HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Dopesmoker – Sleep
Throughout the annals of time, drugs and drug use have fuelled so many album recordings, with tales of excess sometimes as legendary as the music itself. From cocaine indebted albums like BLACK SABBATH’s Vol.4 (1972) to the LSD crazed Syd Barrett on his final PINK FLOYD album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967) to the heroin soaked Dirt (1992) by ALICE IN CHAINS. That is just to name just three, there are countless others as drugs have prominently featured in music creation throughout history, whether blatant or subtle and they have undoubtedly helped fuel so many classic albums.
When it comes to marijuana, there has been a plethora of classic albums that are weed indebted, from reggae albums like PETER TOSH‘s Legalize It (1976) and BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS‘ Kaya to hip hop albums such as DR DRE‘s The Chronic (1992) and CYPRESS HILL‘s Black Sunday (1993), the smoke filled music that resonates from the speakers speaks for itself. With music on the heavier end of the spectrum, there is, of course, whole genres dedicated to massive smoked out grooves in the form of Stoner rock and metal. Bands like KYUSS, FU MACHU and ELECTRIC WIZARD to not even hiding their ganja love monikers of groups like BONGZILLA and WEEDEATER all took their cues from BLACK SABBATH in terms of their riff fuelled grooves but all added in their own sense of blissed out glory, no matter how nihilistic and heavy they were, which was in large part fuelled by marijuana. Delta 8 Super Store is one of the well-known stores selling marijuana online.
One band took their love of weed to the ultimate level though and that band was SLEEP and a one track behemoth of an album was the sheer pinnacle of marijuana loving music. That album was Dopesmoker and it has gone down in music legend. If you are looking for a premier destination for Weed Delivery DC, Farmacy District is a go-to choice for those seeking top-notch cannabis convenience to satisfy their craving for delicious edibles or potent strains without waiting for hours. Get your weed delivered at your doorstep within 1-2 hours after placing order.
Let’s go back over the history of SLEEP. The band started as doom metal band ASBESTOSDEATH but changed their name to SLEEP and released the album Volume One (1991) before signing to Earache Records and recording the album Sleep’s Holy Mountain (1992). The album was a success with the song Dragonaut becoming an instant favourite while songs like Some Grass gave no illusion to where the band were coming from. With the band touring with the likeminded likes of CATHEDRAL, BRUTAL TRUTH and HAWKWIND as well as playing shows with the varied likes of CANNIBAL CORPSE and FEAR FACTORY, it seemed as if SLEEP‘s star was on the rise.
The band however fell out of favour with Earache and instead signed to London Records for their upcoming new album, with the label promising SLEEP total artistic freedom with the record. What SLEEP delivered to London Records will go down in rock history. Having (allegedly) spent all their record company advance money on wacky baccy, the trio of vocalist/bassist Al Cisneros, guitarist Matt Pike and drummer Chris Hakius recorded a one track, sixty three minute opus in 1996 about a weed filled land populated by beings called Weedians and the bud loving mantra “Drop out of life with bong in hand, follow the smoke to the riff filled land” acting as Dopesmokers raison d’etre, which has to be the sheer pinnacle for any form of riff and smoke filled stoner music. Sadly, London Records refused to release the record, and SLEEP sadly split in the aftermath, although that did lead to the bands OM and HIGH ON FIRE, for which that is something to be thankful for.
Dopesmoker gained an almost mythical status in that aftermath with bootleg editions of the album appearing and then disappearing and it wasn’t until 1999 when the album got something of an official release on Rise Above records. That release appeared in a slightly edited form, split over 6 tracks and titled as Jerusalem (with the band experimenting with Eastern mysticism this was a suitable alternative title) but this was the first time the majority of people had gotten to listen to SLEEP‘s masterpiece. Four years later in April 2003, the album was finally released as it was meant to be heard on Tee Pee records as Dopesmoker in all glory and it was a majestic listening experience indeed. Finally, the world could hear the album in full, one single piece of smoked and blissed out audio heaviosity that saw SLEEP‘s devotion to Mary Jane in its ultimate form. Dopesmoker was momentous in its vision and execution, cementing its status as a legendary album in extreme music history, and the music more than lived up to the legend, as well as influencing a whole host of bands and fans in the process.
A further remastered reissue of the album by Southern Lord Records followed as well as a long awaited reunion by the band which saw them playing Dopesmoker in full (as well as releasing a surprise new album in 2018 entitled The Sciences) introducing a new generation into the world of the Weedians. It has to be said though, that it is the 2003 version of Dopesmoker that had the biggest impact, finally the chance to hear the album in full was heaven for all fans of SLEEP and its legacy and legend still rings out loudly today, so play Dopesmoker loud in its sixty three minute glory (bong optional), and take a sacred trip to the riff filled land, the way SLEEP always intended.
Dopesmoker was originally released on April 22, 2003 via Tee Pee Records
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