Sunn O)))- The Black One

So I finally broke down and picked up my first Sunn O))) record (pronounced Sun, if you don't know). I have known about Sunn O))) for years and heard parts of a bunch of their songs. I just hadn't made the leap until now.

Sunn O))) are two guys who were in cool bands before, who have come together to play drone music/metal. The are doomy and heavy, but not like the Melvins, Earth, or Harvey Milk. They have taken the lessons those masters had to teach and have transformed them into something different. This music does not rock, in fact, it is more like sounscapes than music. These guys took the idea of drone/doom metal and approached in a more sonic, ambient way. If you don't like music that falls under the experimental label, they are not for you.

So what do they sound like? Well apparently different albums of theirs have different takes on the same theme. What can be described as the Sunn O))) theme? Big, rumbly, slow guitar riffs that repeat. No percussion. Musical themes that stretch into oblivion. At times the sounds are so big that the listener can't keep sight of the song as a whole. When I say big, I don't necessarily mean loud. I mean big. The songs are like planets. You can fly over the expansive landscape, but you can't see it all at once. It is too massive. And above all it is glacial. It is the sound of ice slowly overtaking everything. Now start with this Sunn O))) theme and run it through a black metal filter and you get the appropriately named Black One.

Does it sound like black metal? Not at all. Does it feel like black metal? Oh, yeah. To add to its bm vibe it contains guest spots by Wrest and Malefic. And the first song is named Sin Nanna. If you don't know who these people are, get to Googling and brush up on your modern bm.

I just tried to open a new Window while listening to this through my computer and it totally locked up my machine. How intense is that? Whoa.

Anyway, this album is a great piece of sound. I don't know what else to call it. Open your mind and give it a shot, if you want something beautiful and bizarre. You can buy it here:

http://www.southernlord.com/store.php

"Hi, we're Sunn O))). We are taking these guitars back to our big rolling home. Follow us and we will sell you some droids."