The Return of Moon's Reviews

[Moonshield]

 

Artist: Sunn O)))

Album: Black One

Label: Southern Lord

Release Date: October 17, 2005

Genre: Drone Doom

 

Note: The album art, especially the cover by Jo Ratcliffe, are incredible.

 

So this was my first full experience from these guys after only listening to a few tracks beforehand. I must say - this is quite different from what I usually listen to (I ended up getting this and their album Flight of the Behemoth at the same time). For those who are unfamiliar with Sunn O))) (consisting of Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley), the name is taken from the now extinct amplifier company, and creates heavy, slow, and ambient music with minimal use of drums. Needless to say, they are an acquired taste.

 

I first decided to check them out after hearing good things about them, and their new album was evidently black metal-influenced, so I was interested in checking it out. What I heard was a primal, minimalist display of pure evil, and I was more or less blown away. This is, what I imagine, perfect to be used as a zombie movie soundtrack. The creation of their 'soundscapes' gives a grimly ambient feel to your surroundings while listening to it. I could certainly pick up the black metal influence very reminiscent of the ambience of Burzum; especially in the track It took the Night to Believe. This eerie black metal-esque atmosphere is added thanks to black metallers Wrest and Malefic, from such bands as Leviathan, Xasthur, and Twilight. To get a full appreciation of this album, play it in your car or home stereo with the bass up HIGH.

 

Now for a short synopsis of each song:

Sin Nanna: I'm not exactly sure what language the title of the opening track is; I'm thinking either Spanish (which translates to 'Without Nanna') or Portuguese (which translates to 'Sin Sleep'). But that's a toss up (or I'm wrong either way). This vocal-less track has pretty much the only drumming on the album, and what seem to be didgeridoos give a very primal atmosphere, which is quintessential to a zombie soundtrack. I could imagine looking over a vast stretch of snowy fields.

 

It took the Night to Believe: As I said before, this song has a very Burzum feel to it, mainly due to the repeating guitar riff, though the vocals are very different and there is no drumming. This might be my favorite track on the album, but I haven't really picked one.

 

Cursed Realms (of the Winterdemons): This song is a very abstract cover of Immortal's song on the album Battles of the North. The music begins as just wind, and the rest of the instruments don't kick in until the end of the first verse - a very abstract cover.

 

Orthodox Caveman: Apparently, this track is based off of Live White footage. I have yet to hear that album, but I guess I'll have to check it out. It's a very droning track consisting mainly of one or two riffs with atmospheric sounds put in the background. I'd love to see these guys live though, according to some friends of mine, they're pretty intense. Imagine enough bass to vibrate your eyeballs and that make you want to poop.

 

CandleGoat: Structured a lot like the last track (if you can call it structure, that is), this one starts off with a clean guitar intro that breaks into a distorted riff that repeats for the majority of the song, a lot like the last track.

 

Cry for the Weeper: Though still very droning, I can listen to this song more than the last two - it's a pretty chill song for the most part. I really like the keys in this song, they remind me of some 60s or 70s horror flick almost.

 

Báthory Erzsébet: According to an interview with Terrorizer, the last track is a tribute to Quorthon (of the band Bathory), and the countess Báthory Erzsébet (Elizabeth Bathory in English) herself. The song itself is seemingly a very slowed down riff from the Bathory song A Fine Day to Die. For about five minutes (of the sixteen), there are really only a few things going on: A bell, a bass track that plays after the bell, and another bass track that bellows a low roar. The guitars don't kick in until about the seven-minute mark. Going with the band's trend of taking a performance approach during the recording (possibly to obtain more of the black metal spirit), Malefic did his vocals in full corpse locked in a coffin - on this song he was credited with 'calls from beyond the grave'. This is a contender with Cursed Realms for my favorite track on the album.

 

The verdict: Though really damn out there, Sunn O)) can make some pretty interesting and though-provoking music. I wouldn't expect myself listening to something like this on a regular basis, but I could stand this album pretty well. I give it four out of five records.

 

What others had to say:

 

O))) RLY?

 

This band automatically gets 3 stars for this picture. I give it a 4 because I'm not particularly familiar with the drone/ambient type of music that this band puts out, but I found this album kicking my ass on its first listen. Though at times I did feel like stabbing myself due to the sheer darkness and gloom that this band posesses. If you're a black metal fan, you'll like the qualities they incorporate throughout this album, and it's a worthy pick-up if you just want to check out some new sh*t.

 

Or if it's on a 10 scale, substitute 3 with 7 and 4 with 8. Yeah.

 

If you'd like to add anything to the review, just PM me and I'll put it up.

 

Also, I'd want to make this a regular forum thing, start up a panel of reviewers to write for different releases and stuff like that. So if you're confident with your ability to write and you think you have fair tastes in any sort of music, PM me, and we can get some stuff organized.

 

Edited January 16, 2006 by Moonshield

[Technical Difficulty]

 

Bathory Erszebet sounds pretty sweet(I love long songs), as does Cry for the Weeper. I might have to check them out sometime. Good job on the review Moon.- Party on Garth

[Scarface187]

This a really great idea. I've been waiting for there to be a thread like this for awhile.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

Excellent review man. I'd love to write something if you don't mind, but I'll PM you about that. Keep up the good work

[vacuumo]

I'll whip up some reviews after exams, covering the genre nobody cares about, progressive rock.

[-shaDow]

 

This was the picture that was supposed to show up in my little mini-review. Don't know what the f*ck happened there.

 

But yeah, I'm very interested in writing some reviews of my own to make this a regular thing. Do we have to restrict ourselves to writing about completely new releases or can we time travel a little in the past?

[Scarface187]

 

Do we have to restrict ourselves to writing about completely new releases or can we time travel a little in the past?

Thats what I asked. I think it would be pretty cool to review an older album. Like a classic pick of the week thing or something like that.

[Moonshield]

I don't see a problem with that, but I'd like to keep most of the reviews about fresh albums so people can use them to find out about new music. We could even have a review request deal.