THIRD MAN Reissues SLEEP’s Dopesmoker With Cannabis Leaves In The Vinyl

Before Matt Pike started sludge metal giants, High on Fire, or Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius became underground drone icons, OM, the 3 of them were simply known as the California trio SLEEP.  The friends formed the project out of the ashes of their former band, Asbestosdeath, and went on to become one of the most influential and seminal groups in the stoner and doom metal genres.  SLEEP was equal parts heavy sludged out High on Fire riffs and the doomy drone of OM. After releasing their album Volume 1 as a quartet (Justin Marler left to become a monk, later returning from the 7 yr stint to form The Sabians with Hakius) and the remarkable and groundbreaking follow-up, Holy Mountain, SLEEP set out to record what they planned to be their masterpiece. Jerusalem–later regiven its original title, Dopesmoker– would become one 52-minute track, centered around the subject of ancient nomads (the “Weedians”) transporting bails of marijuana via caravan throughout the desert/holy land. Advances were spent on copious amounts of herb and on having custom-made Orange-style amps, called GREEN amps, created to represent their love of cannabis. The plan was to record the album/song straight through in one recording. Throughout the process, label heads freaked out, the album was shelved, and the band eventually broke up over the turmoil of trying to get their vision realized. Bootlegs and alternate versions were released of Jerusalem/Dopesmoker, but it wasn’t until 2012 that a reissue was released by Southern Lord, closer to what the band originally envisioned. As with the 2003 Dopesmoker version issued by Tee Pee, the Southern Lord release was an uncut 63 minutes, 11 minutes longer than the Jerusalem version from 1999 that was released without the band’s complete approval, and offered a much heavier mix than anything before it. The reissue also included an 11 1/2-minute long live recording of the track “Holy Mountain” from a 1994 show at the I-Beam in San Francisco, the same year that the club closed down for good. Not one of these versions would even see the light of day until SLEEP was already well dismantled and done with and the trio wouldn’t perform together again for a full 15 years after calling it quits — about 18 yrs since they really began working on the idea for Dopesmoker in the first place.

Over the subsequent years after their breakup, the myths behind Dopesmoker and the band itself continued to grow along with their fanbase. SLEEP eventually reformed in 2009 to perform Holy Mountain in its entirety as part of the legendary All Tomorrow’s Parties “Don’t Look Back” series. Hakius, who left OM and the music industry as a whole at the beginning of 2008, performed at the festival, but he, apparently, wasn’t interested in returning for good. Since then, Jason Roeder, of Neurosis fame, has taken over the drumming duties. With High on Fire, OM, and Neurosis all still very active groups, SLEEP shows are particularly consistent. Still, they do continue to play and even released a brand new studio album, The Sciences, back in 2018 through Third Man Records. Over the last decade, Dopesmoker transitioned from a mysterious lost classic that was shelved into a record that has seen numerous reissues and variants. For those who see this as potential overkill, the last that I hear was the band never receives any compensation from the Earache releases of Holy Mountain, due to getting the short end of a contract, so this recording of their hour-long opus that once, essentially, led to their demise is now the very thing from their heyday that continues to put money in their pockets. Earlier this year, Third Man Records offered what could be viewed as the quintessential Dopesmoker release. The 4xLP box set was part of the label’s vault subscription series and included a custom slipcase, posters, a live show, an alternate take, a 7-inch, and even a patch. It was a tremendous package that should, by all accounts, be the only version any of us would ever need. Only months later, Third Man is releasing a standard version for those who didn’t grab the deluxe, along with a pressing that’s as unique as it should be difficult to acquire. In an effort to jump straight to the point: it’s got weed in it.

When the Vault Package box set was announced, it stated that it had been remastered from the original audio tapes and gave a heads up that a standard 2xLP version would be following shortly. Today Third Man Records revealed that, along with that standard black pressing being made available for pre-order on Friday, August 26th, the same day that the album returns to digital service providers, there’s another exclusive pressing that involves “pure, unadulterated, authentic cannabis leaves [being] encapsulated in PVC for the first time ever.” Partnering with Doghouse Farms Premium Cannabis, Third Man has created what looks to be a beautiful product by embedding the leaves into the vinyl “mosquito-in-amber” style. I love everything about this idea except for one major conflict; “due to the nature of the materials,” this “WEEDIAN HIGH-FI” deluxe pressing will only be available to purchase in person at the Third Man Records Cass Corridor location in Detroit. In other words, this is amazing for whomever of you is actually able to grab one, but I’m admittedly bitter that I will never fucking own a copy.

Standard black copies will be available for preorder through Third Man by clicking HERE. If you’re able to make it to the Detroit area on Friday and want to grab one of these for yourself or someone else (like me), we suggest you get down to the shop as early as possible. Getting so high that you miss out on this one probably isn’t work the irony.