arrived late thanks to a crappy taxi and missed the first 15 minutes of Earth's set.

The part that I did see was totally breathtaking. With the latest (and best) Earth album sounding very much like the soundtrack to some epic western I was hoping for a proper band performance as opposed to a recital and Dylan Carlson and Co (drummer, bassist and trombone/keys player) exceeded all of my expectations while simultaneously kicking my arse. The set flowed from dark melancholy passages to more hopeful sounding stuff, with the intro from Earth - Pentastar: In the Style of Demons thrown in as a nod to the past.

Dylan Carlson's guitar playing was SPECTACULAR. He communicated so much with so few notes. You really couldn't help but be moved when he turned towards his amp at the end of Railford and started soloing*. It was like the sudden happy ending to a very bleak tale. I was honestly close to crying like a big girl after such a majestic end to the set.

Sunn O))) were up next. I'd seen them previously and was disappointed by the volume. Admittedly I wasn't disappointed when I didn't poo myself. The internet hype/joke machine had falsely promised that I would.

This time was a very different story! Well, apart from the defecation bit. It was LOUD. My entire body was vibrating. When the two guitar druids played the first note after an ominious intro and a wave of cold air rushed forward from the wall of amps I was trying to work out whether it was tearing my eardrums to pieces or just trying to coax the wax out. I looked down and my bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale (it knocks you on your back) was spurting more air into my face. It was very odd.

Time seemed to stand still as the people on stage moved in slow motion perpetuating the drone. It was a demonstration of the true power of sound. You can really feel Sunn O))) playing when you see them live in a way that just can't be replicated by listening to the records at home.

Some devilish vocals cut through monolithic riffing as it transformed into bassy noise and I opened my eyes to find Malefic in the centre of the stage with a bleeding nose and ice cold stare. He was having a shit time in the afterlife. I wasn't as terrified of him as I was Attila Csihar who was (throat) singing with Sunn O))) at Satan's Hollow (not as scary as it sounds) last time i'd seen them.

Before I knew it, guitars were on the tops of the amps and they were off, leaving the room almost silent. There was a collective intake of breath and it was all over. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders and it felt great. It was the Sunn O))) show I had always dreamt of witnessing. I am converted.

*You may interpret this as just plain old guitar soloing. It was so much more than that. It was a direct extension of that man's soul into the guitar. Awesome.