It's the fourth month, day number twenty in the foul year of our lord two thousand and eighteen or 4/20 and of course Sleep has released their latest album "The Sciences" it's a drug fueled romp through the voidal sonisphere.
The Sciences is Sleep's first album since 1999 when they originally released the album Dopesmoker which has been etched in to the stone of doom metal history. So after all of these years and other bands the members have been in how does 2018 Sleep stack up to the Sleep of the 90's do they manage to keep what makes Sleep, Sleep?
Yes, is the short answer but lets look into why and how? in the 90's Sleep were adept at writing music that conjured images of an incredible journey through time and space, with such slow chuggy riffs their music was almost meditative in nature, especially if you're baked. If you're stoned listening to Sleep you can help but to close your eyes, slouch back in your bean bag and get taken away to another universe of Hashishian travellers or Marijuanauts traversing great distances in search of the sacred smoke. The Sciences is a perfect addition to the Sleep discography, it has all of the great things that Sleep have trademarked, updated with a few more years of knowledge and technique.
The Sciences contains, immense chugging riffs, Al Cisneros' monk chantlike vocals, vast basslines, and deep thundering drums all things that make Sleep, Sleep. Somehow and some way, this album seems far more mature and complete than previous efforts which is surprising considering they haven't really changed much in the formula. The instruments as a whole are, as to be expected, perfection. The main thing that I think kept drawing me back to Sleep was the relaxation effect that I used to feel when I was listening to them, even in shorter bursts, popping on Sleep was the key to a relaxing afternoon or a good wind down after work. This hasn't changed in the slightest, in fact The Sciences seems to up the ante in this regard, Al Cisneros' work with his band Om throughout the hiatus has probably helped this fact.
The Sciences is an incredibly well rounded album, it has that incredible Sleep sound but updated to a more modern setting. It's hard to find fault with the album in all honestly, after all of these years I can still say that Sleep are one of my favourite stoner/doom bands and adding this album certainly hasn't changed that fact.
Pros:
Still Sleep
Epic chugging mastery
Meditative
Cons:
None come to mind
Track List:
The Sciences
Marijuanaut
Sonic Titan
Antarcticans Thawed
Giza Butler
The Botanist
Running Time: 53:00
Line-Up:
Al Cisneros - Bass, Vocals
Matt Pike - Guitars
Jason Roeder - Drums
Genre: Stoner / Doom
Release Date: 20/4/18
Label: Third Man Records
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/officialsleep/
https://sleep.merchtable.com/?no_redirect=true
