Boris and Sunn O))) - Altar: Complete Edition (2006)

A collaboration to end all heaviness, 2006's Altar sees the wedding of two of metal's most hallowed names, American drone/doomers Sunn O))) (for the uninitiated, yes, it's just pronounced 'Sun') and Japanese sludge psychos Boris (who awesomely derive their own name from a song off the Melvins' 1991 album Bullhead). Another exploration in the pseudo-genre of 'power ambient' neologized by Sunn-sters Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley, the set here merges the former band's moody doomscapes with the latter's awesome sense of tonality and texture to produce some of the prettiest and most trying heavy music you're ever likely to come across. The 'complete edition' I've put together here includes every track from the Southern Lord and Inoxia Records versions for a whopping nine songs clocking in at over 90 minutes. A record to be listened to at high volumes and in low light.

allmusic

Awesome photos from a live performance of Altar

boomp3.com

Buy here (direct from Southern Lord)

D/l link here

Aural Fit - Livestock (Tokyo, 2004)

Another lucky internet find for yours truly, Aural Fit embody just about everything I seek in music, an insanely heavy, sludgedout headfest meant strictly for fucking minds. On this live album from 2004, the blues are lit aflame and then shredded through layers of bellowing squeal, descending into harsh, psychedelic noise before being twisted back into AMT Cosmic Inferno-like jams. Not for the faint of heart.

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get it here

鉄アレイ (Tetsu Arei) - 鉄アレイ II

Heard about these Tokyo hardcore legends (whose name, by the way, translates as 'Iron Dumbbell') from my friend Kohei, who used to play with one of their former members in the equally ubiquitous Extinct Government. Apparently these guys were one of the original hardcore punk bands to form in Japan, and their super-heavy sound makes this a good deal more interesting than your average throw-away hardcore album. Don't get me wrong; these guys are as punked out as they get, but it's the way they combine typically catchy street-punk screamalongs with Sabbath-esque guitar sludge that gives them an edge up on the competition. Unfortunately, my inability to read Japanese makes finding album art and further info impossible, but luckily that won't prevent you from enjoying the songs.

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Kawabata Makoto and the Mothers of Invasion - Hot Rattlesnakes (2006)

Yet another side project from Acid Mothers Temple mastermind/speed guru Kawabata Makoto, Hot Rattlesnakes takes Makoto's typically fuzz-laden cosmic riffing into intriguingly ambient territory, most notably on middle track Fripian Flipped Over Niffy Their King of Frippery. Those who like his material with AMT should feel right at home here, and these Mothers might even ending up converting an acolyte or two. Highly recommended.

allmusic


get it right here