Staying put is an easy decision to make, and someone like me who relies heavily, almost desperately, on routine, making a big change can feel like anaphylactic shock (a sensation I have felt before). But most people aren’t Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson, who have done anything but stay within the lines and always have pushed expectations.
That applies both musically and collaboratively for Sunn O))), as they’ve been known to invite all sorts of guests from Ulver to Boris to Scott Walker into their fold to create music. But on their self-titled 10th record, they did something radical even for them: releasing this album on legendary Sub Pop instead of their own Southern Lord imprint. They also decided to create music solely as a duo for this record (mirroring their two-track single released last year on Sub Pop), and the result is six tracks and nearly 80 minutes of doom/drone labyrinth that invites you into the strangest folds of their creativity. Yes, the work here is a little more traditional Sunn O))) than even “Life Metal” or “Pyroclasts,” their last two full-lengths, digging back into their earlier days. But they have some interesting new wrinkles and impulses that remind you that as much as their core hasn’t changed, what influences it and turns it into sound has. It’s immersive and may take a bit to stick, but it will.
Mammoth 18:21-long “XXANN” opens with the trademark drone snarl, swelling as all elements rumble, noise spits, and burly fumes choke relentlessly. The playing pierces as the guitars align, sweltering as smoke rises, soaring over top of the din as the pressure buzzes. Guitars fatten as the noise cuts, staggering as vibrations snake through the earth. “Does Anyone Hear Like Venom?” murmurs, the pace building slowly, guitars jarring and smoldering and numbing, squeezing your temples. Everything angles into blackness, stinging as the guitars angle, emitting impenetrable fumes, volume screaming before disappearing into the mist. “Butch’s Guns” chars, halts, floods, pulls back again, and then the drone waves begin to lap, darkness wafting as the fumes rise from a tire fire, the playing actually glowing through the murk. Noise builds as your eardrums shake, the power landing harder, bubbling beneath the surface.
“Mindrolling” is the second-longest track at 18:12, water trickling, simmering, the notes sneering, a laser-like force cutting through the madness. The sounds crumble as a jet-engine feel hovers, melting over your mind as feedback whirs, licking the electricity flow. The energy rises and falls, crumbling and knifing through the earth’s crust, scalding as waters return for relief. “Everett Moses” has notes bending, trembling, and quivering, doom lapping and feeling like melted iron poured over your head. A leak of black oil babbles as the pace chugs, crushing as hard as anywhere else on this record, ending in noise panic. Closer “Glory Black” has notes shifting, a hint of a melody you can catch, the slightest pinpoint of hope shining through. Drone scrapes and fades, a singular piano key echoing and signaling change. From there, the temperatures cool, piano drips ice pellets, and the ambiance feels like something out of a dream. The distortion slowly mounts a comeback, clawing to the surface, the guitars unleashing sunbeams, ringing out into oblivion and finally settling several planets away.
For their first full-length release for Sub Pop, this is pretty much the quintessential Sunn O))) experience, a total sonic bath of doom drone that might make smoke come out of your ears. With just O’Malley and Anderson here and no other players, this is as boiled down as you’re going to find, with some cool sonic dashes and bends thrown in to keep you guessing. This band epitomizes the “not for everyone” line of thinking, but for those who are down and especially the ones who have been, this is another excursion into the pitch black, with volume your mightiest ally.
For more on the band, go here: https://sunn.southernlord.com/
To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://megamart.subpop.com/products/sunn-o_sunn-o
Or here (Europe): https://europe.subpop.com/release/564613-sunn-o-sunn-o
For more on the label, go here: https://www.subpop.com/
Meat Mead Metal 