Stoner metal titans, Sleep recently lit up Philly’s Union Transfer venue with psyche-doom rockers Windhand in tow. BTS’s Senior Photographer Dante Torrieri was on hand to to capture the show in photos for our viewing pleasure.
Prior to this stint of live dates- Sleep returned with their first official release in over a decade, premiering “The Clarity” on Adult Swim Singles in July. The ten-minute song can be streamed in full below the fold.
In 2012 Southern Lord Recordings were bestowed the honor of releasing Sleep‘s legendary Dopesmoker album and fans’ and critics’ response was overwhelmingly positive. Dopesmoker stands as one of the towering achievements in recent metal history: a mesmerizing, intoxicating, and incredibly complex composition that remains unrivaled in the evolution of stoner metal. Alarm Magazine christened it “a monolith of metal,” MSN echoed the sentiment calling the record, “one of the most influential stoner/doom albums ever recorded,” while Pitchfork crowned Dopesmoker “Best New Reissue” of 2012 noting, “it’s an hour of adventure and momentum, where the lumber and the repetition somehow always push ahead. At a moment when black metal reinventers and D-beat revivers seem to dominate large sections of the heavy music world, maybe the thought of a resin-voiced singer intoning for an hour over riffs that wrap into themselves and drums that aim ever for infinity seems boring. But no matter how many times they had to record or rehearse ‘Dopesmoker’ to master it, or no matter how much pressure London placed on them to make something more commercial than personal, SLEEP sound as if their very existence depends upon the successful exercise of this weed ritual…. This record’s influence on substance, style, and simple ambition within heavy metal has long outlived the band that made it. “
Richmond psyche-doom practitioners Windhand‘s latest album Soma, which is out now on Relapse Records and has received praises from NPR, Pitchfork, Decibel, and many more. The band has been writing new material for their next full-length and are playing new songs on the road.
Without further ado, enjoy a fresh batch of photos by BTS’s Senior Photographer Dante Torrieri (Useless Rebel Imaging)
The post Sleep & Windhand at Philly’s Union Transfer appeared first on Blow The Scene.