While not as familiar to mainstream audiences, Sleep is a giant among the stoner rock scene. Formed in San Jose, California, in the early ’90s, the band sits at the intersection of stoner rock and doom metal with albums like Sleep’s Holy Mountain (1992) and 1999’s Dopesmoker. Today, news broke that Sleep will release its first piece of new music in nearly a decade. And in even more good news for lovers of stoner metal, they’ll hit the road later this year.
Sleep Releases First New Music Without Matt Pike
On September 8, Sleep will kick off a massive North American tour in San Diego, crossing the United States and Canada before wrapping things up on November 17 in Washington, D.C.
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The band celebrated the tour announcement with the release of a new song, “Have Spacesuit Will Travel.” It marks the band’s first new music in eight years, following their 2018 comeback album The Sciences. You can listen to the new track below.
“Have Spacesuit Will Travel” is also significant because it is Sleep’s first song without co-founding guitarist Matt Pike. In fact, the touring lineup features just one returning Sleep member: lead singer and bassist Al Cisneros.
Melvins drummer Dale Crover and Void guitarist Bubba Dupree round out the roster.
“The vibe of the first jam was obvious,” Cisneros said in a press release, per Ultimate Classic Rock. “It was blue sunglasses-era [Tony] Iommi in the quality and equally awesome is Bubba is also one of the coolest people I’ve been able to make music with.”
More About the Band
Sleep evolved from the doom metal band Asbestosdeath, featuring Cisneros, drummer Chris Hakius, and guitarist Tom Choi. The group soon became a quartet with the addition of guitarist Matt Pike.
After Choi’s departure, the band brought aboard Justin Marler and changed its name to Sleep. (Marler soon quit the band to become an Eastern Orthodox monk.)
[RELATED: 5 Deep Cut Stoner Rock Songs to Soundtrack Your Next Smoke Session]
Sleep released three albums before disbanding in the late ’90s. Matt Pike went on to form the heavy metal band High on Fire, winning the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with their song “Electric Messiah”.
Sleep has performed sporadically since reuniting in 2009.
Featured image by Kevin Nixon/Metal Hammer Magazine/Future via Getty Images
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