the of mirror eye

* Sleep: From Beyond (excerpt) (1.5 mb) | Sleep_MP3 (52.5 mb) | Sleep_Flac (240.0 mb)
From Live At Gilman Street : Oct 17th, 1992 : Berkeley, California

Obviously, from my last post, the whole doom/drone metal scene is not my forte. I didn’t really do my research and insinuated that the band Sleep aren’t the trail blazers that they, in fact, are. Releasing their first album in 1991, they really mined the heaviness of both Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer to create a super unique sound. They eventually gained enough popularity to sign to the semi-major label, London Records. Sleep, however, confounded the squares at the label with their hour long magnum opus, Dopesmoker. Even copious editing (bringing the song to a far more “manageable” 52 minute song) didn’t endear them to London Records, who refused to release it. The album finally saw the light of day with its release by Tee Pee Records (look here).

In addition to mistaking them for a “new” band, I also mistook them for a drone metal band in the style of Earth (look here). While there are some elements of drone in their music (and much more in their later years), after listening to them again, I feel like they should definitely be characterized more as a stoner metal band.

By way of apology, I decided to upload this incredible performance at the legendary Gilman Street venue from 1992. The first song cuts in abruptly, but otherwise this is a stellar performance by all involved. Enjoy!

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