Sunn O))) return to the surface world yet again with new improvised album Pyroclasts

Sunn O))) return to the surface world yet again with new improvised album Pyroclasts

You know, if I wasn’t such a HARDCORE atheist/nihilist/solipsist, I’d swear that those cats in SunnO))) were on a “divinely inspired” streak of productivity right about now.

Hot off the heels of this year’s Life Metal, the band is back with ANOTHER otherworldly slab of holy/demonic dronery. This one’s called Pyroclasts, and it was culled from a daily and nightly improvisation ritual the band slavishly conducted throughout the Life Metal sessions.

Again, since I believe in nothing, here’s someone else to tell you all about it:

Pyroclasts is the result of a daily practice which was regularly performed each morning or evening during the two week Life Metal sessions at Electrical Audio during July 2018, when all of the days musical participants would gather and work through a 12 minute improvised modal drone at the start and or end of the day’s work. The piece performed was timed with a stopwatch and tracked to two inch tape, it was an exercise and a chance to dig into a deep opening or closing of the days session in a deep musical way with all of the participants. To connect/reconnect, liberate the creative mind a bit and greet each other and the space through the practice of sound immersion. The players across the four pieces of Pyroclasts are Tim Midyett, T.O.S., Hildur Guðnadóttir, and as always Stephen O’Malley & Greg Anderson.

If you actually read all that stuff up there, I probably don’t need to tell you that this bonus album was also “recorded and mixed by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio on two inch tape July 2018, and mastered by Matt Colton through all analogue AAA process at Metropolis July 2019” or that “four of Samantha Keely Smith’s incredible consciousness memory landscapes grace the album sleeve.”

Check out the cover art down below, along with an album trailer and a current list of the band’s upcoming tour dates (that I nihilistically copy/pasted from a few months back), and pre-order Pyroclasts here when the witching hour comes.

Lastly (and this part is actually important): “Stephen & Greg would like to dedicate this album to the memories of Ron Guardipee, Kerstin Daley & Scott Walker.” But don’t take my word for it; I believe in nothing.


Pyroclasts, track listing:

SIDE A:
01. Frost (C)
02. Kingdoms (G)

SIDE B:
01. Ampliphædies (E)
02. Ascension (A)

Live dates:

September 2019 - U.S. West Coast
0)))9.01.19 - Dallas, TX - Granada *
0)))9.02.19 - Austin, TX - Emo’s *
0)))9.04.19 - Denver, CO - The Gothic *
0)))9.08.19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Mayan *
0)))9.09.19 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore *
0)))9.11.19 - Seattle, WA - Showbox ^
0)))9.12.19 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall ^

* Papa M, Big|Brave
^ Papa M

October 2019 - Europe + UK
10))).07.19 - Munich, DE - Backstage Werk %
10))).08.19 - Karlsruhe, DE - HfG / ZKM %
10))).09.19 - Basel, CH - Kaserne Basel - Rosstall %
10))).10.19 - Leipzig, DE - Felsenkeller %
10))).11.19 - Krakow, PL - Unsound Festival
10))).13.19 - Vilnius, LT - Kablys %
10))).14.19 - Tallinn, EE - Vene Theatre %
10))).15.19 - Helsinki, FI - Kulttuuritalo %
10))).17.19 - Stockholm, SE - Kraken
10))).18.19 - Oslo, NO - Kulturkirchen Jakob
10))).19.19 - Oslo, NO - Blä *duo show (Greg and Stephen only)
10))).21.19 - Copenhagen, DK - Koncerthuset
10))).22.19 - Nijmegen, NL - Doornroosje
10))).24.19 - Bristol, UK - SWX
10))).25.19 - Glasgow, UK - QMU
10))).26.19 - Birmingham, UK - The Crossing
10))).27.19 - Manchester, UK - Albert Hall
10))).28.19 - London, UK - Roundhouse

% Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem

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