Customer Reviews

The Grimmrobe Demos

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Grimmrobe" is an awakening. I like "White2" because it's a retreat from sheer, crushing doom to sheer, ambient doom. "White1," mixed as I am about that album, is much the same experience. "Flight of the Behemoth" lacks one thing: clarity. It doesn't sound sludgy, it just sounds as though it's being recorded very, very far away. So the atmosphere is good, but the sound itself leaves me longing. But "Grimmrobe" is what Sunn0)) must sound like at the apex of their Earth-worshipping, Sabbath-following project. Crisp, raw sound, but never lo-fi. Slow, massive riffs, amply walking the line between "Come My Fanatics" and "Earth2"; in other words, unholy doom and drone that engages the willing listener and keeps his or her attention until the end. So many, more "straight-forward" doom outfits lose my attention in a hurry -- if only because I feel that other people have done it, and they've done it better. But Earth and Sunn, for all their similarities, are distinct units with distinct sounds (like night and day for the initiated). "Grimmrobe" is the sound of the Leviathan in its death throes, writhing on the ocean floor. And the ocean is on another planet. It does not paint a pretty, sunny picture, and so this is not for everyone; but it will get inside your head, it will stimulate and calm you simultaneously, and it will leave you with questions, with curiosity, with the desire for more. Doom on, gents, and keep it coming...

I am listening to the song "Bremerton" that is available on the double-album version. If you are a collector of their vinyl, it's worth getting, but certainly not for this song. I would much rather listen to "Grimm and Bear It".

Of all the Sunn recordings, I believe this to be their best. "Flight of the Behemoth" is huge, as is "00 Void" but this is the one currently on heavy rotation. Lately I can't get enough of this genre, whatever it is we call it. earth2, Boris "Absolutego" and all the Sunn stuff has taken me down the path of spiritual awakening. This is sound that move the soul, moreso than any other form of music.
I must be doing something right, since my 16 year old daughter thinks her dad's music is loud and obnoxious.

When a band releases an album with the word "demo(s)" in the title be careful before buying because it usually indicates that said demos will sound little to nothing like the band in their current form (e.g. The Melvins "Mangled Demos From 1983"). The same applies to "The Grimmrobe Demos". If your first exposure to Sunn O))) was listening to "Black One" and you're looking for more of the same music, don't look here. This is Sunn O))) at their most primitive. No vocals, no black metal type overtones, just dark, heavy drone.

To the dude below me...They use Guitars. There is no Bass involved. They make it sound like Bass Guitars because it's so low and heavy, thus even more amazing considering they use guitars.

This album like all Sunn 0))) releases, is brilliant from start to finish. This album, from what i've read, is hard to find. So really, if you are a fan of this band, do not miss this album and buy it through Amazon.com.

Starting off with the slow and sludgy song, Black Wedding which goes for around 19 minutes, you can actually feel the tension. There's a certain tension with this kind of music, where it can be either hypnotic, or tense, or just trippy. I'd say this album is tense for the most part.

The second song Defeating : Earth's Gravity, picks up where Black Wedding left off and can almost be confused with it being the same song. But if you listen closely, they really aren't. Sunn 0))) do that. They aren't just mindless noise. They're actually an intelligent, hypnotic, band..that differ from most noise/metal bands around today.

The ending of Defeating : Earth's Gravity, fades away into silence leading into the 3rd track Dylan Carlson. If anyone is wondering why it's named "Dylan Carlson"..It's actually the name of the guitarist from Earth. One of the bands that influenced Sunn 0))). ..Just for a random fact, if you didn't know..Dylan Carlson actually sold to Kurt Cobain, the gun he used to commit suicide. But now apparently he is a heroin junkie. But the song on this album, is very slow, and sludgy..much like Black Wedding. This song is also the longest on this album, at 21 minutes too.

Then the last song, Grimm & Bear It, comes on. Going for 16 minutes, the first 8 seconds sound as if it's going to take a while to kick in, as you can just hear a faint helicopter-type sound, then at around the 9 second mark the song starts. The helicopter-type sound doesn't go away either, if you listen closely, you can still hear it sometimes in the background, over the wall of sludgy noise.

Overall, if you are into Sunn 0))) at all, if you find this somewhere or are thinking of getting this through Amazon.com, do not hesitate. It's a must buy for fans of this band and this genre.

5/5

Yes it is almost nothing but drone.

Yes, yes you do want to take a very long drive along an unlit road.

Yes, yes you do want to listen to sound, to the world, to your mind.

Yes, the epic poem in the album notes is as absurd and genuine as SunnO))) itself.

No, no you cannot appreciate SunnO))) without knowing their work in full.

you remember that part of terminator 2 where the liquid metal guy is walking through the wreckage of a crashed truck, and how the soundtrack just goes DMMMM!! DMMMMM!!! - there's not much melody, and it's not pretty, but it effectively conveys the feeling of terror that john would be feeling.. it's like the sound of blood rushing through your veins, your pulse beating against the inside of head... panic.

well i'd liken this to that. except it's way way beyond panic. an incredibly slow building fear gives way to the knowledge of impending doom. listening to this music DOES actually affect you physically. reading along with the text in the booklet doesn't help either. i felt ill, physically drained. but it's morbidly exciting. imagine that instead of the t-1000 in the fire, you're watching a horrible retillian elephant bat beast rising from the ocean... but the ocean is already full of decomposing corpses, blood, oil and bile... and this is all dripping off the thing as it breaks free from its watery resting place. you KNOW it's over.. everything is over, but you can't help watching...

(((musically, it's two dudes with guitars and bass. a guest occassionaly twiddling knobs that go 'bwoop' but only occassionaly. basically 2 x guitars and a sh*t load of distortion)))

incidentally i only rated it 3 because you'll either love it or hate it, i would imagine. me, i wanna go listen again...

I love Sunn and Earth. But this cd bored me so much that I had to sell it. Simply put, this was missing the subtlety and maturity that are behind Sunn's other stuff that makes it interesting. It really did feel like they were just playing riffs (or whatever you'd call it) without the sensibility that keeps it from being trite and makes it profoundly affecting and absorbing. I still come back to the beginning to The Flight of the Behemoth with a lump in my throat ( you know where it sort of "kicks in"? ), but Grimmrobe had no moments like this. But at the same time, I could see someone digging this, because it isn't BAD: it is heavy after all.

I am a devoted fan of experimental cutting edge music. Anderson and O'Malley are riding the wave of some admirable wild innovation. They are interesting individuals and I will continue to follow my curiosity with their projects.

With that being said I keep falling asleep to Sunn albums; this one in particular. The album featuring Merzbow on 2 tracks is better in my opinion. I haven't heard Altar yet, so that one stands as my pick of the Sunn stack.

This album is huge and better than anything your band will ever make, hail Anderson and O'Mally. And to the guy who said there is no bass, there is a bass, it is played by "Bootsy Cronos" As stated in the liner notes ( do you even own the album dude).

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzZzZZZZZZZZZSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... and so on. All 4 songs are a super low distorted buzz. Seriously. Nothing else happens. Each song is 15 minutes + too. Yeah, this album gets two stars because it's hilarious.