Seeing a Sunn O))) concert is somewhat like being in a sensory deprivation chamber. The drone-metal duo pipe in enough smoke so you cannot see the person next to you. The pair, clad in black robes, are barely visible on stage. The performance consists of one long, slightly changing drone over the course of an hour that reverberates through your body. Sometimes you want to panic. By the end, you reach a state of elevated bliss.
The duo’s self-titled new record, their first since 2019’s Pyroclasts, feels like a rebirth in many ways for Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson. After decades of primarily releasing records on their own Southern Lord label, Sunn O))) is their first album on the Seattle label Sub Pop. But if longtime fans are concerned that O’Malley and Anderson are going to grow beards and switch to wearing flannel, they must remember that Sub Pop was also home to ambient rock giants Earth in the ’90s.
Even though the duo has been together for nearly 30 years, Sunn O))) marks the first time O’Malley and Anderson have played every instrument without guests. The album was recorded with producer and engineer Brad Wood (Liz Phair, Sunny Day Real Estate) in a studio in rural Washington that allowed the duo to soak up the forest, incorporating this primal vibe into the new material.
The record begins with “XXANN,” an 18-minute epic that washes over the listener with a ripple of booming bass and turbulent feedback. Like prior Sunn O))) releases, these tracks challenge the listener to find cathartic beauty amidst the noise. Meanwhile, a faint melody can be heard under the rumbling bass of “Does Anyone Hear Like Venom?”
Running at nearly 80 minutes over only six tracks, Sunn O))) is an album that doesn’t lend itself to casual listening. It’s a headphones record, one for deeper listening, perfect for a dark evening surrounded by burning candles or with eyes shut on a long flight while surfing the contours of the clouds. In these situations you can feel the lumbering power of “Butch’s Guns” and the noisy riffs of “Everett Moses.” Best of all is final track “Glory Black,” where noise drifts away like the tail-end of a thunderstorm, parting briefly for the quiet touch of portentous piano.
The estate of Mark Rothko granted Sunn O))) permission to reproduce two of the great artist’s works for the front and back covers. If any music exists to soundtrack the emotionally immersive and sublime art of Rothko, it would be that of O’Malley and Anderson. This newest collection is no exception.