2004 : 46 "Decay2 [Nihil's Maw]" by Sunn O)))

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I wanted to end my 2004 write-ups with something big, and what could be "bigger" than the sound produced by drone-metal overlords Sunn O)))? Their signature technique—play loud chords at dirge speed and through an unholy heap of amps—is nothing if not ably monolithic, but they're more interesting when they experiment with alternative routes to hugeness, as they do on their near-perfect 2004 album White 2. That album's closing track, "Decay2 [Nihil's Maw]," features some guitar, to be sure, but it's far more interested in the other sounds in its palette: the terrifying keenings, the yawning groans. In fact, the first sound identifiable as a guitar only arrives once the E-Bow kicks in around minute five, and by then we're well on our way, vertiginously descending into the vastest of hells. —Jeremy Bushnell Listen: Sunn O))) >> "Decay2 [Nihil's Maw]" (excerpt)