Sunn O))) (pronounced "sun") is an American drone metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington. The band is known for their distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, drone, black metal, dark ambient, and noise rock,[1] as well as for their extremely loud live performances.
Sunn O))) is named after the Sunn amplifier brand, the logo of which includes a circle next to the "sunn" banner with waves heading off to the right. In interviews, Stephen O'Malley stated that the band's name was also chosen as a play on the name Earth, a band widely regarded as pioneers of drone metal throughout the 1990s. Before the band members moved to Los Angeles, they briefly used the name Mars.
The band's style is characterized by slow tempos, distorted guitars, lack of rhythm and melody, and alternative tunings. The guitars are notable for their low register, frequently utilizing tunings as low as dropped A. Additionally, the band is known for using resonant feedback to create monolithic soundscapes and eerie atmospheres. Percussion is rarely incorporated, with a lack of any discernible beat. When performing live, the band wears robes, fills the air with fog, and plays at a high volume.[2]
The logo the band uses is also that of the Sunn amplifier brand. Stephen O'Malley has stated the band licenses the use of the logo from Fender, Sunn's parent company.[3]
In 2008, Sunn O))) released a live album titled Dømkirke and also announced a mini-tour consisting of four concerts to commemorate the group's 10th anniversary, which coincided with the release of The Grimmrobe Demos.[4]
On December 17, 2009, the song "Hunting & Gathering (Cydonia)" from the CD Monoliths & Dimensions was named the Heaviest Song of All-Time by Jason EllisonThe Jason Ellis Show on Sirius/XM. Greg Anderson then appeared on The Jason Ellis Show on January 12, 2010.[5] Hungarian-born Attila Csihar (Mayhem) has performed live with the band as their primary vocalist since 2003.
Sunn O)))'s musical style has been described as drone metal,[10][11]doom metal,[1][12]experimental metal[13][14]black metal,[15][1]noise rock,[1] and dark ambient.[1] Sunn O))) experiments with a variety of styles and sounds, progressing beyond the primarily guitar and bass style of The Grimmrobe Demos and ØØ Void. On White1 and White2, the band noticeably expanded on conceptualization by inviting several guests, resulting in everything from quiet meditative ambient sounds ("A Shaving of the Horn that Speared You" from White1) to a bizarre bass experiment track ("bassAliens" from White2). Black One continued in this direction, utilizing far more electronics, synthesizers, and other instrumentation than earlier Sunn O))) material, yet still marking a significant return to their traditional sound.
Sunn O))) on stage at the Ritz in Manchester, June 11, 2012
Sunn O))) is widely regarded as leaders in the genre, including by The New York Times Magazine of May 28, 2006, when the band was written up in an article called "Heady Metal" by John Wray.[16] Sunn O))) also appeared in the August 2007 issue of Q magazine (the "loud issue"), with its album White1 being named the 18th-loudest album of all time, just above AC/DC's Back in Black and below Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced?[17]
