On their tenth album, US drone-metal band Sunn O))) once again convince with booming guitar feedback. At their core are the hooded musicians Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley, who visually recall Sith Lords from Star Wars or Nazgûl from The Lord of the Rings. Their trademark is those sheets of sound into which one wants to sink despite their sharpness, yet which can barely be controlled. Anyone who has ever turned the distortion on a guitar amp all the way up knows that taming this sonic force is a discipline in itself.
The duo shape such noise sounds into a crashing symphony: layers pile up, interlock and condense into expansive soundscapes. This music feels opulent, yet is based on remarkably reduced means. Not only because the album consists of just six pieces and still lasts around 80 minutes, but also because Sunn O))) achieve an almost meditative overall effect with very few tracks. The pop appeal may be absent, but the record unfolds a similarly, almost paralysing force to Loveless by My Bloody Valentine.
Cynics would fast-forward and claim that nothing happens – and wonder how one is supposed to evaluate such a thing. Those who listen more closely, however, quickly notice how much work lies in these details: again and again, the sound drops away, tipping from high feedback into the deep hum of down-tuned strings. That the album is also self-titled only underlines what is at stake here: locating the core of Sunn O))).
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