It’s been over four mortal earth-years since Sunn O))) released an album.
And while a casual browse of Discogs proves that Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley have been pretty much doing the OPPOSITE of nothing, it’s still nice to imagine Sunn O))) have been bunkered down in a cave somewhere that Google maps doesn’t know exist, summoning dark frequencies through a portal to the Underworld they created from a bass amp and a divining rod.
As it turns out, that “cave” is more of an “LA rehearsal space,” and Sunn O))) have actually been crafting several albums there, which have been laid to tape (literally) with Steve Albini at his hallowed Electrical Audio studio. The first evidence of all this deliberate toil and trouble will be Life Metal, which will be released via Southern Lord in April.
In addition to Anderson and O’Malley, Life Metal will feature contributions from a host of impeccably pedigreed artists, including Hildur Guðnadóttir (Múm, Pan Sonic and Angel), Anthony Pateras (playing the incredible metal pipe organ), Tim Midyett, and Ronald Dick — who lent his photography skills, with Samantha Keely Smith compiling the artwork.
In their words, Life Metal “collide[s] ideas of 19th century romanticism & late 20th abstract expressionism” while the companion piece Pyroclasts will be more meditative and released later in 2019 once your ears have stopped ringing from blasting Life Metal on an infinite loop.
Sunn O))) will also venture out for a tour around Europe in support of their triumphant re-emergence from the figurative cave. Check out all the dates below the full tracklisting, and watch an album teaser down below:
Life Metal tracklisting:
01. Between Sleipnir’s Breaths
02. Troubled Air
03. Aurora
04. Novae
O)))n the rO)))ad:
02.28.19 - Frankfurt, Germany - Mousonturm
03.01.19 - Graz, Austria - Elevate Festival/Orpheum
03.02.19 - Prague, Czech Republic - Divadlo Archa
03.03.19 - Hamburg, Germany - Kampnagel
03.04.19 - Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Paradiso
03.06.19 - Lyon, France - L’Epicerie Moderne
03.07.19 - Nancy, France - L’Autre Canal
03.08.19 - Dijon, France - La Vapeur
03.09.19 - Rouen, France - QuasaRites Day/Le 106
03.11.19 - Tours, France - Le Temps Machine
03.12.19 - Nantes, France - Stereolux
03.13.19 - La Rochelle, France - La Sirene
03.14.19 - Bordeaux, France - Le Rocher de Palmer
04.17.19 - Cleveland, OH - Agora
04.18.19 - Detroit, MI - Masonic Lodge
04.19.19 - Chicago, IL - Rockefeller Chapel
04.20.19 - Pelham, TN - The Caverns
04.24.19 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
04.25.19 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel
04.26.19 - New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall
04.28.19 - Washington, D.C. - The Howard Theatre
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