Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Album Review: Sunn 0))) -LA REH 012

Sun 0)))
LA REH 012
**and 1/2 out of *****
The doom riff, slow metal titans Sun 0))) have a new album coming out soon so in anticipation they do what any band does, release a surprise album. While the upcoming Terrestrials finds the band pairing with the black metal group Ulver and is the true follow up to the mega Monoliths & Dimensions from 2009, this current release titled effectively enough, LA REH 012, is a rehearsal session from the band, you guessed it recorded in Los Angeles in 2012.  

For those not familiar with the duo's sound, Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson plod along with feedback and reverb that you can feel in the bottoms of your feet...while listening on headphones.  This release was designed for vinyl as the "songs" each consist of instrumental work outs with little changes over about 20 minutes each.

The first side "Last One/Valentines Day" pulses along without major wattage changes, distortions or fluctuation; it just musical groans and drones. Not the most exciting of Sun 0)))'s tracks but things become more dynamic and nuanced on the flip-side.

"Invisible/Sleeper" starts with mangled voices, layered over each other, sounding scared before one female voice takes over; you don't need to speak her language to sense the fear. The tension slowly begins to mount as note changes meld with feedback before pulsing to a stop. Things slowly start to build and faint additions (was that a far off siren) can be heard.

The sparseness and droning invites the listeners to sense and feel along with the band painting audio and physical pictures as it goes along. This music flows through the whole body, it is primal. The bandcamp page for this album suggests the following MAXIMUM VOLUME YIELDS MAXIMUM RESULTS. Amen to that.
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Obviously this music isn't for everyone and even people who love it would probably have a hard time listening to it repetitively or every day, but sometimes it hits its mark, actually in Sun 0)))'s case it hits more often then it misses. You need to be patient, or insane, or both, and we are. We loved Monoliths & Dimensions a ton, this isn't on that level but it is a good reminder of their style, looking forward to Terrestrials.  

Support the band here, grab or stream the album here
"Invisible/Sleeper"


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