Stephen O'Malley (sometimes referred to as SOMA; born July 15, 1974) is an American guitarist, producer, composer, and visual artist from

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, who has conceptualized and participated in numerous drone metal,

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

, and

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

bands, most notably

Sunn O))) Sunn O))) (pronounced "sun") is an American drone metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. The band is known for its distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, ...

Biography

O'Malley is a founding member of several bands including

(1998–present), Thorr's Hammer (1994–1995), Burning Witch (1995–1998), KTL (2005–2021), and

Khanate A khanate ( ) or khaganate refers to historic polity, polities ruled by a Khan (title), khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. Khanates were typically nomadic Mongol and Turkic peoples, Turkic or Tatars, Tatar societies located on the Eurasian Steppe, ...

(2000–2006). Within these projects and alone, he has collaborated with a variety of musical artists, including Greg Anderson, Scott Walker, Merzbow, Eyvind Kang,

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

Iancu Dumitrescu Iancu Dumitrescu (born 15 July 1944) is a Romanian Avant-garde music, avant-garde composer. Life and works Dumitrescu was born in Sibiu, Kingdom of Romania, Romania. He received a master's degree in composition in Bucharest, where his teache ...

, Ana-Maria Avram, Alvin Lucier, F.M. Einheit, Randall Dunn, James Plotkin,

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

, Joe Preston, Attila Csihar, Stuart Dempster, Mika Vainio, Peter Rehberg, Lee Dorian,

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running ...

Jóhann Jóhannsson Jóhann Gunnar Jóhannsson (; 19 September 1969 – 9 February 2018) was an Icelandic composer who wrote music for a wide array of media including theatre, dance, television, and film. His work is stylised by its blending of traditional orchest ...

, Nurse With Wound, Boris, Michio Kurihara, Jim O'Rourke, Keiji Haino, Daniel O'Sullivan & Kristoffer Rygg (in the free improvisation act Æthenor together with Vincent de Roguin and Steve Noble), Aaron Turner,

David Tibet David Tibet (born David Michael Bunting; 5 March 1960) is an English poet, artist and musician. He is best known for the musical group Current 93, which he founded and is the only consistent member of, along with his contributions to the b ...

, Oren Ambarchi, Alexander Tucker, Z'EV, and more recently with Senyawa, Félicia Atkinson, Kali Malone, and François J. Bonnet. O'Malley also produced work together with the Franco-Austrian choreographer and director Gisèle Vienne on the pieces ''Kindertotenlieder'' (2007), ''Jerk'' (2008), ''Eternelle Idole'' (2009), ''This Is How You Will Disappear'' (2010), ''Last Spring: A Prequel'' (2011), ''The Pyre'' (2013) and ''L'Etang'' (2021). He has also worked with American sculptor

Banks Violette Banks Violette (born 1973) is an artist based in Ithaca, New York. Biography Violette was born in Ithaca, New York, Ithaca, New York (state), New York and studied at the School of the Visual Arts in New York earning at BFA in 1998, and graduate ...

(various projects between 2005–2009), the Italian performance artist Nico Vascellari (2007–2011), Swiss art collective KLAT (2009), and the Belgian film maker Alexis Destoop (''Kairos'' with Oren Ambarchi, 2010). O'Malley has designed record covers since the early 1990s for groups such as

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

Burzum Burzum (; ) is a Norwegian music project founded by former Mayhem member Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a staple of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most infl ...

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, Mayhem,

Gehenna Gehenna ( ; ) or Gehinnom ( or ) is a Biblical toponym that has acquired various theological connotations, including as a place of divine punishment, in Jewish eschatology. The place is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the border ...

, Boris,

Dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause of ...

Oneohtrix Point Never Daniel Lopatin (born July 25, 1982), best known as Oneohtrix Point Never or OPN, is an American Experimental music, experimental electronic music producer, composer, singer, and songwriter. His music has utilized wikt:trope, tropes from various ...

, and

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

. He has also worked as a rock/metal music journalist & published a

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

fanzine called ''Descent'' in the 1990s. He was involved with creation of both the

Southern Lord Southern Lord is an American heavy metal record label that was founded in 1998 by Greg Anderson. It initially specialized in experimental metal: particularly doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal. The label later expanded its line-up to i ...

label and the experimental/neofolk/black metal label The Ajna Offensive. In 2011, he began curating and art directing the Ideologic Organ record label, in association with the Viennese Editions Mego.

Personal life

Although he is originally from

, he lives in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. O'Malley is married to American composer and organist Kali Malone, which they announced jointly on Instagram in July 2023.

