Sunn O)))
Kannon
Reviewed by: Geno Thackara
It’s a shame the word “drone” has been getting such ugly associations in recent times. Many of us are drawn to it in the music world because there’s an essential beauty to it (yes, even if it’s doomy metal sludge). There’s something pure about the simplicity of slowing down and just taking time to soak in whatever sound you’re hearing. This is a setup where rhythm and actual melody would only be distractions. It’s about making a little go a long way, playing with tones – crushingly heavy ones in this case, of course – that crackle and shift like slow-oozing aural syrup.
Sunn O))) is coloring with a lot more than the sheer black of their early albums, as they started doing with Monoliths & Dimensions a few years back; these days they’re willing to peek out from under the hoods of their monks’ robes and let in some daylight. The riffs are slightly faster (well, slightly less slloooooooowwwww) than usual and some of the chords are actually major ones. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that their newest release is named after the Buddhist goddess of mercy. The trance-like repetition is even joined by abstract Tuvan throat chanting in all three parts of this suite.
Of course the voltage and distortion on Kannon are still massive enough to test the foundations of your house if you play it at proper volume. Where they’ve always tried to practically lift audiences into the air with the sheer force of sound, now it seems they want to lift our spirits too. In spots the feeling almost verges on triumphant. It does sound odd to be saying that, considering that “destroy” is one of the only comprehensible words to be made out in the chanting, but there it is. Somehow the bright(ish) range of colors manages to add to the music’s overall weight and make us feel a bit lighter at the same time.
Rating: Immense
