Sleep

So, I went to a bitchin concert Tuesday night.

Sleep has reunited for a fall 2010 tour. They broke up in 1997 after they had difficulty getting their album Dopesmoker released. It was made up of one hour long song. They tried again by cutting 8 minutes off, dividing it into sections, rewriting some of the words, and calling it Jerusalem. Both ended up being released in some way after the break up. They are mostly known for their landmark doom metal album Sleep's Holy Mountain, featuring sludgey Black Sabbath tinged riffs. After the break up, bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Hakius formed doom/tibetan chant outfit Om, and guitarist Matt Pike formed sludge metal group High on Fire. They have reunited for a few one off shows since the breakup.

Anyways, I found out about the show that morning, and decided I had to go. This was, after all, one of the two defining doom metal bands of the 90's (the other being Kyuss).

Opening was Iron Man. I was aware of this band, but not of the fact they still existed. When I first saw them on the billing, I thought it was merely a different band that had stolen the name, or some other copyright infringement of some kind. Anyways, they weren't bad. The singer reminded me of what Jack Black would be like at 50 if he had never made it as an actor.

Next on stage was A Storm of Light. They were a post-metal band from Brooklyn, so -- hipster noise metal. They were definitely the loudest on stage by volume. Interesting fact -- the band's frontman is the art/visual director for Neurosis.

Finally, what I was waiting for -- Sleep. They took the stage and just rocked the fuck out. No frills, just awesome riffage, awesome jamming, really just whole lots of awesome going all the way around. It's a unique experience going to a doom metal show, compared to other types of metal. Most metal shows would require or facilitate some form of aggression or moshing or something of that nature. Doom metal shows, on the other hand, if done right, just create a vibe, and everyone in the room is just feeling it.







This is a band that requires further listening.

-- Knuttel