Review Summary: This is the pinnacle of music throughout human history. Nothing has or ever will top this masterpiece.
There is no way this album can be done justice by any review. Nay, this is something that every human being must experience on his or her own. However, I must persuade you to listen to this somehow and a review will serve that purpose well. This album is a pure work of art. There was a tremendous amount of effort that went into making this, evidenced from the 6 year gap between albums. You can hear that they spent these last 6 years carefully crafting this album. This is the well-justified reason for the delay. But let me be the guide, we will walk together through your listening experience.
Kannon 1 opens up rather ominously, but beautifully crescendos. You feel a sense of relief as the feedback washes over you and cleanses you. But 2 minutes into the song, there is loud feedback, interrupting your calm, followed by strange vocals... You can tell that this is not the Sunn O))) you are used to by this point. No, this is some kind of dangerous beast. You become frightened as your senses become overwhelmed by around the 6 minute mark when feedback comes in over this fantastic riff, followed by the vocals. And then... You get sucked into a black hole and you follow the vocals further down into the abyss. The feedback becomes louder and louder, swallowing the vocals and the riff behind it. It is at this point you are in Hell itself. The vocals stop, and there is this pulsing feedback that makes you question the plane of human existence. Then nothing but quick silence as you attempt to digest and comprehend what you've just heard.
But you don't have time to comprehend it for long, nay, Kannon 2 begins with more feedback and an evil riff. You still feel as though you are in Hell, then at the 3 minute mark you hear vocals... chanting... You know in your mind these are Satan's followers leading you to Him. This evil riff continues, but the chanting has stopped. Then just as you thought you were leaving Hell, the chanting starts up again, and more and more swirling feedback surround the voices. Oh God, you are terrified, and the chanting becomes clearer. Yes, you can see Satan as they continue to lead you. The feedback devolves into noise as you approach Satan. Then you hear a bell, a slight ringing and the ground is shaking. You feel as though it might collapse. And just before you reach Satan Himself it begins to crack slowly, and you fall through, into a tunnel.
Kannon 3 starts as you're crawling through the tunnel, scrambling to reach solid ground again. You hear very faint feedback and as you approach the surface, it becomes louder and you hear a bass sliding noise, and then suddenly the riff becomes more defined. But wait... As the cloak wearers approach you, they're chanting. Persuading you to come back. You never quite let your soul become engulfed by Satan. They know it. But you continue to crawl, faster now. They begin to lose sight of you and begin showing their true colors, by screaming. These are not people to be trusted. You have to get out as soon as possible. But they're still following close behind, chanting, calling for you to turn around. No! You know you must get out. You are getting close to the exit, and they are worried that you will escape and begin screaming again. You are almost there. And then finally, lost in the feedback, the vocals get fainter and fainter. Yes! The high-pitched squeal gets louder as you finally reach the exit. Finally you're back in the real world. Then you collapse from the sheer elation of what you just went through and the relief of escaping. While you lay on the floor, staring at the wall, attempting to figure out what happened in total silence, you finally come to a realization of what life really is. And this album alone was the catalyst.
God, what a total work of art. While there may only be around 200 notes on this album, the melodies and timing were extremely well thought out. No one could have expected this; they didn't even announce much about it. They pieced the sounds together so perfectly that it's an out of body experience. I may have not been a believer before this album, but now I see Sunn O))) for what they really are - gods. And I appreciate the fact that they shared it with humanity. Please. Listen to it. Your life will change for the better. You will never be the same again.
