October 31, 2006 through Southern Lord Records. A limited two-CD edition was released on October 23rd via Southern Lord with a 28 minute bonus track with Sunn O))), Boris, and Dylan Carlson, titled "Her Lips Were Wet with Venom". Inoxia Records released their own two-CD version in 2006 which features a bonus track on the first disc, "The Sinking Belle (Black Sheep)," and also features "Her Lips Were Wet with Venom" on disc 2. The triple-vinyl edition by Southern Lord contains all of the songs from their two-CD edition, additional pictures, and liner notes by Kim Thayil. This 180 gram pressing is 2,000 sets: Opaque Blue, 2,000 sets: Opaque Green, 1,500 sets: Opaque Yellow, 1,500 sets: Brown, 1,000 sets: Black. The Daymare 3LP version was released March 23, 2007 and features a bonus track not found on any other version of this release: "The Sinking Belle (White Sheep)."

In addition to major players Sunn O))) and Boris, Altar also boasts an extensive roster of guest musicians/collaborators such as Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Joe Preston (Earth, Thrones, Melvins, High on Fire) and Jesse Sykes (Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter) as well as long time Sunn O))) collaborators TOS Niewenhuizen and Rex Ritter.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Disc one: Altar

"Etna" – 9:51
- Greg Anderson: guitar
- Atsuo: drums
- Stephen O'Malley: guitar
- Takeshi: guitar & bass
- Wata: lead guitar
"N.L.T." – 3:49
- Atsuo: bowed cymbal & gong
- Bill Herzog: upright bass
"The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)" – 7:37
- Jesse Sykes: vocals
- Takeshi: guitar
- Wata: guitar, space echo
- Stephen O'Malley: piano
- Greg Anderson: bass guitar
- Atsuo: traps
- Bill Herzong & Phil Wandscher: vocals
- Adrienne Davies: percussion
"Akuma no Kuma" – 7:52
- Atsuo: lead drums
- Joe Preston: vocoder
- Greg Anderson: Moog Rogue
- Stephen O'Malley: Korg MS20
- Bill Herzog: snare
- Steve Moore: trombone
- TOS Nieuwenhuizen: oberheim
- Troy Swanson: oberheim
- Randall Dunn: Korg MS20, sherman filter bank, echoplex
- Mell Dettmer: Roland SH101
"Fried Eagle Mind" – 9:47
- Wata: vocals & space guitar
- Stephen O'Malley: clandestine guitar, califone
- Takeshi: bottle lead guitar
- Greg Anderson: bass guitar
- TOS Nieuwenhuizen: Moog Taurus
- Troy Swanson: oberheim 4 voice
- Randall Dunn: Korg MS20 & natural trouble
"The Sinking Belle (Black Sheep)" (Japanese bonus track)
- Wata: space echo guitar
- Eyvind Kang: viola, violin
- TOS Nieuwenhuizen: Moog Taurus
- Randall Dunn: Korg MS20
"The Sinking Belle (White Sheep)" (Japanese 3LP bonus track)
"Blood Swamp" – 14:46
- Atsuo: gong
- Greg Anderson: guitar
- Stephen O'Malley: guitar
- Wata: guitar
- Takeshi: guitar & bass
- Kim Thayil: guitar
- Rex Ritter: Moog Taurus
- TOS Nieuwenhuizen: Moog Rogue