Sleep
This San Jose, California doom trio draw from '60s and '70s influences like Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd to produce their own retro-styled brand of 'stoner' metal, a term derived from the band's smoking habits, even using suitably ancient amplifiers for an authentic early Sabbath sound. Al Cisneros (bass/vocals), Mat Pike (guitar) and Chris Hakius (drums) made their recorded debut with a cover of Snowblind on the MASTERS OF MISERY Sabbath tribute. After which they produced an awesomely heavy debut in SLEEP'S HOLY MOUNTAIN, built on intense, weighty riffs and slow, lengthy song structures similar to early Sabbath, although, like contemporaries such as Monster Magnet and Cathedral, the delivery had a distinctly modern edge. Sleep's live performances continued the tradition of fearsomely heavy guitars as they toured the UK and Europe with Cathedral, Cannibal Corpse and Fear Factory, and played US dates with Nik Turner's ?Hawkind Experience?. A second album, DOPE SMOKER, was slated for release in Spring 1995, and remarkably comprises a single 37 minute long track.