Sleep, the legendary stoner and doom-metal band, have returned with their first new music in eight years and plans for a North American tour this fall. “Have Spacesuit Will Travel” is out now via Third Man. But wait: it’s also getting the flexi disc treatment as part of a bundle for Sleep Comic Book, the first issue of a new comic book written by frontman Al Cisneros and illustrated by Dave Kloc and Arik Roper.
Arguably even bigger news than that, though, is that the band’s lineup has changed. Cisneros remains as Sleep’s singer, bassist, and lead songwriter, but their wild (and often shirtless) guitarist and co-founder Matt Pike is no longer in the group, making their 2018 album The Sciences his final studio contribution. Taking his place is Bubba Dupree, an equally formidable musician best known as the guitarist in Maryland hardcore punk icons Void. Dale Crover, Melvins’ longtime drummer, is also stepping up behind the drum kit to fill the big shoes of Jason Roeder, who’s back in Neurosis following their own unexpected reunion.
Pike was, quite literally, a foundational part of Sleep’s sound, with his riffs being about as essential as it gets for the stoner metal genre (see: Dopesmoker). The band hasn’t made a formal statement about this new lineup, but a press release does offer a little more information: “The music and art are alive and after the decades of obstacles that Sleep has overcome, it is time to move forward and make songs and albums. Al wishes Matt the best on his earth bound maneuvers.”
As for Sleep Comic Book, the straightforward title Issue #1 begins the saga of the Marijuanaut, which a press release describes as “an adventure which takes the reader to Planet Iommia, encounters with The Weedian, and introduces the traveller to Iommia’s deeper reverential practices, all this and more that resonates within the universe that Cisneros’s lyrics created from the riff-filled lands of Sleep’s discography.” Sleep Comic Book is available as a standard edition, in which fans can buy the comic book as is, or a limited-edition bundle featuring the comic book, a full cover poster, a signed bookplate, designed rolling papers, and that “Have Spacesuit Will Travel” flexi disc.
Sleep kick off their fall tour on September 8 in San Diego and will proceed to make their way to most major cities in the United States and Canada. The route ends on November 17 in Washington, D.C., but not without a pit stop at Austin music festival Levitation first. See their full list of upcoming tour dates below.
Read about Sleep”s “Marijuanaut’s Theme” in The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s.
