Following last year's eagerly anticipated appearance at London's Desertfest, Californian stoner doom legends Sleep are back in the capital, where a sold out Forum awaits them. It is encouraging to see a stoner doom band sell out such a capacious venue, particularly on a Wednesday. Having formed in 1990, this trio left a heady imprint on the stoner rock scene before disbanding eight years later to go on to find fortunes in the stoner bands Om and High on Fire. 2009 oversaw a reunion with sporadic live appearances and tonight sees Kentish Town sprawling with self-affirmed weedians drooling in the waft of marijuana at this rare opportunity.
The solitary support is the well-elected Conan with their bludgeoning take on stoner doom metal. Formed in 2006, their brisk ascent to the forefront of modern doom metal amid the abundance of doom acts in recent years is impressive and tonight is the band's largest ever non-festival appearance. Particularly heavy (even for the genre) and distorted with down-tuned guitar tones and a bone-crushingly slow tempo marks them out from their pack of peers, often brandying the descriptor 'caveman battle doom'. This year saw the release of third album 'Revengeance', employing slightly faster drum work that thrives in the live realm. The likes of 'Throne of Fire', 'Revengeance' and 'Battle in the Swamp' shake the set with heart-rattling bass and mainman Jon Davis' anguished vocals. The venue is filled for Conan and the audience is indeed appreciative of their efforts, evidenced by the roar that pounds the venue when the three-piece finish their set and thank the punters.
The Forum is rammed by the time stoner doom successes Sleep take the stage, beginning with the opener of 'Sleep's Holy Mountain', namely 'Dragonaut'. Bouncing rhythms effusing a blues influence strike the perfect chord with the fans. This sets the tone for the remainder of the concert – Black Sabbath-esque hymns incorporating the psychedelic, the mesmerising and the gritty while Al Cisneros' croons promulgate topics concerning a maelstrom of weed (“This next song is about marijuana.”), outer space and the Bible. Selections from seminal stoner doom album 'Sleep's Holy Mountain' elicit a raucous response with the likes of the dreamy 'Aquarian', the fuzzy 'Holy Mountain' and the slow crawl of 'From Beyond'. A section of the stripped-down 'Dopesmoker' makes the set (playing the song in its hour's entirety would be pushing it) and 'The Clarity' from the 2014 single is aired out with almost robotic ponderous moments arming the music with a more contemporary edge.
This kind of metal is not one for theatrics or violence in the live sphere, which marks it out from other subgenres. The experience involves absorbing the expansive sound and headbanging during the more rhythmic passages. Guitarist Matt Pike occasionally weaves a solo that would be merciful to the concentration of even the most severely stoned listener. The headliners look thoroughly involved in their performance. But the sweaty fans do not all display indications of stoner inactivity; the portion towards the front of the stage headbang violently and throughout the set, a smattering of crowdsurfers brazenly ignores the venue's 'no crowdsuring' signs.
The Americans revisits another excerpt of 'Dopesmoker' and this is the final track of the night. They leave the stage to a tide of applause and hopeful fans refuse to evacuate the premises in the hope of an encore. Unfortunately, they are denied this privilege but surely all in attendance do not regret having alternative plans to tonight's events. Sleep certainly lived up to their accolade of being one of the best stoner bands in existence.
FUTURE GIGS
sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.