Sunn O))) and Ulver- Terrestrials (2014)

Sunn O))) and Ulver- Terrestrials (2014)

The brilliant and weird Sunn O))) continue their amazing career between the worlds of darkness, bass, drone and feedback, becoming more a compositional institution than a rock band, sure, you got the risk and tension of a metal band, but also you got powerful static, the need to look for detail to understand, a band that has grown at such a fast rate that you need to put them on a category all on their own.

Here we have Sunn O))) coming back, and they are not alone, this time, the record is named Terrestrials and it is recorded in conjunction with once great Norwegian black metallers, now great experimentalists Ulver, perhaps Ulver hasn’t made the whole transition from BM to an avant garde act, but their evolution musically speaking gives them enough background to get face to face with the great O))).

Terrestrials begin with Let There Be Light, an amazing drone number that poses ultra-treated tremolo guitars in the background, clashing with piercing doses of sax, the dark and cosmic jazz of Monoliths & Dimensions is present again in the mix, but this time it is accentuated by the wild doings of the sax, an amazing recording that in a certain way recreates although in a harsher mood, what Sunn O))) did with the great Julian Priester, but here, the picture is augmented by the prescience of Ulver, who are not shy to add a powerful ground, full of earth shattering percussion and monstrous bass, leaving room for the guitars to swell and fill the space to epic proportions.

Undeniably it seems that Ulver is completely comfortable with the Sunn O))) dynamics, as they mix seamlessly into the drone logic of Sunn O))), adding fortunate touches of hard percussion, hard enough to give them a powerful bottom in the tradition of the great Swans, perhaps in the mix, Sunn O))) loses some of its uniqueness, but the reward true is the extended dynamic they achieve when Ulver displays their wild muscle, dark guitars ring in Western Horn, darkness, doom and desolation rear their ugly heads here, in a powerful, aching and desperate tune, both artists add infinite touches of tension perfectly spiced by bass and intermittent brass, the piece starts evolving and adding density to its nature, as the sound starts to dissolve slowly into the air, leaving small traces of light in the process, as some metal grinding shows very far in the mix.

The record ends with the charismatic and nearly spaghetti western-ish Eternal Return, a piece I’m pretty sure the great Ennio Morricone would be proud of it, as the piece irradiates beauty and delicacy in a big way, the combinations of twang guitars, resonance, strings and other elements outsiders to all things metal, make this recording a tremendously piece of art, full of great sound texture that leaves the listener in awe, the pace is elegant and slow, leaving traces of malevolence and beauty all over the place, just to be abruptly assaulted by harsh strings and feedback right in the middle, Sunn O))) keeps expanding their sonic approach at an admirable rate, showing tons of ambition and the open mindedness to carry on, while Ulver here founds a very apt partner who perfectly matches their experimental hunger, which reaches near epic proggish proportions in the second part of this long peace, we get the chance of Ulver taking the lead and getting the benefit of getting lost in the darkness of the Sun O))) vision, just like in Monoliths & Visions, Sunn O))) creates a piece that starts growing and growing and swelling and swelling becoming at the end an unstoppable monster, leaving us with the best and most beautiful notes right in the end, when everything collapses and new life starts to show and to penetrate the mantle of darkness, a great collaboration that leaves us wanting for more, and a clear sign that this year, Sunn O))) might be back with another powerful musical statement like the mighty Monoliths.