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Eluvium, Jesu, Sunn o)) at Neumo's, Seattle

Neumo's in Seattle was a great venue. Not knowing what to expect from 'Neumo's Crystal Ball Reading' we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived to see Eluvium, Jesu and Sunn o)).

Eluvium was a great surprise. The textured repeating melodies of Eluvium's recorded work was all present but much more varied and intense. The pieces built from single blocks of guitar work or piano and layer upon subsequent layer were added. Many building to dizzying heights that you wouldn't have imagined possible from the simple start. Never having found a real home for Eluvium in my personal listening range (i.e. at home or on my Ipod), I was pleasantly surprised at this diverse and powerful performance.

Jesu finally hit the stage with a range of offerings from their earlier work including 'Tired of Me' and 'Silver'. My expectations for Jesu were high and I think this affected my overall appreciation of the event. I found the drums to be sluggish and the bassist at all times looked like he'd rather be anywhere but on stage. Overall the performances were good but between the odd vocal mix and canned synth lines I found it hard to truly get involved with the music, which is odd because of the three bands Jesu is easily my favourite. But maybe that's the double edge of expectation.

With a dizzying array of amplification gear and the notable absence of a drum set, it was hard to know exactly what to expect from California drone outfit Sunn 0)) (whose name and logo is drawn from the vintage amplication manufacturer of the same name). What I got was a crash course in amplifier worship. Huge droning soundscapes, two smoke machines working overtime and a vocalist tied up in burlap like a deranged scarecrow alternating between devotional chants and black metal screams.

The quantity of sound was beyond any I'd experienced. My earplugs were working overtime and my clothes were exhausted from the sonic vibrations.

It would be a stretch to link this to metal per se. Sunn has taken the anthemic and spatial nature of big guitar sound and turned it into a place of worship. As if the chord progressions and drums were just too limiting Sunn just stripped them out, turned their stacks to 11 and got to work. The reverberating drone manipulated, layered, drawn out and repeated over and over again. The resultant soundscape was rich and textured, full of very tactile emotions, but at the same time emotionless. I worked my way through the sound best with my eyes closed.

On the other hand it would be unfair to say it wasn't metal. It took all the the things I love about metal and took it to the nth degree. That I was so challenged, explored and then rewarded says so much about what happened that night. Sunn.

A test of endurance. I was begging for them to end and their patient denouement was one of the highlights of the evening. Like a yogi drawing students out of a trance Sunn slowly let various layers fall away until just the basic tone remained. And then was quiet. And we were absolutely spent.