Kannon

To many people, SUNN O))) records all sound the same. 'Just play a fucking riiiff,' they’d say, dressed in the same Will Haven t-shirt they’ve worn for ten years, adamant that they are the best band ever. This just stinks of the same position that the 'it’s just noise' argument comes from - the old directed at the young.

But there is more here than meets the ears, eyes and gut. The subtle nuances and references, both inward and outward looking, mean everything to the hardened listener of any genre. After all, every punk song sounds the same, doesn’t it?

Kannon is an excellent example of this in action. Most people will note that it’s tonally very different to many of their collaborative efforts with Boris, Ulver and Scott Walker, but put it alongside many of their solo outings and you may struggle to pick it out. Sure, it’s a record for SUNN O))) fans, but all of them are.

Slowly pulsating 'riffs' that take so long you can’t really be sure if they are repeating or not, ringing feedback falling in and out of harmony, and Attila Csihar’s dark, monk-like chanting. This is SUNN O)))’s sound - physical, overbearing and terrifying. Kannon smashes all of those boxes, as well as regressing further by stripping away the more eclectic instrumentation. One for the SUNN O))) purists, then.

Gordon Barker