Sleep (band)

Sleep
Sleep live in March 2018. Left to Right: Al Cisneros, Jason Roeder, and Matt Pike.
Background information
Origin San Jose, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active 1990–1998, 2009–present
Labels London, Very Small, Earache, Southern Lord, Tee Pee, The Music Cartel, Third Man
Associated acts Om, High on Fire, Neurosis, Shrinebuilder, Asbestosdeath, The Sabians, Kalas
Website weedian.com
Members Al Cisneros
Matt Pike
Jason Roeder
Past members Chris Hakius
Justin Marler

Sleep is an American doom metal power trio from San Jose, California. The band earned critical and record label attention early in its career. Critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes them as "perhaps the ultimate stoner rock band"[1] and notes they exerted a strong influence on heavy metal in the 1990s. However, conflict with its record company contributed to Sleep's breakup by the end of the decade. The band reformed in 2009 and has played sporadic live dates internationally since. In 2018, Sleep released their fourth and comeback album, The Sciences, to critical acclaim.[2]

History

Early years

Sleep evolved in the early 1990s from the band Asbestosdeath, which was established by vocalist/bassist Al Cisneros, drummer Chris Hakius, and guitarist Tom Choi. Asbestosdeath expanded to a quartet with the introduction of Matt Pike on guitar, and recorded two singles - "Dejection" for Profane Existence and the self-released "Unclean". Choi departed, and would later found Operator Generator, It Is I, Noothgrush, and Las Vegas' Black Jetts. Asbestosdeath recruited Justin Marler as replacement and the band adopted the new name, Sleep.

Recording era

Their debut album Volume One was released in 1991. Frequently compared to bands like Saint Vitus, Sleep soon gained a devoted fanbase within the developing doom metal scene. Marler quit the band soon after to take up life as a monk, leaving the band as a power trio for the recording of their Volume Two EP, which was released officially by Off The Disk Records in 1991.

The band's next album was sent to the independent label, Earache, as a demo. Recorded at Razors Edge studios in San Francisco, with Billy Anderson as engineer, the tape showcased Sleep's love of all things retro, from the blatant Black Sabbath/Blue Cheer influences, to their fixation with 1970's-style tube amplification. The label immediately signed the band and released the tape exactly as it was received.

Sleep's Holy Mountain (1992) is widely considered a seminal album in the evolution of stoner metal. The album's release was followed by a potentially lucrative offer from London Records, and Sleep signed with them. Around this time, Earache released its first Black Sabbath Tribute album, and Sleep contributed a cover of "Snowblind".

Under their new contract, they began work on their third album, Dopesmoker, in 1995. Much to the dismay of executives at London records, Dopesmoker was one single song that was more than one hour long. London Records declared the album unmarketable and refused to release it. They had it remixed cut up into sections by David Sardy which lead to a deadlock with the band, Sleep being very unhappy with the result. Frustrated and generally unhappy with the situation, the members of Sleep decided to disband.

After Sleep

In 1998, Sleep released Jerusalem as an "official bootleg". One year later, Jerusalem was given an official legitimate release by The Music Cartel in the US and Rise Above Records in Europe.

Finally, in 2003 the original version of Dopesmoker was officially released by Tee Pee Records. It is generally considered the definitive version of the album. An excerpted version can be heard on Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers original soundtrack.

Matt Pike is also the frontman of the band High on Fire.

Cisneros and Hakius later formed the doom metal band Om while Pike formed sludge metal band High on Fire.

In 2007 a CD compilation of both 7-inch releases of the pre-Sleep band Asbestosdeath was released on Southern Lord Records.

Reunion

In May 2009, Sleep reformed to perform two exclusive reunion sets in Britain as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival. In the shows the band performed for the first time an unheard song that had been written during the Dopesmoker recording sessions, which was titled "Antarcticans Thawed."[3]

After the band’s initial reunion performance, original drummer Chris Hakius decided to retire from music to raise a family, and he was replaced on drums by Jason Roeder of experimental metal band Neurosis.[4] The reconfigured lineup played the ATP New York 2010 music festival in Monticello, New York, where it performed Holy Mountain in its entirety. The band followed up this performance with a tour of the rest of the United States, playing headlining dates and festivals, through September.

From 2010 onward, Sleep performed similar sporadic festival and touring engagements when the member's otherwise busy touring schedules permitted. In late 2012, in conjunction with an upcoming appearance at Maryland Deathfest, the band stated that it considers Sleep to be a "full, reunited band."[5] In 2014 Al Cisneros announced in an interview that the band was working on a new record.[6] On July 21, 2014, a new song titled "The Clarity" by Sleep was released via Adult Swim Singles.[7]

In November 2017 the band members posted a message in Morse code stating that they had almost finished recording material for a new album.[8][9] On April 19, 2018, the band announced The Sciences, their first album in nearly 20 years, to be release the next day.[10] On May 23, 2018, Sleep released a new song titled "Leagues Beneath" through Adult Swim Singles.

Cannabis use

Sleep has used cannabis-influenced imagery since the release of their second album. In an interview about the making of Jerusalem, Matt Pike acknowledged that the band spent "a lot" of their label advance on cannabis, and "a lot of time." Pike also said that about $75,000 was spent on customized amplifiers so the album would have numerous tone layers.

Line-up

Current lineup

Former members

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

The band's third album Dopesmoker was previously released as Jerusalem in 1999 by The Music Cartel. Unauthorized by the band, Sleep discredits the validity of its quality and release.

EPs

Singles and music videos

  • Dragonaut
  • The Clarity
  • Leagues Beneath

Non-album tracks

Song(s) Album Year Label
"The Suffering" Very Small World 1991 Very Small Records
"Snowblind" (originally by Black Sabbath) Masters of Misery 1997 Earache Records
"Dopesmoker" (abridged version) Music from Broken Flowers 2005 Decca Records
"The Clarity" Adult Swim Singles Program 2014 2014 Williams Street Records
"Leagues Beneath" Adult Swim Singles Program 2017 2018 Williams Street Records

References

  1. ↑ Sleep at AllMusic
  2. ↑ "The Sciences by Sleep". Metacritic. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  3. ↑ Koczan, JJ. "Saturday Sleep In: "Antarcticans Thawed" Live at ATP 2009". The Obelisk. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  4. ↑ http://www.prefixmag.com/features/sleep/interview/44104/ Prefix - Sleep Interview
  5. ↑ http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/2012/sleep-announce-that-theyre-fully-reunited/ Ghetto Blaster Magazine - Sleep Interview
  6. ↑ "SLEEP Are Working On A New Record". 3 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Adult Swim Shows". Adult Swim.
  8. ↑ "WEEDIAN.COM – The official site of the band SLEEP". weedian.com.
  9. ↑ "SLEEP Reveals It's Working With NEUROSIS's Keyboardist Via Morse Code". 12 April 2017.
  10. ↑ "Sleep Release First New Album in Over a Decade: Listen - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com.
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