Okay, I definitely had a massive bias going into this one since I really dislike the one Kenji Haino album I already own and I view Black One as kind of a seminal drone metal album. That said, I did give both a fair listen but still came away liking Black One a hell of a lot more. The tracks on that album just drip with atmosphere and bury you in fuzz, while the Kenji Haino album, though somewhat better than the other release I have by him, just sounds like an hour of someone fucking around on a guitar. I honestly feel like any one of us could produce something of equal quality in afternoon.

Sunn O))) -3
Kenji Haino -1

Sunn 0))) win the first match-up 3-1, next up they face Naked City who have been on Metal Wars before, but with a different album.

i have Leng Tch'e but haven't heard it yet

will let you know soon

For some reason I thought I already had a copy of Leng Tch'e, but it turns out I didn't. Listening to it now I think it's probably my favorite Naked City release of the ones I've heard, and it's somewhat different territory for Zorn, which I also appreciate. So this is a tough call for me. I like both albums a lot, but I guess I'll once again have to vote for Black One because, as much as I think Leng Tch'e is a great album, Black One is still a little more immersive for me. It's one of those albums that just feels like it saturates the very air around you.

Sunn O))): 1
Naked City: 0

as i've said before, i like less than half of Black One

the Naked City is only a slight improvement, for one thing, it's too short (30+ minutes) and another thing the whole thing sounds like an elongated early Melvins track - i'll give it an edge only because the screams sound "real" and made by people being tortured, which is chilling. In all other respects, it's nowhere their debut or John Zorn's best

Sunn O))) - 1
Naked City - 1

Lots of squealing saxophone on early Melvins tracks then?

Listening to the Naked City album tomorrow.

I'm not normally a fan of single album songs but the Naked City example was very good and increased in intensity as I hoped it would. The whole thing emerged into some chaotic demented blast and I'd say it was better than the Sunn O)) album which was very good also.

Sunn O)) -1
Naked City -2

I like Black One a lot, with their black metal influences and their fantastic progression with their songs. However, Leng Tch'e is a totally different animal with several of my favourite musicians: Yamantaka (or Yamatsuka or whatever the hell you want) Eye, John Zorn, Fred Frith, and one of the most underrated drummers out there Joey Barron. I first heard this album on the two disc edition of "Torture Garden", a collection of Naked City's manic tunes that max out at two minutes. In comparison with the first disc (Leng Tch'e takes up the second) it really stands as a testament to Naked City's diversity in that they hop from surf to jazzcore to blues to drone/doom metal. Plus the buildup on the song with the entrance of the sax and Yamantaka's vocals is impeccable.

Also, there is some interesting background on the influence of the piece and the cover and pictures used in the liner notes. The cover is a picture of a man who was given opium so that he may be able to live longer while he is being tortured, and there is a look of ecstasy on his face. In this context, the piece does seem like a long and arduous torture session that seems wonderful. I thought that Naked City did a fantastic job portraying that idea.

If you can't tell by now, I'm casting my vote for Naked City.

Naked City - 3
Sunn O))) - 1

Well I'm really happy I finally listened to Sunn O))) ... I'd been planning on it since I heard people on here talking about them ages ago. Really enjoyed it, but nearly impossible to beat the likes of Zorn and friends in my book.

4-1 Naked City