Sunn O)))- Black One (2005)

I suspect that not quite every single one of my readers may be into Drone Doom. It is, undoubtedly, an acquired taste. But I've come to listen to rather a lot of it over the last decade or so and the new music I listen to these days.

Essentially, for those of you not versed in it, Drone Doom uses the heavy riffs and instruments of heavy metal to create slow, mellow soundscapes. Think of a cross between Brian Eno, ambient trance and Slayer and you'll get the idea. You'll be surprised how well it works.

I've blogged Earth before, one of the two most prominent bands, but the other behemoth of the Drone Doom scene is Sunn O)) and this album showcases exactly what they sound like- slow, heavy yet mellow riffs and songs that don't so much hook you as hypnotise you into acquiescence. It's not so much a collection of songs as one long soundscape, apparently ending with an epic about Elizabeth Bathory (for whom see my blog post on Countess Dracula), but frankly who knows. All I know is I can't get enough of this sort of thing.