Masters of the stomach-churning, intestine-voiding, subharmonicfrequencies, Steven O'Malley and Greg Anderson return for a sequel tolast year's impressive White 1, not surprisingly entitled White 2.Much has been made of Anderson and O'Malley's transmogrification andmutation of their Nordic black metal influences into the slow-motion,doom-laden minimalism of their recordings as Sunn O))). Never mind thatit isn't a very original idea, having previously been put forth bySeattle ambient sludge-core band Earth. Listen to the track "Ripped onFascist Ideas" from Earth's live album Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitarsfor the origin of Sunn O)))'s sonic palette. To their credit, however,Sunn O))) have relentlessly pursued this aesthetic, going several stepsfurther with their use of variable-speed tape mutations and othersynthetic technology to create the lowest low-end feasible, with thepossible exception of that lowrider that cruises through myneighborhood in the middle of the night blasting bone-rattling Miamibass. On White 2, they choose not to repeat the guest-vocalist tactics of the first Whitealbum, in favor of creating three lengthy, horror movie soundscapesthat willfully test the limits of the stereo playback system, even asthey revel in fascinatingly tangible textures. Although they approachtheir compositions from a completely different perspective, Sunn O)))arrive in the same general "dark ambient" territory as Lustmord orLull, spinning vaguely cinematic post-industrial abstractions in whichmood is the primary attraction. The fourteen doom-laden minutes of"Hell-O)))-Ween" are the most prototypical of the band: a series ofbrutally plodding riffs that are allowed to reverberate, slowlybuilding up compounding layers distortion and bass rumble like slowlycoagulating amber dripping down a prehistoric tree. It's crushing anddowtrodden, but it's nothing compared to the next two epic tracks ofdesolation and fear. "bassAliens" explores the lonely, claustrophobiccorners just out of sight on Ridley Scott's Nostromo, hauntedby the faint specter of menace, distorted subharmonic rumbles thatsputter and mutate, spewing foul plumes of hydrochloric acid. What'sremarkable about this track is the effective usage of higher-frequencytones and midrange atmospheric guitar plonks, which, juxtaposed withthe jarring bass rumbles, create a vivid sound environment unmatched onSunn O)))'s previous records. The album concludes with the 25-minuteepic "Decay 2 (Nihil's Maw)," where Anderson and O'Malley are joined bylegendary Mayhem vocalist Attila Csihar for a frightening peak into thevoid. Listening to this track on an expensive pair of headphones islike staring into the empty, yawning chasm of oblivion, a screaminghole that sucks up sound and life itself. Dislocated from anyrecognizable sound source other than Csihar's multi-layered growls,shrieks and Odinic chants, a listener has no choice but to floattowards the soul-shredding epicenter of the black hole, where ancientdemonic forces gather and align to prepare for the final descent tozero. Read More
