Dopesmoker 2XLP

Album Details

Formed as a Bay Area hardcore/punk rock act called Asbestosdeath, the band changed their musical direction and name and debuted as Sleep with their Volume One album in 1991. After Justin Marler left the group, the core lineup of Al Cisneros, Matt Pike and Chris Hakius went into the studio to record a demo cassette that they sent to Earache Records. The recording was released in November of 1992 (exactly as received by the label) under the name Sleep's Holy Mountain and went on to forever alter the musical landscape. Countless current bands cite Sleep's Holy Mountain as a major inspiration, and the unique sound and style of the record can be heard in many subsequent releases by bands from all over the world.

Sleep's Holy Mountain created such a humongous buzz that major label London Records signed the band. Unfortunately, the label lacked the vision necessary to actually follow through and release the album that Sleep recorded, mostly because it took the not-radio-friendly form of a single song, a 63 minute long ode to weed, called "Dopesmoker." Sleep returned to the studio and edited the track down to 52 minutes and re-titled it "Jerusalem," but it was again rejected. London Records shelved the record and dropped the band, leading to their dissolution.

"Dopesmoker" was recorded by Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Melvins) at Record Two Studio in Comptche, California. While recording the song, it began to form differently than the band had originally envisioned. Pike stated that "The song was getting slower and slower and then it got weird. We started tripping out and second guessing ourselves." Recording the album was difficult. Pike recalled that "There was so much to memorize for that album, and we had to do it in like three different sections because a reel-to-reel only holds 22 minutes. It was really cool, but it was one of the hardest things I've ever done in in my life." Sleep were in the studio for one month then went home to rehearse and returned for another month. Pike noted that they ended up with two or three different versions of the song.