And So To Sleep

As I mentioned in We’re All Doomed recently, there’s a band called Sleep – you should get to know them better.

Sleep developed out of Doom Metal to become “perhaps the ultimate stoner rock band” – Eduardo Rivaldavia. Much has been said about Sleep and I’m not going to just repeat it here, save that Sleep are important.

I voraciously scan through YouTube, clicking on any & all Sleep Live performances and albums. I have to be careful not to accidentally click on any number of sleep-unrelated entities. They are legion. As I listen, I become entranced in the riff that plays again and again. It takes me into the place where Sleep is.

A Different Kind of Sleep

Sleep are a different kind of band. Sleep are important. They haven’t a massive back catalogue to trawl through like some bands but what they do have is absolutely essential. The history of the band is well documented and through it, they have attained almost mythic status

• Volume One
• Sleep’s Holy Mountain
• Dopesmoker
• The Sciences
• Live at Third Man Records

• The Clarity
• Leagues Beneath

That’s it! There’s precious little else. But oh, what there is, is something else. I haven’t included Jerusalem as it’s the cut up, pulled around version of Dopesmoker (see history here).

A Good Day

Today is a good day. Today, I ordered Sleep’s Holy Mountain (CD), Dopesmoker (CD), The Sciences (Vinyl) and The Clarity (Vinyl).

My thinking behind the above is as follows

• Sleep’s Holy mountain is difficult to obtain on vinyl
• Dopesmoker is a 1 hr 3 minute single track and I want to experience it ‘in one go’ and not split it by changing the vinyl over
• The Sciences is still available, reasonably on vinyl as it’s their latest album, so great!
• The Clarity on red vinyl, it’s single sided as it’s a single. A near 10 minute single mind you.

I was watching Matt Pikes “Rig Rundown” from Premier Guitar – Watch the video and you’ll instantly see what the band are all about. Add in Al Cisneros’s Bass and vocals and the Chris Hakius/Jason Roeder Drums (depending upon the era) and you won’t be going to sleep any time soon.

This video of the track “Dragonaut” has images of dragons. I’m a big fan of dragons so I had to include it.

Man, This band are so good, they are beyond good. Interstellar beyond good! I find it so fantastic that I can still find music that is so astounding after so many years…

Everybody needs Sleep!

So, while I await the arrival of of my vinyl and CDs, there’s only one thing to do – go to the source material and play Black Sabbath’s back catalogue – “Paranoid” anyone…