Metta, Benevolence BBC 6Music : Live on the Invitation of Mary Anne Hobbs

This live addendum to Sunn O)))’s twin 2019 albums, Life Metal and Pyroclasts, was recorded at the BBC’s studios for host Mary Anne Hobbs’ show. On this occasion, Sunn O))) consisted of founders Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley, Steve Moore on keyboards and trombone, Tos Nieuwenhuizen on keyboards, Tim Midyett on bass and keyboards, and (on two of the three tracks) Anna Von Hausswolff on vocals and keyboards. That might seem like a lot of keyboardists for such a guitar-drone-based group, but don’t worry, this isn’t a synthwave album, and it’s much more than a footnote to its studio counterparts. The first two pieces are improvised drone pieces with their core key listed in the title as on Pyroclasts (F and C#, for the record), and the third is a nearly 32-minute version of Life Metal’s final track, “Troubled Air.”