Liste des groupes Drone Sunn O))) Oracle

Drone music is an accquired taste, for sure. It isn't about musical value; from what I gather, it's about invoking feelings and a surreal, dreamlike state from assortments of very few sustained notes and minimalistic ambient sounds. It is just about as minimalistic as you can possibly get in the musical world, but I can say for sure that sitting back, closing your eyes and listening to drone is an experience unlike any other. Right now, I'm so fresh to this kind of "music" that I'm still not sure what to think about it. In any case, every review I've seen for drone albums are from those select few who are used to it and have been used to it for a sensible amount of time. I thought that there are probably more people out there who don't even know what drone is or are brand new to it. This review is for those people. This is my first drone album and my first review of a drone album so forgive me if my opinions on the subject are a little weak.

I haven't even known about drone for a month at the time of writing this review. Back when I was getting into "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" album by black metal band Mayhem, I wanted to hear more from Attilas' inhuman vocals. Later on, I came across a band called Burial Chamber Trio, on a webpage that said that Attilas was in it. Interested, I listened to Side B of their first release and was baffled that this kind of music could exist. I later found out that this band was a project by Attilas and someone named Stephen O'Malley, who was well-known for his band Sunn O))). I found an extremely rare Sunn O))) EP, called Oracle, at my local record store. Despite it being worth a pretty penny, I bought it and brought it back with me. At that time, I had heard a few drone music tracks, and I found myself becoming strangely addicted to it. Maybe it's just a phase, but in a few months I'll review another drone album to see how I feel about it.

Now, since I have the LP version of Oracle, the 48-minute third track is not included. Anyway, the first song is titled "Belülrõl Pusztít", which is a compilation of synths that give a soft hum and bass. These two instruments put down the foundation of the song that creates a wall of sound effect that helps me get into it. Right off, the album pulls into the doom and gloom feel, with disturbed, guttural growls and whispers from Attila Csihar that jump out at you from the wall of sound. You can really feel Attila's almost haunting presence throughout the album. He makes a lot of really weird noises with his voice that are reminiscent of his Mayhem days, and he gets creepier and creepier as the song progresses. As it goes on, different layers slowly creep in: a high-pitched whistling, a few drum beats, and even a short jackhammer section about 6 minutes in. Unfortunately for me, this side of the record is really staticky, and I can't really get into it. Hearing it on the Internet though, I can say that it's a really good piece of drone and I may prefer this to the other track.

The next track, (and final track for me) is Orakulum, which is a lot heavier than Belülrõl Pusztít. It starts with the high-pitched whine of feedback from a droning guitar, and falls into a slow, dark guitar riff that at times sounds almost like it's playing the opening for "Chainsaw Gutsfuck" in super slow-motion. This is the first time on the album hearing the guitars, and they sure do effect the overall sound, making this song seem a lot more grim than the last one. Attilas' vocals creep in at 3 minutes, with a lot more reverb than before, and sound a lot more supernatural too. When I close my eyes, I see this gigantic deformed face floating in the night sky and speaking in the dark. It's a really cool feeling. This song doesn't have quite as much range as the last one, though, and, balancing the two songs out, they both have their strong points that makes it hard to pick favorites. I listen to this song more singe I can't hear that damn crackling as much on this side of the vinyl, so it's easier for me personally to slip into the emotion of this album.

All in all, I'm glad I bought this. As I said before, if you're new to drone or if you've never heard it, go in with an open mind and be ready for something strange. If I had heard this a year ago or even 6 months ago, I would've hated it. But for now, I'm just getting new to it. It really creates a dense atmosphere that really jumps out at me, and there is some overwhelming sense of relaxation when I hear it. Then again, I wrote this review not even six hours after buying it and hearing it on my turntable, but for now I like how much emotion this band can give me from barely doing anything. I have heard of Sunn O)))'s albums "Black One" and "Flight of the Behemoth" for being their best by far, so I'll give those a try. When I'm not a noob to this obscure genre of music, I'll come back and write another review for drone.