Sleep's Holy Mountain (also known as Holy Mountain) is the second studio album by the American stoner doom band Sleep. It was released in November 1992 in Europe and March 1993 in the US through Earache Records.
| Sleep's Holy Mountain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1992 (UK) March 1993 (US) | |||
| Recorded | Razor's Edge Studio in San Francisco, California | |||
| Genre | Doom metal, stoner metal[1] | |||
| Length | 52:09 | |||
| Label | Earache Records Kreation Records (vinyl reissue) | |||
| Producer | Sleep and Billy Anderson | |||
| Sleep chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[3] |
Release and reception
editThe recordings that would become Sleep's Holy Mountain were originally sent to independent label Earache as a demo. The label immediately signed the band and released the recordings exactly as they were received. It was the last album to be released by the band as a fully functioning group for a while, as their subsequent albums up to 2018's The Sciences were released after the group had broken up.
The album, which includes the word "stoner" in the lyrics of two songs[4] and prominently features cannabis leaves in its album art, is widely considered one of the seminal albums in the evolution of stoner rock. It became a favourite of the heavy metal press and the band was heralded, along with Kyuss, as leaders of the emerging stoner metal scene.
The songs "Dragonaut" and "Some Grass" are used in the 1997 Harmony Korine film Gummo.
In May 2009, the album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series.
Track listing
editAll music/lyrics written by Sleep except "Snowblind".[5]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dragonaut" | 5:43 |
| 2. | "The Druid" | 4:51 |
| 3. | "Evil Gypsy / Solomon's Theme" | 7:06 |
| 4. | "Some Grass" | 0:47 |
| 5. | "Aquarian" | 5:38 |
| 6. | "Holy Mountain" | 8:44 |
| 7. | "Inside the Sun" | 5:44 |
| 8. | "From Beyond" | 10:34 |
| 9. | "Nain's Baptism" | 3:02 |
| Total length: | 52:09 | |
2009 reissue bonus tracks
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Snowblind" (Black Sabbath cover) | |
| 11. | "Dragonaut" (music video) |
Credits
edit- Al Cisneros – bass guitar, vocals
- Matt Pike – guitar
- Chris Hakius – drums
- Cover artwork by Robert Klem
- Produced and engineered by Billy Anderson[6]
Pressing history
edit| Year | Label | Format | Country | Out of Print? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Earache | CD | U.K. | Yes | |
| 1992 | Earache | LP | U.K. | Yes | |
| 2002 | Earache | LP | U.S./U.K. | Yes | Ltd. 2,000; 1,000 copies on green vinyl (U.S.), 1,000 copies on 220g black vinyl (U.K.) |
| 2007 | Kreation | LP | U.S. | Yes | Gatefold jacket; pressed on multiple limited colors, picture disc, and black vinyl |
| 2009 | Earache | CD | U.K. | No | Includes a bonus track and video |
| 2012 | Unofficial | 2xLP | Europe | Yes | Double LP in black and clear versions |
| 2015 | Earache | LP | U.S./U.K. | No | Earache Full Range Dynamic (FDR) mastering |
References
edit- ^ Kelly, Kim (April 20, 2017). "10 Stoner Metal Albums Ranked by a Metalhead Who Doesn't Smoke Weed". Vice. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 408-409. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^ "Look into the rays of the new stoner sun rising," "Holy Mountain" and "Stoner caravan from deep space arrives," "From Beyond," lyrics printed in Sleep's Holy Mountain CD liner notes, Earache Records, 1992.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Sleep – Sleep's Holy Mountain". Allmusic. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
- ^ "Engineered by Billy Anderson" and "Produced by Sleep and Billy Anderson" credits printed in Sleep's Holy Mountain CD liner notes, Earache Records, 1992.