Discography

With Sunn O)))

*'' The Grimmrobe Demos'' (demo 1998, CD 2000, 2xPLP 2003, 2xLP 2004, 3xPLP 2008) *''

ØØ Void ''ØØ Void'' (pronounced in interviews as "double-O void") is the debut studio album by American drone metal band Sunn O))). The album was recorded on 24 track 2" tape at Grandmaster Studios in Hollywood, a large step forward in production v ...

'' (CD 2000, 2xLP 2003, CD & 2LP 2011) *'' Flight of the Behemoth'' (CD & 2xLP 2002) *'' White1'' (CD & 2xLP 2003) *'' Veils It White'' (12" 2003) *'' The Libations of Samhain'' (live CD 2003) *'' Live Action Sampler'' (promotional mix 2xCD 2004) *'' Live White'' (live 2xCD 2004) *'' White2'' (CD & 2xLP 2004) *'' Cro-Monolithic Remixes for an Iron Age'' (12" 2004) *'' Candlewolf of the Golden Chalice'' (12" 2005) *'' Black One'' (CD 2005, 2xLP 2006) *''Black One'' & '' Solstitium Fulminate'' (2xCD 2005) *'' AngelComa'' (split LP 2006) *'' La Mort Noir dans Esch/Alzette'' (CD 2006) *'' WHITEbox'' (4xLP Box 2006) *''

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

'' (CD 2006) *''

Oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

'' (12" 2007) *''

Dømkirke ''Dømkirke'' is a live album by American drone metal band Sunn O))) that was recorded at Bergen Cathedral in Bergen, Norway, during the Borealis (festival), Borealis Festival. The album was pressed only on vinyl, but it was later made availabl ...

'' (live 2xLP 2008) *''Che'' (with Pan Sonic) (10" 2009) *''(初心) Grimmrobes Live 101008'' (Cassette 2009) *'' Monoliths & Dimensions'' (CD & 2xLP 2009) *''Agharthi Live 09-10'' (LP + 7" 2011) *''The Iron Soul of Nothing'' (with Nurse With Wound) (2xLP 2011) *'' Terrestrials'' (collaboration with

Ulver Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian Experimental electronic music, experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album ''Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler, Bergtatt'', ...

, February 2014) *'' Soused'' (collaboration with Scott Walker, October 2014) *''

Kannon Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

'' (CD & LP 2015) *'' Life Metal'' (CD & 2xLP 2019) *'' Pyroclasts'' (CD & 2xLP 2019) *v/a ''The Beast of Attila Csihar'' "Decay: The Symptoms of Kali Yuga" (CD 2003) *v/a ''Let There Be Doom II'' "Hell-O)))-Ween" (demo) (CD 2004) *v/a ''Darkness Hath No Boundaries'' "It Took The Night To believe" (CD 2006) *v/a ''Darkness Knows No Boundaries'' "Etna" (as Sunn O))) & Boris) (CD 2006) *v/a ''Jukebox Buddha'' "BP//Simple" (CD 2006) *v/a ''Within The Church of Thee Overlords'' "Orakulum (edit)" (CD 2007) *v/a ''VISIONARE 53 SOUND'' "Ultra Orthodox Caveman" (4xPictureLP & 2xCD magazine 2007) *v/a ''Does Your Cat Know My Dog?'' "Isengard (Chopped & Screwed)" (LP 2009)

With Khanate

*''

'' (CD & 12" 2001) *'' Live WFMU 91.1'' (CD 2002) *'' No Joy'' (12" 2003) *'' Things Viral'' (CD & 12" 2003) *''Let Loose the Lambs'' (DVD 2004) *''KHNT vs. Stockholm'' (CD 2004) *''Live Aktion Sampler'' 2004 (CD 2004) *'' Capture & Release'' (CD, 12", picture disc 2005) *''Dead/Live Aktions'' (DVD 2005) *''It's Cold When Birds Fall from the Sky'' (CD 2005) *'' Clean Hands Go Foul'' (LP & PLP 2008, CD Japan & CD+live DVD 2009)

With Burning Witch

*''Demo'' (cassette 1996) *'' Rift.Canyon.Dreams'' (12" 1998) *'' Towers...'' (12" 1998) *'' Crippled Lucifer'' (CD 1998, cassette 1999, 2CD 2008) *''Burning Witch/Goatsnake split'' (CD 2000) *''Burning Witch/Asva split'' (12" picture disc 2004) *''Burning Witch'' (4xLP + DVD boxset 2012)

With Ginnungagap

*''1000% Downer'' (CD & 12" 2004) *''Return to Nothing'' (CD 2004, 12" 2008) *''Remeindre'' (CD & 12" 2005) *''Crashed like Wretched Moth'' (12" 2006)

