Artist: Sleep
Album: Dopesmoker
This album has been almost three years in the making for underground doom/stoner band Sleep, and received great delays due to problems with Sleep's former label. Sleep wanted to record the original song "Jerusalem" on one CD, but the label refused to release it, due to its length. Sleep signed eventually to a label that would accept it; and Southern Lord releases it in full-length with a bonus live track: "Sonic Titan".
The first of the only two songs on the CD -"Dopesmoker" lasts 63 and-a-half minutes, but don't fret about that, it just makes it a whole lot more worth the buy. "Dopesmoker" tells the tale of the "weedian" people's journey into the "riff-filled land", emulating the atmosphere necessary to envision every part of the story. The song is extremely slow, and could be classified as drone-doom, but think Sunn O))) with more of a Sabbathian sound.
I found myself, at numerous points of the song, just lying back my head and envisioning the great, weedsmoke-billowing temples of the riff-filled land, or the treacherous journey of the weedian people trekking through the grey mountainside, only the weedsmoke to guide them. The subject of this song may sound ridiculous, but whether you take it metaphorically or humorously, this is a substantial song.
After the smoke has cleared, there comes a moment of silence, followed by the live track of "Sonic Titan", which is MUCH needed after that headcrushingly long stoner-fest. This is a classic album, an essential album, and just fucking great. It lasts as forever a testimony to the greatness that was once Sleep.
1.Dopesmoker -5/5
2.Sonic Titan -5/5
Full Rating: 5/5
Buy it/Burn it: Buy this fucker. Aside from having the smell of weed in the jewel case (I'm kidding... as far as I know), it would take an ETERNITY to download this.
