As the gods of drone-metal get ready to hit the road, and our stage, we take a look at their latest album, ‘Life Metal’.
SUNN O))) are renowned for being uncompromisingly loud when playing live, even to the point where there’s some European countries that they simply won’t play because of laws restricting volume/decibel levels at live concerts – Belgium, Spain, Sweeden, and Switzerland are off the radar because of this…
“We are not interested to compromise fundamental elements in order to fill a schedule. It’s all or nothing, and that is the path to crack open the sky and your minds…” – SUNN O)))
Their soundscapes are awash with subtle detail, unexpected mellifluous touches amid the distorted chord changes, at one listen sounding destructive and foreboding then on closer inspection full of hopeful, uplifting detail. In the reverential setting of Albert Hall this’ll probably feel on the one hand like a satanic ritual taking place on an altar as guitar strings are sacrificed one by one to the underworld, and at another like a seismic outer body experience no religious preacher could give you.
At a SUNN O))) live show you can feel the frequencies, let alone hear them. There’s amazing dexterity at play with every crunching wave of sound. Life Metalis the first of two albums planned for 2019 with a second and hinted to be ‘more reflective’ record ‘Pyroclasts’, due later in the year.
The title Life Metal itself, seems to be the antonym of Death Metal – a choice to add buoyant tones to their records and express the full spectrum of life. The four pieces on Life Metal show SUNN O))) at the top of their game, Steve O’Malley and Greg Anderson’s connection shining through, and an average track length of 20 minutes too!
We can’t wait for you to feel the music at this show. And beware – There’s a reason SUNN O))) sell branded ear plugs at their merch table…
SUNN O))) play on 27th October. Tickets available here
