For nearly 30 years, SUNN O))) – Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson – have pushed the boundaries of heavy music,
straddling the worlds of the avant-garde and rock to forge a style instantly recognisable as their own.
Now, SUNN O))) return with their first album of new material since 2019’s acclaimed Pyroclasts. Their tenth album –
their debut for new label Sub Pop – demonstrates the duo’s mastery of time and space, light and dark, and their
willingness to evolve their unmistakable sound into bold new forms.
The eponymously titled SUNN O))) was tracked at Bear Creek Studios, Woodinville, Washington with Brad Wood
(HuM, Tar, Sunny Day Real Estate, Liz Phair). This location would prove crucial to the recording process.
“The vast tracking room had big windows looking out on trees,” says O’Malley. “We could go hiking and be out in the
woods, spend time outdoors. That became a big part of it.”
“It was very inviting and very comfortable there,” adds Anderson. “There was no stress, no worry about the timeline
or anything like that. We just let ourselves go, and let the music come out.”
“On this album for the first time all of the instrumentation was performed by Greg and I,” says O’Malley. “All of the
records have our leadership and direction, of course, but this time around, it was almost like this crucible of ideas that
was really at the core of what we’ve been doing.”
Recording exclusively as a duo should not be interpreted as SUNN O))) limiting or restricting themselves. To the
contrary, it has opened up new possibilities for their music.
The six compositions on SUNN O))) are expansive and panoramic yet finely detailed, reflecting the arboreal setting in
which they were recorded. Opener “XXANN” enters with howling feedback before crunching into what might at first
seem familiar territory – until one registers the sound of water trickling beneath. “Mindrolling” likewise incorporates
field recordings, as does “Glory Black”, which in addition introduces piano, by turns sonorous and delicate, into the
mix, lending the already formidable piece a hushed, solemn feel. The Newcastle-forged originators of black metal get
a shout out in the title of “Does Anyone Hear Like Venom?” which seems to position Cronos, Mantas and Abaddon as
deep listeners, attuned to their Tyneside surroundings in much the same way as SUNN O))) are to the forest enfolding
Bear Creek Studios. Throughout the album, the interplay between O’Malley and Anderson attains fresh heights of
telepathic intensity as they shape a music that itself breathes the bracing, earthy air of the Pacific Northwest.
In October 2025 SUNN O))) released the first fruit of a new deal with celebrated US label Sub Pop in the form of a maxi
12” featuring “Eternity’s Pillars”, “Raise The Chalice” and “Reverential” – three monumental tracks from the same
sessions that produced the new album. The alliance with Sub Pop makes perfect sense, as Anderson explains.
“We decided that we should approach Sub Pop, after I’d had some great conversations with Jonathan Poneman,” he
says. “So I called him up and before I could get the words out of my mouth, he said, ‘We’d love to do it. Tell me what
you guys need.’ He was really excited and supportive.”
All of which adds up to a fully immersive experience, uniting sound, word and visual into something that is undeniably,
completely SUNN O)))
