Out of all the Sleep albums, the one I would think was least in need of a remaster was Dopesmoker but here we are with a third version of the album (and another artwork change). However, once I got to hear this latest edition of the album, I can understand a little why the band wanted to clean it up. It certainly sounds better than any previous incarnation (though it definitely looks the worst out of all of them) and it is another good reason to talk about this masterpiece.
The story of this album should be fairly common knowledge but a quick recap for the uninitiated: after having moderate success with their album Holy Mountain, Sleep were signed to London Records for a large sum of money with the promise of artistic freedom. When London Records heard the subsequent album, they were understandably upset because how on earth were they going to market an hour-long piece of music about weed? The various debacles surrounding Dopesmoker ended up splitting the band. Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius reunited a few years later to form Om, and Matt Pike went down a more traditional metal route with High on Fire.
In the meantime, one version of the album was made available semi-officially in the form of Jerusalem. A shorter recording than the original given to London Records (Jerusalem was Sleep’s idea of a compromise), it was a raw and powerful document of a band transcending any idea of them being another stoner metal wannabe Black Sabbath. When Dopesmoker was finally released in 2003, the extra ten minutes or so of music was restored and the mix was a much tighter, more polished job. While it sounded great, I always found myself returning to the rougher edges of Jerusalem.
So now in 2012, here is another version of Dopesmoker yet again billed being presented as the band originally wanted it (I remember that being the billing for the 2003 version). This remastered edition does not take any of the polish off this particular version but it certainly sounds bigger than the 2003 edition. There seems to be better separation between the different members of the band, Cisneros’ vocals slightly less muddy (but still carrying all the energy of a dinosaur’s roar). It is not a huge difference but it certainly puts Kevin Shields’ recent "remastering" of the My Bloody Valentine releases to shame!
Moving away from historical and dry talk of mastering, Dopesmoker remains something much more than an album or a song. Yes, this is all about weed, and as everyone knows, stoners tend to be extremely boring when they get onto the topic of their favorite drug. Describing it to friends who are not into this kind of music, I find my words fall flat and I make it sound like Dude, Where’s My Car? with a distortion pedal. Listening to more than a couple of minutes of Dopesmoker reveals a very different story. Alchemically distilling the essence of Sabbath into one riff to end all riffs, Sleep create an ecstatic, religious pilgrimage through an imagined version of the Holy Lands where the air hangs thick and heavy with hashish smoke like incense at a mass.
The blending of religious themes and a drugged out state of mind brings to mind the practices and mysticism of Sufi Islam (and certainly fits with Cisneros’ output with Om with titles like Pilgrimage and God is Good, as well as strong middle Eastern and Eastern themes running through the music). The cover of the second edition of Jerusalem makes this link more apparent: a holy man prostrates himself in front of a burning flame. To Sleep, cannabis is a sacred gateway to a higher level of consciousness and through repetition, sustained notes and volume they use their music to tap into this state. Like La Monte Young or Coil, Sleep’s music is another way to change your perceptions and reach some form of psychedelic release. Granted it is in a very different vein to those artists, but the effect is similar.
The riff itself is hypnotic to the point of absurdity. The three players breathe smoke-laden air into the music, the sound waves themselves becoming more than just disturbances in pressure. When Pike’s guitar solos kick in, it feels like a shedding of weight as the music reaches out and grips me. Cisneros’ vocals are somewhere between a visionary chant and his deadpan delivery on earlier recordings. Taken altogether, the whole is far more than the sum of its parts as Dopesmoker expands beyond Earth and blasts off into the cosmos.
Like the 2003 release of Dopesmoker, this version also comes with a bonus live track. Unlike the cracking version of "Sonic Titan" on the previous issue, here we have a rough recording of "Holy Mountain" from 1994. The sound quality is atrocious and as good as the performance is, I cannot get past the poor recording. Personally I would have preferred if the album just contained Dopesmoker and perhaps an official version of the Volume Two live boot, or if decent remasters of the older albums were issued with this version of "Holy Mountain" as a bonus on one of those. Here it makes no sense and kills my buzz, man.
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