Sleep (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sleep | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | San Jose, California, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Stoner metal Doom metal |
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| Label(s) | London Records Very Small Records Earache Records Tee Pee Records Music Cartel Records |
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| Associated acts |
High on Fire Om |
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| Former members | ||
| Al Cisneros Matt Pike Chris Hakius Justin Marler |
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Sleep is a stoner doom metal band.
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[edit] History
[edit] Pre-Sleep
Silicon Valley/Cupertino, California, USA founded Stoner Rock band Sleep, evolved in the early 90's from the crust punk band Asbestos Death which was established by Cisneros, Hakius and guitarist Tom Choi. Asbestos Death expanded to a quartet with the introduction of Matt Pike on guitar, and recorded 2 singles - ‘Dejection’ for Profane Existence and the self released ‘Unclean’. Choi departed, and would later found Operator Generator, It is I, Noothgrush, and now in Las Vegas’ Black Jets. Asbestos Death recruited Justin Marler as replacement and switched the name to Sleep.
[edit] Recording Era
Their debut - Volume One was released in 1991 (see 1991 in music). Frequently compared to bands like Saint Vitus, Sleep soon gained a devoted fanbase within the developing stoner rock scene. The record showcased the band's penchant for lysergic dirges. 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 (unofficial release, Off The Disc, 1991).
Sleep's next record was sent to the independent label Earache as a demo. Recorded at Razors Edge studios in San Francisco, with Billy Anderson handling production, the tape showcased Sleep's love of all things retro, from the blatant Black Sabbath/Blue Cheer riffs, to their fixation with 70's style Orange and Green Matamp amplification. The label immediately signed the band and released the tape exactly as it was received.
Sleep's Holy Mountain (1992) is widely-regarded as the band's creative pinnacle and is considered a seminal stoner/doom metal album. 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, Sleep contributed a cover of Snowblind.)
Under this contract, in 1995 they began work on their third album, Dopesmoker. Dopesmoker was actually one song which was over one hour in length. The album was submitted to London Records, who declared that it was unmarketable and therefore could not be released. Sleep returned to the studio and then submitted their second attempt at the new album. They had retitled it Jerusalem, re-written some of the lyrics and trimmed it down to a "lean" 52 minutes, but it was essentially the same album and song as Dopesmoker. London Records again refused to release it. Frustrated and generally unhappy with the situation, the members of Sleep decided it was time to disband.
[edit] Post Sleep
In 1998, Jerusalem was released posthumously as an "official bootleg" by a friend of the group. Sleep and their former manager had full knowledge of this and gave it their approval. In 1999, 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.
Cisneros and Hakius later formed the band Om while Pike formed High on Fire.
[edit] Discography
[edit] LPs
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