The reality of the performance was seven fully robed figures, standing in front of a wall of amplifiers (one which has been turned into an art installation, testament to the fact that there is so much more to Sunn O))) than music), on a stage full of smoke. Initially I thought there were only two on stage but, over time, I would notice another five sets of robes shuffling in the smog.

My first impression was slight disappointment: Gothic imagery has surely been done to death by countless, heartless bands who adopt it because it seems to be the only thing they can do. However, once again reflecting, I have come to realise that Sunn O)))’s performance is so much more than this. The robes, the guttural man crawling and writhing, the endless smoke, the goblets of wine were all used with a sense of taste and understanding with which I have never seen them used before. Abandoning silly metal clichés while making really heavy music would be a commendable approach but, as Sunn O))) have done, using Gothic theatre well while making really heavy music is, frankly, awesome.

Oracle involves far more vocals than I have previously experienced from Sunn O))), with the exception of their live show. They are used for sporadic periods throughout the 46 minute piece (for want of a more apt way of describing a track on a Sunn O))) CD), 'Helio)))sophist', and are the most prominent part of most of 'Belülrol Pusztít' and 'Orakulum'. They are used in a fairly unique way (a way that maybe justifies Sunn O))) giving them a - surely tongue in cheek - special name, “vokills”): very low bass rumblings, screeches, sharp bursts of words seemingly played backwards, demonic laughter. The role they take on is a strange mix between being the most important part of a track and being another instrument, a part of a sonic collage. The versatility with which they are used on this supposed EP are far greater than any other instrument. Guitar very rarely steps beyond holding down extremely long chords and when it does it quickly resumes, however, the vocals explore some of the strangest noises that can come from a human mouth in a way that makes Oracle seem like an experiment in what a voice can achieve.

As far as other instruments go, Oracle's background is mostly built from Sunn O)))’s standard droning, bassy guitar grinding. The tone of this noise is often so undefined that it’s hard to even determine when the strings are struck. It doesn’t sound like they ever are but still we go from a point in time at which there is silence to a point in time at which there’s a deep rumbling coming out of the speakers and making them shake (kinda like quantum physics, yo). Although often very reliant on repetition, and these droning and rumbling sounds, as the 46 minute epic demonstrates, they impressively use the opposite for some of the album’s best parts. Belurol Pusztit sees a pneumatic drill taking a major role for a substantial part of the track and later even allows for a completely unprecedented burst of drums and noise which make it, if I may opine, the best track (though really, to give such an award seems futile in the context).

And so Sunn O))) question the world once again, demanding precise word choice while asking of the listener/ reviewer/ passive contemplator that they rethink the definitions of so much of our musical vocabulary. Is this an EP? Are they a band? Is he singing? Is this metal? What does music mean? And though it’s far from easy listening, we all must be thankful, even if we don’t want to hear them, that such questions are being asked and that Sunn O))) exist.