This was always going to be an interesting proposition: Sunn O))) have built – or have bulldozed their way to – a reputation for creating music of megalithic weight and epic duration. Ulver, on the other hand, moved away from black metal doominess considerable time ago, and have painted from a broad sonic palette over the years (with variable results). What sort of an affair would a collaborative outing be?
The album stars with a gentle, almost ambient feel, a soft supple drone over which distant brass quavers as tension and mystical vibes slowly unfurl. Certainly, neither band could be considered dominant here. The second track, ‘Western Horn’ is low, slow and eerie, crackling drones creeping like mist. Rolling chords emerge from a sonorous maelstrom of indistinct noise and hang in the air.
The final track, the 14-minute ‘Eternal Return’ is a richly-layered post-rock soundscape that weaves and curls onwards, outwards, upwards, enveloping the listener in a hazy sonic gauze. The album’s only vocals appear around the midway point, with Ulver’s Kristoffer Rygg intoning with unexpected softness and emotion against a shimmering backdrop of oscillating guitar and synth. Subtle and atmospheric, its power lies in understatement.
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Indeed, ‘Terrestrials’ succeeds because of the restraint the two artists demonstrate. Instead of melding together their own individual sounds to create some kind of hybrid, their collaboration has created an entirely different kind of beast.
Sunn O))) & Ulver Online
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