Self-proclaimed 'power ambient' duo Sunn O))) was formed by guitarist Stephen O’Malley and bassist Greg Anderson in the mid 90s, and since then, the band has explored the possibilities of sonic and emotional reward via thundering and increasingly more adventurous drones. Recently, Sunn O))) put their entire catalogue up on Bandcamp, and over the next few months I'm going to look at every release. Call it my 'Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions' project, or call it a fan biting off far more than he can chew. Whatever the case, here we go... unto the breach my friends; I hope to see you on the other side.
We're nearing the end of this Monoliths and Opinions project; in fact, you're reading the penultimate post right now. So far, we've covered Sunn O)))'s full-lengths, live albums, and a few collaborations, and from here on in we're picking up splits, singles, and a few one-off releases.
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Sunn O)))'s work has always sat right at the nexus between mind-obliterating, doom-drenched chaos and avant-garde artistry. As a result, the band's unorthodox craftsmanship has appealed to many in the contemporary art world, and that appreciation is best represented by Sunn O)))'s 2007, three-song EP, Oracle. Born from a collaboration with New York-based sculptor Banks Violette – who cast Sunn O)))'s backline and instrumentation in resin and salt for an exhibition at London's Maureen Paley Gallery in 2006 – Sunn O))) provided the song "Orakulum" to soundtrack the presentation. The aim of the exhibit was to evoke feelings of absence, loss and a, "phantom of what once was", and there's no doubt the tectonic reverberations and slow, sinister slides up the fret-board on "Orakulum" do just that.
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Of course, all that bone-rattle had to come from somewhere, and as Sunn O))) has always made explicitly clear, the band has been hugely inspired by the godfather of dirge and drone, Earth. Sunn O))) have paid that debt back in numerous ways, collaborating with Earth founder Dylan Carlson and, of course, O'Malley and Anderson's famed label Southern Lord helped rejuvenate Earth's career. Angel Coma is a split release from both bands, sold on their European tour in 2006, and on Sunn O)))'s Bandcamp page, you'll find their contribution to the split represented by, "Coma Mirror" and "Coma Mirror (no vocals).
The track might come as a surprise for anyone expecting Sunn O))) to tip their hat to Earth and provide something akin to Carlson's current (and wholly magnificent) dusty and psychedelic drone. Instead, "Coma Mirror" is 13-minutes of ear-piercing and delightfully disagreeable blackened noise, with power-electronics provided by noise combatant John Wiese, and wraithlike vocals from the abyss courtesy of Xasthur. "Coma Mirror" builds and builds, with thunderous, gnarled and pestilential layers heaped atop denser choke-holds of noise, till it all becomes one cyclonic, head-fuck entanglement of overloaded, pulverized and distorted riffs and electronics. It's a great track, one of the most impenetrable and, in turn, fascinating tracks that Sunn O))) have produced – having much in common with experimental dark noise/metal band's like Locrian or Gog . With Angel Coma originally released on very limited, and now exceedingly rare, vinyl, it's well worth your time to pick "Coma Mirror" up.
[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]
The Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions series.