Sunn O)) – Black One
The album cover to this record says everything: colorless. The tones that made “Flight of the Behemoth” and “White One” unique are completely buried in a flat, sterile, and uninventive marriage of fabricated nihilism and tired invention of sound. “Black One” could be seen in light as an imaginative experiment to combine drone and black metal but it smells entirely of gimmick boasting the credits of Wrest and Malefic to its roster. Their vocals seem as out of place on “Black One” as Rob Darken in a synagogue. Outside of the context, the vocals come across as insincere, poorly executed, and worst of all: ordinary (no matter how many cadillac hearses you use (give me a fucking break…)). Actual song structures or convincing material takes a backseat to fraudulent macabre themes which give the focused and attentive ear nothing to grasp besides a headache. Continuing to dissect this effort is about as interesting as digging in owl shit to see how many mice it ate. I would recommend true torture to your senses by other means. Perhaps Abruptum, Solicide, Ashdautas, salt in an open wound, or anything you might deem authentic. – TRA
SOUTHERN LORD
Worm Gear 