Stephen O’Malley – But remember what you have had (2025; Portraits GRM) – Avant Music News

Stephen O’Malley is a guitarist, composer, and producer best known as a founding member of Sunn O))), the drone-metal outfit that helped redefine heavy music in both a more spiritual and more academic manner. In addition to earth-shaking doom-guitar minimalism, he has collaborated with avant-garde composers, free improvisers, and noise artists.

But remember what you have had is his latest solo album, a single track just shy of 33 minutes that is a logical extension to the Sunn O))) aesthetic. He is joined by Hans Teuber on bass flute, flute, bass clarinet, clarinet, and trumpet, and Stephen Moore on trombone. Each provides sustained tones that weave through O’Malley’s sparse, overdriven guitar figures.

Indeed, that guitar is the central focus of this effort, with strong attacks and extended feedback. The tone is higher-pitched and lacks the chugging riffs of some of his earlier works. The wind instruments function less as harmonic counterpoint and more as a shifting field of resonance, enriching O’Malley’s walls of noise without diluting their intensity.

While it unclear from the liner notes, it seems that the album is at least modestly overdubbed, with subtle layering and/or studio treatments. These characteristics don’t quite lend the piece an acousmatic quality but put it in that ballpark.

Overall, a great listen. But remember what you have had will be released on June 27 by Portraits GRM.