Sunn O))) – The GrimmRobe Demos

You need lots of patience for this one. Some Sunn O))) recordings can induce hypnosis / utter despair. What this particular album may do for some, however, is induce slumber. It's experimental, it's edgy, it's loud, it's brash. It's all that, but it's also kinda boring, to be honest. The strum of electronic guitars can sometimes be sustained for what seems to be an eternity, before the same chord is struck and sustained for another lifetime. Then, it shifts to another chord, yet again sustained and repeated. Repeatedly. To ensure a complete mind-fuck, the tracks are each at least 15 minutes long. Somewhere along, you feel like you want to kill yourself or the tracks. (Guess which?) But maybe, just maybe, Sunn O))) scored an artistic coup. This is deep, dark, depressing music which outlines an undescribable pain; the sort that expertly requires neither histrionics nor words for comprehension. You hear it, you feel it, you know it. Sharp ears, listen out for the oscillating sine waves, and their resultant reverberating modalities. This stuff is SICK, but oh-so-necessary in the era of pop idols and their saccharine sentimentality.