SUNN O))) meets Nurse With Wound - The Iron Soul Of Nothing

Good news for Sunn O)) / NWW fans that this is now available on vinyl. Originally it was issued as a bonus disc with the 2008 Japanese CD issue of Sunn O ))'s 'ØØVOID' on Daymare Records. The original material dates back to the year 2000 and was re-worked by Steven Stapleton and Colin Potter in 2007. The album begins with their take on 'Dysnystaxis {...A Chance Meeting With Somnus}' which is a nineteen minute dark ambient/ drone slow builder. It's a masterclass in subtlety layering sparse individual elements which when become a whole are really quite breathtaking and otherworldly. All the while the track exudes darkness yet a sense of comforting beauty. 'Ra At Dawn Part I {Rapture, At Last}' explores haunting, unknown zones where things become super creepy, maintaining the darkness of the source material but muting it somewhat to become blurrier with trademark NWW spooked atmospherics. Here the doom is suggested but less explicit. Think 'Soliloqy For Lilith' moods which were indeed briefed to NWW from Sunn O)) as to what “vibe” they were looking for with these translations. Interestingly 'Ash On The Trees {The Sudden Ebb Of A Diatribe}' pushes Pete Stahl's vocals to the fore, hovering above a reduced dirge. The vocals sound like a weird mutation of Jhon Balance and David Tibet. The stripped backing then proceeds to push forward vocal drones and icy electronics which sound almost devotional. Then the shit really hits the fan with menacing  rumbling doomy guitar and glass shattering concrete sounds in full on NWW demons are accosting your soul mode. The fourth and final nail in the coffin is 'Ra At Dawn Part II {Numbed By Her Light}' which sounds like the apocalypse is slowly approaching. Gaseous plumes of thick battleship grey sonic fog chug out of the speakers emitting the feeling something isn't quite right, almost like a prelude to a killing but the climax is beyond grasp when things go into minimalist heavy tones with washes of icy, whispering synths. I think this release should appeal to followers of both groups. A great selection by Sunn O)) to get NWW to re-interpret the album and great that this obscurity is more “commercially” available. Nightmares can be perversely pleasurable.