Still trying to come to terms with the new Sunn O))) record. Never really 'got' them until our very own Chip Evans gave me a gentle nudge. I listened to 'Alice' and the rest is kind of history.
Anyway, Life Metal. Fuck me...
The varying textures in tone and frequency make this listening experience between sound system and headphones almost polar opposite. It's hard to explain...
Turning this up loud in the comfort of your own home is like a meditative experience - the ambience through flickering feedback and loud/quiet torrents of drone are cathartic. That's the Steve Albini fairy dust, folks. It's probably the best recording performance he's given us for a while.
Listening to this through headphones is a contrasting experience. It almost equates to being hauled up to the gates of hells. It's physically and emotionally exhausting. The maelstroms of drone storms pulverise your inner senses, making you shudder to the core. The eye watering tones make you realise that, well, this is actually fucking living!
Still trying to put my finger on it, but I'm struggling to come across an album that has such a contrasting listening effect through the preferred medium chosen. Yes, it's good. Very fucking good.
