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Sunn O))) - ØØ Void (Reissue)

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I will be frank. Despite having known about Sunn O))) since I was 13 years old, I had not heard their first true album, ØØ Void, until its recent 10-year reissue. I was familiar with Sunn O)))’s work from White2 onwards, but lacked the interest to delve further into their past. All I had heard and read indicated that early Sunn O))) was fairly uninteresting: long, tedious exercises in maximum volume that sought to perfect the formula of Earth 2 before actually expanding upon it. However, the journey to a destination is as important as the arrival, so I decided to become acquainted with this reissue, now with the added benefit of a bonus disc of extra material. Furthermore, ØØ Void has until now been out of print in the U.S. for eight years, and so this seemed a good opportunity to hear a side of the band that most recent fans probably are not as familiar with.

Lacking any prior copy of ØØ Void, I cannot speculate on the problems of the initial release, and how this reissue may have attempted to fix them, as the Southern Lord website did not discuss any enhancements to the album beyond the implied modifications necessary for the conversion from tape reels (which the album was recorded on) to vinyl. However, for me, the point of listening to this album is not necessarily to grade it against itself, but rather to grade it against the rest of Sunn O)))’s discography. In this regard, this album is indeed an indicator of the band’s roots: little ambient experimentation, virtually no use of instruments beyond guitar and bass, just straightforward droning. This was the album where Anderson and O’Malley established and codified their sound, taking the Earth drone template to its logical extreme and adding a mystical edge to it that became recognizable as Sunn O))). These tracks sound full and well-produced, with the tape reel production (courtesy of Goatsnake’s Scott Reeder) giving the tracks heft that was lacking on the Grimmrobe Demos without creating washout. As an introduction to Sunn O))), this album is key, as it presents the duo at their most basic, and gives the unaccustomed listener a general idea of where it all began, before leading them into the weirder pastures of Black One and Monoliths and Dimensions.

Included in this reissue is a disc of remixes courtesy of fellow noise-mongering pioneers Nurse with Wound. These tracks are probably the weakest link in the package, simply because of the disparity of sound between Sunn O))) and NWW. On paper it’s a great idea, as both groups are renowned noise experimenters with long histories and extensive collaborations to their names. However, NWW’s sound is more industrial to Sunn O)))’s liturgical, and frequently NWW reveals an absurdist side that Sunn O))) tends to downplay. Thus, the two bands do not collaborate so much as clash, neither side ever able to strike a perfect, cohesive balance. On the track “Ash on the Trees”, we hear some quite silly cartoon vocals over a typical Sunn O))) chord progression, but one that’s not distorted. The result sounds tame. It’s probably meant to be creepy, but it fails. Furthermore, when the actual Sunn O))) drones kick in for earnest, there’s a constant cricket-ish sound over them that becomes intolerable after five minutes.

In a similar fashion, “Ra at Dawn” appears to be an attempt to combine the divergent sounds of Sunn O))) and NWW. However, the Sunn O))) dirge and the NWW “glow” end up canceling each other out, resulting in a sound more monotonous (think suburban) than industrial. Only “Dysnytaxis”, with its brooding ambient soundscapes, is able to show what could have been, had more time been taken to find a common ground between sounds.

Disappointing remixes aside, this is a good listen. As a chronicle of where one of the more polarizing bands of recent memory has come from and whence, one could argue, a whole subgenre of doom metal has sprung, ØØ Void is key. Even the collaboration, if not ultimately satisfying, is interesting, and speaks to Sunn O)))’s willingness to explore and collaborate. The fact that, on a reissue of their first, most “primitive” release, Anderson and O’Malley are willing to add on tracks of collaboration and experimentation stands as testament to their spirit of expansion and adventure. As a whole package, ØØ Void’s reissue is a fine encapsulation of the essence of Sunn O))): a singular, monolithic foundation from which experimentation and artistic growth come readily and fluently.

— Rhys Williams

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BUY ØØ Void

Southern Lord (both 2xLP sets)

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