"Black 1" sees the SUNN O))) (pronounced 'Sun') duo and Southern Lord label mavens Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley amping the doom-metal anti-wattage into negative-light realms of desolate, massive, and dark extended riffage and bass tones. This being the 6th transmission of dirging drone-based Avant Metal from the duo, (imagine a Melvins 45' at 16-speed and you'll be getting the picture), with their previous track record from 2000's "GrimmRobes" to the Merzbow collaboration "Flight of the Behemoth" to 2003/2004's White" series they've mapped a flight trajectory straight into the maw of the most ominous black hole in the cosmos.

On "Black 1" Anderson and O'Malley, have brought a stellar cast into the SUNN O))) fold of contributing artists to give greater voice and substance to their darker than the darkest night vision. With the likes of Oren Ambarchi, Wrest, Malefic and John Wiese all donning their best tuned-down riffs, sub-low bass and spectrally haunted vocal incantations. The combined instrumental and vocal effect is a crushingly dense sound carved from dissonant black deep space plasma-drenched granite, (the Monolith from Kubrick's 2001 possibly?) escalating at points to horrifying peaks of guitar feedback squall and throat bleeding vocals angst. SUNN 0))) have once again proved they are the genuine, blackest-ever-black kings of the extended doom-drone in the metal world. The SUNN O))) subtext in the liner notes of every album reads: "Maximum Volume Yields Maximum Results" and on "Black 1" it never rang in deafened ears so true.