Sunn0))) @ ABC
the baleful Sunn0))) float through the menacing geysers of mist
| 12 Nov 2006
Standing outside Glasgow's ABC venue, The Skinny can't help but consider the tectonic divide in musical sensibilities on show. As a weaving procession of excitable kids skips into the larger ABC1 auditorium for the latest group in a procession of radio-friendly safe rock outfits, a clutch of aficionados of the altogether darker side stand impassively waiting to enter their own evening's fate. Sunn0))) have a cultish following and the disclaimers outside warning that "Extreme noise levels will be used throughout tonight's performance" would come as no surprise to the inhabitants of the bustling theatre, many having witnessed this wraith-ish commune in action before. Others enter this subterranean aural world for the first time but are doubtless similarly in little doubt of the sonic experience promised. Superb Edinburgh Doom cracks Ix lend support to great acclaim for their strong and engaging two track set. Their progressive bassy rumble reaches these ears for the first time but doubtless it is not to be the last.
The darkness surrounding Sunn0)))'s performance is all-encompassing. Disorientating their audience with a constant fug of dense smoke and rasping, sinister chanting, the cloaked collective reside in the closest vision of a Miltonic Pandemonium conceivable: the low-key red lighting is futile to clarify any on-stage projections as the baleful Sunn0))) float through the menacing geysers of mist. They take a full 20 minutes to stoke up to their fullest, sickest noise. The guitars shred like ripping skin until they unleash the next chord change to crawl through the room's structure and infect the very deepest clutches of your body. Sunn0))) move everything, every sinew, every atom in the room making the very fabric of their fallout range burst with kinetic life whilst begging for a merciful end. A full hour of drone - which progresses in two discernible movements - passes by and the guitars reach a reluctant, guttural close. As a one-off experience this band has to be recommended for anyone who wants to join the hardy and diminutive cluster of listeners who seek to challenge themselves in the arena of extreme music. For those who prefer the sanctuary of structure, comfort and orientation, best join that bigger queue over there. [Jamie Borthwick]
The darkness surrounding Sunn0)))'s performance is all-encompassing. Disorientating their audience with a constant fug of dense smoke and rasping, sinister chanting, the cloaked collective reside in the closest vision of a Miltonic Pandemonium conceivable: the low-key red lighting is futile to clarify any on-stage projections as the baleful Sunn0))) float through the menacing geysers of mist. They take a full 20 minutes to stoke up to their fullest, sickest noise. The guitars shred like ripping skin until they unleash the next chord change to crawl through the room's structure and infect the very deepest clutches of your body. Sunn0))) move everything, every sinew, every atom in the room making the very fabric of their fallout range burst with kinetic life whilst begging for a merciful end. A full hour of drone - which progresses in two discernible movements - passes by and the guitars reach a reluctant, guttural close. As a one-off experience this band has to be recommended for anyone who wants to join the hardy and diminutive cluster of listeners who seek to challenge themselves in the arena of extreme music. For those who prefer the sanctuary of structure, comfort and orientation, best join that bigger queue over there. [Jamie Borthwick]