On September 24th, Danish sci-fi sludge metal band LLNN is releasing their third full-length album 'Unmaker' on Pelagic Records. It is the follow-up to the great 'Deads' that shot this band into the stratosphere. They played on Roadburn in 2018, and in April on Roadburn Redux 2021, they gave us a glimpse into the creative process of making their soundscapes for the new album. But no one is prepared for the gargantuan sonic black hole 'Unmaker' is going to suck you in.
As a young kid, I was always building and creating things from my imagination. I fought legendary battles in our backyard with Transformers and I build huge extraterrestrial spacecrafts with Lego. I really love it when people can hold on to that spark of creativity, and use it for their art. Because the soundscapes or sound designs are handpicked and handmade made by the brothers Sejersen who run Gravitated Sound Studios and play in LLNN. Rasmus plays the drums, Ketil plays synth. Their other members in LLNN are Christian Bonnesen who plays the guitar and sings and Rasmus Furbo who plays the bass guitar. Together they used sounds created at a blacksmith using various tools like a circular saw, hammers. They manipulated those sounds into something that sounds like you are floating in the furthest darkness of space amongst unknown planets, shoegaze-colour galaxies, and colossal alien vessels. It makes this record original, creative, and very mesmerizing.
And while the sound designs place your thoughts in another galaxy, the guitar work and raw rageful vocals of Christian Bonnesen create an atmosphere of a foreshadowing doom, the annihilation of a planet by a humongous pitch-black alien warcraft. And as heavy as this band sounds, they have the capacity to write some great melodies that are very conducive to the imagination. The first single 'Interloper' is a great example of this. A cinematic melody, that transforms into this giant industrial pressure/suction apparatus.
When it comes to a totally balanced song, I must mention 'Forger'. It starts out with this mechanical hammer, then a storm of riffs is fired at you that knocks the air out of your lungs. When your lungs are opening again you hear this beautiful atmospheric part backed up with beautiful subtle soundscapes. Then the last breakdown arrives and it is dissonant, hardcore, and feels like it's scraping the flesh from your bones.
LLNN keeps getting better at creating their own sound. On every record, they sound more evolved, and 'Unmaker' sounds very concentrated and focused. It is more direct, it does not take extra time to be more three-dimensional, it is already three-dimensional and therefore a more compact and better album than its predecessor. Every song triggers a different part of the imagination and that feeling of impending doom is so outspoken and well forged on this record that you will be watching the night sky very closely after September the 24th.
Tracklist:
Imperial
Desecrator
Obsidian
Vakuum
Scion
Interloper
Division
Forger
Tethers
Resurrection