Over the course of two-plus decades as a band, Sunn O))) has been on a relentless exploration into minimalist metal with massive results. The music of guitarists Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson — the band’s core duo, aided by a wealth of collaborators, from Japanese stoner gods Boris to recently deceased musical explorer Scott Walker and beyond — is punishingly loud, deeply dark and frequently unnerving. Metal has a reputation for being aggressive and piercing, but Sunn O)))’s sound is patient, and that can be even scarier. Their music is glacially slow, and with only rare instances of percussion keeping time, you can get lost in the expanse. Across their catalog, O’Malley and Anderson have shown how metal can be as immersive and enveloping as any of Brian Eno’s ambient compositions.
Sunn O)))’s increasingly nuanced focus on the space between the notes has cultivated a subgenre that some metal purists wouldn’t consider metal at all. Their eighth studio album, Life Metal, got a limited release on Record Store Day and has a wide release coming April 26. It promises to be something remarkably different. In an interview with Spin, Anderson and O’Malley explained that the title is partly an inside joke among their colleagues (the opposite of “death metal”), but it also represents the band turning toward the light.
“Me and Stephen and Tos [Nieuwenhuizen], the keyboard player, [were] just at a point in our life where things were a different sort of tone and mood,” Anderson told Spin. “And I think that’s reflected in the playing, which is really the important part.”
Don’t expect Life Metal to be any less intense than Sunn O)))’s previous work — light can be blinding, after all. It’s the first record in the band’s catalog to be recorded entirely with analog tape, and Sunn O))) identifies it as the most accurate representation to date of their bone-rattling live show. They were aided in their quest by veteran amplitude enthusiast Steve Albini, whose reputation as more an archivist than producer puts Sunn O))) among the ranks of artists like PJ Harvey, Nirvana and the Pixies, whose work with Albini is some of their rawest.
The sessions yielded two albums. (The second, called Pyroclasts, is due in the fall, and Anderson and O’Malley have described it as a more introspective collection.) For these works, Sunn O))) expanded its impressive list of co-conspirators. Icelandic musician Hildur Guðnadóttir — whose work ranges from playing cello with art-rock ensemble Múm to composing for film (she’s signed on to score the forthcoming Joker movie) — sings on Life Metal; composer and electronic musician Anthony Pateras plays pipe organ; and Tim Midyett from fabled indie-rock vets Silkworm plays bass and baritone guitar.
On Saturday, Middle Tennesseans will have an opportunity to witness Sunn O))) in all its ear-splitting, theatrical glory in a very fitting, unique space. The band will bring its robes, fog machines and stacks and stacks of guitar amps to The Caverns in Pelham, Tenn., the subterranean home of the Bluegrass Underground concert series, around 80 miles southeast of Nashville. The icing on the already-sweet cake is that the the performance happens to be set for 4/20, a date recognized by cannabis lovers of all stripes. And ever since the big bang of rumbling fuzz set off by psychedelic blues bands in the ’60s, slow tempos, deep grooves and body-massaging distortion have attracted smokers of the jazz cabbage like moths to a flame.
Whether you’re a longtime Sunn O))) fan or just someone who jumps at the chance to see a famously loud and spooky band in a cave, you’ll still need to make the drive from Nashville to Pelham. Here’s a playlist that clocks in at just about the length of time it’ll take to get there — naturally, it’s just a handful of songs.
“Orthodox Caveman”
This aptly titled cut from 2005’s Black One pretty much sums up the basic tenets of Sunn O))). Layers of blistering riffs crunch and swirl into a hypnotic drone. The soundscape rises to a crescendo with an ominous buzz of percussion, listed as “caveman drums” in the credits, that becomes its own kind of drone by the end of the 10-minute track.
“Alice”
This cinematic, avant-orchestral piece from the band’s 2009 masterwork Monoliths & Dimensions is a salute to the experimental legacy of Alice Coltrane, and it could soundtrack a gunfight in a surrealist Western. In an interview with Canadian music mag Exclaim!, Anderson mentioned “Alice” as pointing the way to ideas the band wanted to explore further on Life Metal.
“Kannon 3”
This studio rearrangement of “Canon,” captured on 2008’s live album Dømkirke, starts with the usual squalling feedback and sparse chords. With help from Attila Csihar (former vocalist of storied Norwegian black metal band Mayhem), the piece builds into a sweeping and strangely soothing fever dream.
“Richard”
This one reaches way back to Sunn O)))’s first full album, 2000’s ØØ Void. Prior to making a habit of surrounding itself with collaborators, the band built its reputation on these raw, seemingly endless drones.
“My Wall”
Riding atop an eerie bed of crackling distortion and swelling noise is the menacing ramble of post-punk musician, author and antiquarian Julian Cope. He recites a flood of incantations until the familiar and gratifying eruption of Sunn O)))’s signature monolithic guitar sound overpowers the mix.
