Sleep

Sleep is a 1990s stoner metal band from San Jose, California. Al Cisneros, Tom Choi, Chris Hakius and Matt Pike formed the band in the late 1980s under the name Asbestos Death, who released two 7 inch singles. Circa 1990, Tom Choi left and

Sleep is a 1990s stoner metal band from San Jose, California. Al Cisneros, Tom Choi, Chris Hakius and Matt Pike formed the band in the late 1980s under the name Asbestos Death, who released two 7 inch singles. Circa 1990, Tom Choi left and was replaced by Justin Marler. They then changed the band's name to Sleep and released their debut, Volume One, in 1991 (see 1991 in music). Frequently compared to pioneers like Saint Vitus, Sleep soon gained a devoted fanbase within the developing stoner rock scene.

Holy Mountain (1993) is the band's widely-acknowledged pinnacle and is a seminal stoner and doom metal album. This was followed by a potentially lucrative offer from London Records, and Sleep signed with them. Under this contract, in 1995 they began work on their third album, Dopesmoker. Dopesmoker was actually one single song which was over one hour in length. The album was submitted to London Records, who declared that it was unmarketable and therefore could not be released. Sleep returned to the studio and then submitted their second attempt at the new album. They had retitled it Jerusalem, re-written some of the lyrics, and trimmed it down to a lean 52 minutes, but it was essentially the same album and song as Dopesmoker. London Records again refused to release it. Frustrated and generally unhappy with the situation, the members of Sleep decided it was time to disband.