Altar (album)

Altar
Studio album by Sunn O))) and Boris
Released	October 31, 2006
Recorded	2006
Genre	Drone psychedelia noise experimental rock
Length	53:42 81:56 (Disc Two)
Label	Southern Lord (SUNN62) Inoxia Records Daymare Records
Producer	Sunn O)))
Sunn O))) chronology
Black One (2005)Black One2005 Altar (2006) Oracle (2007)Oracle2007
Boris chronology
Vein (2006) Vein2006 Altar (2006) Altar2006 Rainbow (2006) Rainbow2006
Japanese Version Cover
Inoxia Records version cover

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link
Sonic Frontiers	(6.5/10) 2006
Pitchfork Media	(6.6/10)

Altar is a collaboration album between experimental music groups Boris and Sunn O))), released on October 31, 2006 through Southern Lord Records. A limited two-CD edition was released on October 23 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. 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), Phil Wandscher and Jesse Sykes (both of Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter) as well as long time Sunn O))) collaborators TOS Niewenhuizen and Rex Ritter.

On December 10, 2007, the bands collaborated at the Forum in London along with a number of the guests featured on Altar for a live performance.^[1] A 3LP picture disc version of the album, limited to 500 copies, was sold exclusively at this London show.^[2]

Track listing

Disc One

1. "Etna" – 9:51
   • Greg Anderson: guitar
   • Atsuo: drums
   • Stephen O'Malley: guitar
   • Takeshi: guitar & bass
   • Wata: lead guitar
2. "N.L.T." – 3:49
   • Atsuo: bowed cymbal & gong
   • Bill Herzog: upright bass
3. "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 Herzog & Phil Wandscher: vocals
   • Adrienne Davies: percussion
4. "Akuma no Kuma" – 7:52
   • Atsuo: lead drums
   • Joe Preston: vocoder
   • Greg Anderson:Moog Rogue
   • Stephen O'Malley: Korg MS-20
   • Bill Herzog: snare
   • Steve Moore: trombone
   • TOS Nieuwenhuizen: oberheim
   • Troy Swanson: oberheim
   • Randall Dunn: Korg MS-20, sherman filter bank, echoplex
   • Mell Dettmer: Roland SH-101
5. "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 MS-20 & natural trouble
6. "The Sinking Belle (Black Sheep)" - 5:05 (Japanese CD bonus track)
   • Wata: space echo guitar
   • Eyvind Kang: viola, violin
   • TOS Nieuwenhuizen: Moog Taurus
   • Randall Dunn: Korg MS-20
7. "The Sinking Belle (White Sheep)" - 4:36 (Japanese 3LP bonus track)
   • Takeshi: guitar
   • Wata: guitar, space echo
   • Stephen O'Malley: piano
   • Greg Anderson: bass
   • Atsuo: traps
   • Eyvind Kang: viola, violin
   • Tos Nieuwenhuizen: moog taurus
   • Randall Dunn: korg MS-20
8. "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

Disc Two

1. "Her Lips Were Wet With Venom" – 28:14
   • Atsuo - drums
   • Greg Anderson - guitar
   • Stephen O'Malley - guitar
   • Wata - lead guitar
   • Takeshi - guitar & bass
   • Dylan Carlson - guitar
   • Tos Nieuwenhuizen - Korg MS-20
   • Rex Ritter - Moog Taurus

Production

• Produced By Sunn O)))
• Recorded, Engineered & Mixed By Randall Dunn
• Mastered By Mell Dettmer

Pressing History

Notes and references

1. ↑ Pitchfork Media
2. ↑ Southern Lord Records » sunn O))), Boris, Earth **ALTAR** performance London, Forum 12/10/2007