Albums to watch

Life Metal

Sunn O)))

Life Metal

Eighth album and first in four years from the Seattle drone metal merchants led by Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson

ADM rating[?]

8.2

Label
Southern Lord
UK Release date
26/04/2019
US Release date
26/04/2019
  1. 9.0 |   The Quietus

    A vibrant, bright, beautiful collection of overpowering sound and immense delicacy that is, once again, proof that those who reduce the Sunn O))) concept to being a two-riff-pony hiding behind daft cowls are missing the point
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  2. 9.0 |   Exclaim

    Retains all the traits that make Sunn O))) who they are, yet intertwined with a spark of unmistakable vibrance that lifts the spirit, even in the midst of such abyssal depths
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  3. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    A truly magnificent, very real, and ultimately restorative record
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  4. 9.0 |   Uncut

    Life Metal may be the richest work in the band's 21-year-mission to reconfigure Tony Iommi-worthy riffage into a soundtrack for mindful meditation. Print edition only

  5. 9.0 |   All Music

    Life Metal is the dawning of a new phase for Sunn 0))), one that resonates with more power and complexity than anything in their catalog
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  6. 9.0 |   No Ripcord

    This is a sonic meditation channeled through humbuckers and hearts
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  7. 8.5 |   Spectrum Culture

    Life Metal brims with the white-hot intensity of the duo’s early records
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  8. 8.5 |   The 405

    A work rich in texture, depth and tenderness
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  9. 8.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    At its best, Life Metal taps into our psyches and rearranges the elements. Sunn O))) have become experts in their harsh and unmerciful take on expanding sound, slowing it to a glacial pace, and finally rearranging it again until it’s unrecognizable
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  10. 8.4 |   Pitchfork

    The titanic drone metal duo returns with Steve Albini for an enormous, meticulous, back-to-basics album that shows just how compelling those basics can be
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  11. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Just as the goofy title suggests, Life Metal invokes a refreshing return to origin: the back-to-basics approach of a grizzled group in their parents’ garage, where they once rehearsed as spotty teens
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  12. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Even at moderate volume, parts of Life Metal may loosen your neighbours' guttering. Print edition only

  13. 8.0 |   Record Collector

    An album that insists upon provoking imaginative thought, and is sure to do more for your gut motility than any prune
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  14. 8.0 |   The FT

    For their eighth album, the Seattle-based drone metal band join forces with Hildur Gudnadóttir, Steve Albini and Anthony Pateras
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  15. 8.0 |   Q

    It does thrillingly refine the group's electric explorations of numinous spaces both minuscule and gigantic. Print edition only

  16. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    Your reaction to Sunn O)))'s Life Metal will depend on whether you prefer a reminder of what Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley do so well, or wish that they were still unlocking new potential within what the band can be
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