Most genres with a description including the word ‘experimental’ can suggest one of two things: impressive innovation or incompatibility. Experimental metal band Sunn O))) (pronounced just as Sun) thankfully belong to the former category. Hailed as rock’s most progressive band, Sunn O))) have been wowing and weirding out audiences with their eclectic combination of sounds since 1998. Their latest album is the product of the band’s 200th concert celebrations in Norway, and collaboration with Norwegian band Ulver (Norwegian for wolves), who are similarly known for progressing from their black metal background with self-styled avant-garde ways.
And so Terrestrials is born, opening in a biblical manner with the track ‘Let there be Light’. The band’s characteristic guitar reverberations and distortion give way to a backing trumpet melody, not out of place in a spaghetti western, and a violin riff appropriate for a Hitchcock film. The careful layering of riffs and harmonies eventually gives way to a symphonic explosion, with a broadly minimalist touch. One would be forgiven for mistaking the distinctive guitar drones of ‘Western Horn’ for those of a tambura and the faint voices actual ghostly screams, resulting in something both hypnotic and eerie. And bringing the album to a close is the most melodic track of them all, ‘Eternal Return’, characterised by its slow progression of piano chords, dramatic synthesiser, and the vocals of Ulver’s Kristoffer Rygg – the tone of which would be envied by Mongolian throat singers. The collaboration between the two groups is at its most fruitful here, where the metal past and the experimental future reach their climax.
The name Terrestrials is perhaps ironic for an album which can sound so other-worldly. Together, the three extended tracks form a magnum opus for the bands, paying homage to both each other and a wide range of genres. The experience of these songs live would bring visuals that introduce a new dimension to this esoteric genre. But the audio alone might bring you closer to that musical Nirvana achieved only after cycles of reinvention.
