Sunn 0))) My God My Ears

Ah, what is this? Sun in late October? Yes hint, it isn’t Sunn oh-end-parentheses, it isn’t pronounced Sunn 0…0… either. Pretty trifling. This confusion from the makers of the 18th, yes – top 20 – album of all time. Anyway it’s pronounced ‘sun’, not Sunn 0))).

Sunn 0))) are the definitive drone metal band. Formed in 1998 – they rarely use percussion. No drums in a metal band for nigh on twenty years? Rhythm instead emerges from gravitational ripples of feedback.

The tempo is slow, who moves the sun? No one. These soundscapes are fit for slow-motion car crash footage. Heavy distortion, feedback – so much feedback – and diverse tunings, underworld low. Things will get eerie. Disturb-ations may occur. Meditations might take you to the feet of the Main Cop and have you beg for clemency.

On stage Sunn 0))) wear robes, pump out fog and play at a high volume so protect your fuckin’ ears as well as your psyche. The human ear can withstand around 80 decibels for three hours (that’s cinema safety for ya). But the audience may well be non-human, or already deaf.

Sunn will open up the portals fully at times but be prepared for a long-haul onslaught of volume and shifts designed for an elemental ear operating on another frequency of time. Maybe this is Satan’s fizzy pop.  

Album-wise – Sunn 0))) have two out this year. Life Metal and Pyroclasts and White1. Both produced by infamous icon Steve Albini.  Life Metal at least has a higher fidelity to the crunch than previous releases, and minimal vocals, some distant chanting.

In contrast, White1 (the 18th LOUDEST ever, 0), received critical acclaim and features the hermetic Julian Cope babbling away. Though Cope is not a touring member, instead, Attila Csihar from the also infamous black metal Mayhem does vocals / onstage possessions. Bring a cape.