Sleep - Dopesmoker
Tee Pee Records
April 22nd, 2003.
Dopesmoker, the third studio album from chieftains of the stoner/doom metal realm, Sleep, sets voyage through unforgiving land in the name of the leaf. The crushing weight that the band produce can be felt like a blast to the chest; a hammer to the head; an oscillation on the soul. Spinning, round and round we go, who knows when the next stop for rest will come.
Sleep's 'Dopesmoker' has become a passing of the torch kind of ordeal since its release. The smoke-filled land in which it treks towards has become holy ground - a calling - for some. Handing over the baton to the next in line like a generational ritual, Dopesmoker serves as the heaviest of hand-me-downs.
Riff after riff in a sea of riffs. One continuous wave - a non-stop barrage on the shores. An onslaught of dizzying heights and earth-moving lows, Dopesmoker carves a brutish trail in the sand for those willing to follow. The harsh conditions set only for those dedicated to the mission. Once the ride starts to move there's no getting off; you're in for the long haul. Buckle up buddy, it's gonna be a wild ride. Descending down, rising up and droning on, Sleep traverse through the baking hot desert, leaving stoned souls in their wake. Inebriated on the rattling force of sonic savagery, said souls are simultaneously shaken and soothed. The blissful dead caught in the hyonotic and mesmeric repetition are only a shell of their past selves - hollowed out.
I'm not necessarily sure what the majority of the words above mean, but Dopesmoker is a goddamn beast. A 60-minute epic of seismic proportions.
Drop out of life with bong in hand.
Follow the smoke to the riff-filled land.
