Flight of the Behemoth

Flight of the Behemoth
Album cover for one of the pressings of the album.
Studio album by Sunn O)))
Released	January 22 2002
Recorded	1998 - 2000 at The Gas Chamber in Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre	Drone/Doom, Noise
Length	51:27
Producer	Greg Anderson, Mathias Schneeberger
Sunn O))) chronology
ØØ Void (2000)	Flight of the Behemoth (2002)	White1 (2003)

Flight of The Behemoth (Sometimes stylized as 3: Flight of the Behemoth) is the second studio album (and third overall full-length of studio recordings) by drone band Sunn O))). The album was initially released in 2002 via Southern Lord Records.

Background

Most of the album's recording spanned between 1998 and 2000, with the main collaborator for the project being Masami Akita, better known as Japanese noise legend Merzbow. This is also the final Sunn O))) release to feature G. Stuart Dahlquist, who plays bass on the final track.

The original version included a prescription for Ozzy Osbourne reproduced in the artwork. The later versions removed it.

"F.W.T.B.T." is an interpretation of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica. The song does not follow much of what the original song is because Sunn O)))'s intention of the track was to rewrite the song for themselves rather than copy the original. The full title track is actually "F.W.T.B.T (I Dream of Lars Ulrich Being Thrown Through the Bus Window Instead of My Mystikal Master Kliff Burton).".

The vinyl edition was released as a gatefold 2-LP by Bisect Bleep Industries with "Grimm & Bear It (live)" as a bonus track (Grimm & Bear It would later be a bonus track for The Grimmrobe Demos). It was limited to 200 copies on black vinyl, 150 copies on clear vinyl, and 150 copies on red vinyl.

Flight of the Behemoth would be reissued in Japan via Daymare Recordings on October 31, 2007. Notably the reissue was a double CD featuring a bonus live performance of Sunn O))) with Merzbow, done live at Earthdom in early 2007.

Flight of The Behemoth would see it's first vinyl re-issue in eighteen years circa June 2020. Along with the bonus track "Grimm & Bear It" it would contain a full color 24” x 36” folded poster and placed in a double gatefold, pressed in Black Vinyl, Gold Vinyl and Blue Vinyl.

Tracklist

Flight of the Behemoth

All songs written by Sunn O))).

• 1. Mocking Solemnity - 9:12
• 2. Death Becomes You - 13:09
• 3. O)))Bow 1 - 5:54
• 4. O)))Bow 2 - 12:53
• 5. F.W.T.B.T. - 10:19

Sunn O))) With Merzbow At Earthdom 2007

• 1. O))) Bow 3 - 23:45
• 2. O))) Bow 4 - 24:20

Personnel

• Stephen O'Malley aka MK Ultra Blizzard - Guitars, Synthesizer, Voice, Artwork, Producer
• Greg Anderson aka Mystik Kliff - Guitar, Synthesizer, Voice, Producer
• G. Stuart Dahlquist aka Bootsykronos - Bass (5)
• Merzbow aka Aspirin Feast - Mixing (3, 4), Vocals and Drum Programming (5), Electronics, Recording and Mixing (Bonus Disc)
• Mathias Schneeberger - Mastering, Producer
• Sunny - Photography
• Oren Ambarchi - Guitars (Bonus Disc)
• Tos Nieuwenhuizen - Synthesizer (Bonus Disc)
• Attila Csihar - Vocals (Bonus Disc)
• Atsuo Mizuno - Vocals, Gong, Crowdsurf (Bonus Disc)
• Matt Colton - Lacquer Cut (2020 Reissue)

External Links

• Flight of the Behemoth on bandcamp