With Lotus Eaters

*''Alienist on a Pale Horse'' (CD & 12" 2001) *''Four Demonstrations'' (CD 2001) *''Mind Control for Infants'' (CD 2002, 2xLP 2009) *''DR-55'' (7" 2002) *''Wurmwulv'' (CD 2007, 2xLP 2011)

With KTL

*''KTL'' (CD & LP 2006 on Aurora Borealis) *''KTL 2'' (CD & LP 2007 on Thrill Jockey) *''KTL 3'' (CD & LP on OR 2007) *'' Eine eiserne Faust in einem Samthandschuh'' (CD 2007 on Editions Mego) – limited to 300 copies *''KTL – Live in Krems'' (LP released in December '07 by Editions Mego) *''IKKI'' (CD 2008 on Editions Mego) *'' Victor Sjöström's The Phantom Carriage: KTL Edition'' (DVD 2008, USA DVD 2011) *''KTL IV Paris Demos'' (CDR 2008) *''KTL 4'' (CD 2009, 2x12" & 7" Japan 2009, CD Japan 2009) *''KTL V'' (CD 2012, 2xLP 2012) *''KTL V INA GRM Studies'' (12" 2012)

Solo works

*''Fungal Hex'' (CD 2001, 2x12" picture disc 2005) *''Caveman Skull 1&2'' (2xMP3CD 2004) *''Devolution/Evolution: Stephen O'Malley interviews Dylan Carlson'' (MP3 2005) *''Press Conference/Panel at Roskilde Festival 010705'' (MP3 2006) *''Magistral'' (with Z'EV) (CD 2007) *''Salt'' (CD 2008) *''6 °F Skyquake'' (with Attila Csihar) (CD 2008, Book & LP 2008) *''Keep An Eye Out'' (12" 2009) *''Petite Géante'' (Cassette on The Tapeworm, 2009) *''Cocon & Oiseau de Nuit'' (Cassette 2010, LP 2012) *''רומיאו'' (Cassette 2011, LP 2012) *''obscurantisme'' (2xCD & 2xLP 2012) *''"Epipsychidion"'' on the compilation ''Songs of Decadence: A Soundtrack to the Writings of Stanisław Przybyszewski'' (2013) *''Gruidés'' (LP DDS DDS013 2015) *''Eternelle Idole'' (2xLP 2015 Shelter Press) *''Fuck Fundamentalist Pigs'' (2xLP 2015 Ideologic Organ) *''Dread Live'' (LP 2016 Ideologic Organ) *''End Ground'' (LP 2016 Ideologic Organ)

With Grave Temple

*'' The Holy Down'' (CD 2007) *''Ambient/Ruin'' (demo CD 2008) *''Le Vampire de Paris'' (CD 2009)

With Æthenor

*''Deep in Ocean Sunk the Lamp of Light'' (CD & LP 2007) *''Betimes Black Cloudmasses'' (CD & LP 2008) *''Faking Gold & Murder'' (CD & LP 2009) *''En Form for Blå'' (CD & 2xLP 2011)

With Nazoranai

*''Nazoranai'' (CD & 2xLP 2012) *''The Most Painful Time Happens Only Once Has It Arrived Already...?'' (CD & 2xLP 2014) *''Beginning to Fall in Line Before Me, So Decorously, the Nature of All That Must Be Transformed'' (LP 2017)

Various

*Sarin – ''Nihilist'' (cassette 1996) * Thorr's Hammer – '' Dommedagsnatt'' (cassette 1996, CD 1998, CD reissue 2004, picture disc 2004, gatefold LP 2009) * Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine – '' Rampton'' (CD 2002) *Pentemple – ''Sunn O))) Presents'' (CD & LP 2008) * Brain Donor – ''Wasted Fuzz Excessive'' (CD 2009) *Spaceship – ''Spaceship'' (CD 2009) *Peeesseye – ''Robust Commercial Fucking Scream'' (Cassette 2009) *Stephen O'Malley & Steve Noble – ''St Francis Duo'' (CD & 2xLP 2012) *ÄÄNIPÄÄ – ''Through A Pre-Memory'' (CD & LP 2013)

References

External links

* Stephen O'Malley's official websit
as of 2022

Discogs page

Ideologic Organ, O'Malley's record label imprint

Audio interview about O'Malley's music, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omalley, Stephen 1974 births 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians American expatriates in France American experimental guitarists American graphic designers American heavy metal guitarists American industrial musicians American male guitarists Burning Witch members Dark ambient musicians Guitarists from Washington (state) Khanate (band) members Living people Musicians from Seattle Sub Rosa Records artists Sunn O))) members Teenage Time Killers members Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine members Thorr's Hammer members