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SUNN 0))) “Sunn 0)))”
SUNN 0))) “Sunn 0)))”
By Dr. Abner Mality
When the Earth’s mighty tectonic plates grind together, it creates a vast and bone-shaking vibration…something that living creatures can’t actually hear, but can feel. It is the deepest sound imaginable. And SUNN 0))) have tapped into this vibration on this self-titled album, their first for the SubPop label.
This is the SUNN 0))) I always wanted to hear. Over the years, this band started to get too cute with their esoteric drone variations, adding vocals, piano, synths and whatever they felt like. They started with pure metallic drone. And here they finally return to it. This is the purest version of their sound…the almighty THRUMMMM that rattles your bones and turns you into a human tuning fork. This is the heaviest SUNN 0))) there is and I don’t think they can top it in terms of sheer down-tuned immensity.
Six crushing dronescapes are presented here, with only one running under 10 minutes in length. Listening to this is like submerging in a bath made of subsonic waves. The “riffs” are slow and simple…no drums, no vocals. Piano does make an appearance on “Glory Black” and it actually helps to break up the relentless THRUMMM. Plenty of feedback and pure tone can also be found here. Tunes like “XXANN”, “Butch’s Guns” and “Mindrolling” encourage the listener to turn off the lights, light some incense (and maybe some green vegetation) and just soak it all in. If they play this stuff live, you are either gonna see God or shit your pants or maybe both.
The album is accompanied by artistic, poetic liner notes that are bit on the pretentious side but bring up some interesting philosophy to accompany the drone. The Rothko paintings that provide the cover art are a visual equivalent to what SUNN 0))) does sonically. It’s a total package of mind-melting drone and I’m over the moon that these amp-worshipping monks are back to the basics.
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