((O))

Let me start the review by saying how much this band pissed me off before even listening to their music. I mean, come on: SunnEater ((O))? That's like someone forming a band and calling it "Metollica" or "Ultradeth". If you're going to use another band's material to name your own band, at least be original about it: don't directly copy their name and then change a couple things. Couldn't you have named the band "Monoliths and Dimensions" or "Black One" if you love Sunn O))) so much? I would have passed this off relatively easily if the band's logo wasn't a direct copy of the more famous drone band: SunnEater ((O))'s logo is nothing more than the "O)))" part of Sunn O)))'s logo flipped 180 degrees across its central axis. It's bullshit. But you're not reading this review to hear me bitch about why I hate this band's name, so I'll move on now.

SunnEater ((O))'s music is surprisingly mediocre. The band seems to have been going for Sunn O)))'s "melodic wall of noise" approach, and seriously fucked up in the process. Let's start with the production: there's simply not enough feedback. Part of what makes drone so fun to listen to is the calming, relaxing "BWOOOM" noise it makes. This band's production is surprisingly clean, and it sounds like the average garage-level production a sludge metal band would use. Thus, the band's music tends to fail in instilling the primary element of the genre they play. Now, when you look at it that way, you can start to compromise and judge the songs as if they were funeral doom, and in this case only one of the two songs is particularly interesting. "Trampled" plods on for seven-and-a-half minutes with one relatively simplistic riff. Surprisingly enough, it's a decent riff, despite the fact that it seems too full of notes to be a drone/doom metal song. The song is backed by some wannabe "old wise man" vocals that were probably made by someone who couldn't be older than 30, and as such they sound more like a parody of the real thing than a serious attempt. The entirely instrumental "Valley of Unrest" simply seems to lack a sense of direction in its melody as the band drones on whatever note they want without trying to make a coherent riff. It's made worse considering that this is the longer track on this demo, and is much harder to sit through in its entirety. One compliment I will give the band throughout the demo, however, is the drum tone: of course, it's drone doom, and as such it's not doing anything in terms of technical prowess, but the cymbals and snare seem to echo throughout the music, and it is perhaps the only feeling of an epic wall of sound the listener will experience during this release.

SunnEater ((O)) not only have a terrible band name, they also have very mediocre music. It's not bad, simply boring to no end. When you add in the lack of essential feedback and the various other niggling errors in the music, it's safe to say that you'd be better off listening to the band from which SunnEater ((O)) ripped off their shitty name.