Sunn O))) ‎- Kannon

With Kannon, Sunn O))) turn overwhelming volume into something closer to ritual.

Released in 2015, the album marked Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson’s first full-length Sunn O))) studio statement following 2009’s Monoliths & Dimensions. Rather than attempting to match that record’s enormous stylistic scope, Kannon concentrates the duo’s sound into three interconnected movements, returning to the elemental power of sustained guitar, feedback, resonance, and repetition.

“Kannon 1,” “Kannon 2,” and “Kannon 3” unfold less like conventional songs than stages of a single ceremonial work. Monumental guitar drones accumulate slowly, their harmonics shifting as the sound reverberates and decays. Attila Csihar’s cavernous vocals emerge from within the mass, adding an incantatory presence that makes the record feel simultaneously physical and spiritual. Patient listening reveals constant movement beneath what initially appears monolithic.

The concept draws upon Kannon, the Japanese Buddhist manifestation of the bodhisattva of compassion, an intriguing foundation for music this imposing. Rather than translating that idea literally, Sunn O))) approach it through atmosphere and repetition, using sound as a vehicle for immersion and contemplation.

At roughly half an hour, Kannon is comparatively concise by Sunn O))) standards, yet nothing about it feels small. The density of the guitars and extraordinary low-frequency weight give the three pieces a scale that can make the room itself seem involved in the performance.

Kannon is Sunn O))) reduced to their fundamental elements: amplification, vibration, patience, and ritual. Crushing at sufficient volume but strangely meditative beneath the distortion, it demonstrates why their particular strain of drone metal remains unlike virtually anything else.