Sleep Concert Review and News

Posted on April 27, 2022 by thesonicsofa

*Sleep live in Denver, April 18, 2022 – Photo credit: The Purlenaut*

Last October, Sleep announced a brief, weeklong 2022 tour for April, totaling three shows in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Albuquerque, culminating on 4/20. This evolved into five total shows, with an extra matinee show added in Colorado Springs and a quickly announced appearance at Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe. Along with the tour, Sleep released a live recording from their concert in New York in 2018, as well as a remastered reissue of Dopesmoker on Third Man Records.

*Denver setlist – Photo Credit: Tim Bugbee*

I made it to their show at the Mission Ballroom in Denver. After openers Superwolves, Sleep took the stage and gave the tightest, most studio-quality performance that I’ve witnessed them perform. There were noticeably less amps on stage than previous shows, which, paired with the robust in-house system, seemed to result in a cleaner mix and more focused sound. The vocals especially were clearer and more distinct; less overshadowed in the mix than previous shows. The mini tour also featured the debut of Al’s 4420 custom double-neck Rickenbacker. The setlist included two classic tracks from their album, Holy Mountain (Holy Mountain, Dragonaut), both Adult Swim Singles (Leagues Beneath, The Clarity), and three tracks from The Sciences (Marijuanaut’s Theme, Sonic Titan, The Botanist).

Among the tables of merch was the limited release of 420 hand etched records from their concert in New York, 2018. It features some sick Escape From New York cover art complete with their signature Sabbath worship. The two green and white discs have a great live concert sound, as well as an amazing mix that really captures the full dynamic range of the band. The low end is especially bright and pronounced.

*New York 2018 – Photo Credit: The Purlenaut*

In other news, Sleep recently announced a reissue of their legendary Dopesmoker LP with Nashville’s Third Man Records. The album is remastered from the source tapes and features a rare studio recording of the previously unreleased track, Hot Lava Man, as well as studio notes and vintage photo prints of the band members. The album retains original artwork by longtime collaborator and album cover artist, Arik Roper. The album is available through Third Man’s Vault Subscription. The sign up deadline to receive the album is April 30th at midnight.

Tour Dates

Aug 27 This Ain’t No Picnic Festival – Pasadena, CA, US

Space invaders spread fear on heavy debut single by Ryte

Posted on November 13, 2019 by thesonicsofa

*Ryte will be released by Heavy Psych Sounds on January 17th*

Ryte, a four-piece stoner rock band from Vienna, Austria, is one of the latest additions to Heavy Psych Sounds Records, home to bands such as Crypt Trip and Brant Bjork. Ryte recently announced their debut self-titled album, set for release on January 17, 2020. The album will contain four long tracks, written and crafted over the course of a year a half. Invaders, the heavy first single from that album is out now.

Invaders is a massive sounding track, and it’s long, clocking in a 7:55. It’s driven by dual guitars which play in unison throughout the track, creating beautiful harmonies, driving leads, and ominously slow and heavy chugging riffs. The bass is detuned and distorted, confidently grooving throughout the song and cutting through the mix nicely, and the drums sound huge with ringing cymbals and thunderous percussion. Channeling an Ozzy-esque, Hand of Doom quality, the sparse vocals are melodic in an evil sounding way, warning of psychic “night creatures” and “space invaders.” The track has plenty of stoner rock changeups with fast, chugging sections, dual guitar leads, slow and heavy doom sections, wah pedal accents, plenty of complex progressive moments, and even a sick theramin space-battle at the end.

The album is available for pre-order on Bandcamp and on Heavy Psych Sounds, giving you one track now and the rest on January 17th. You can also pre-order the album on vinyl in many styles, including transparent orange, clear water green, as well as black. The album will also be available on CD. All of the physical releases are limited, so get on it. Also, check out the band on Facebook. Thank you for reading The Sonic Sofa. Go in peace and rock on, Sofanauts.

Yung Druid release riffy, 70’s influenced debut album

Posted on April 29, 2019 by thesonicsofa

Yung Druid is a London-based heavy doom, psych quartet with low-tuned, riffy guitars and high-pitched melodic vocals. The group’s music is straightforward and solid, without being too complex. The group creates riffy, sludgy, classic metal, in the vein of Black Sabbath, but with some of the psychedelic sensibilities of softer bands like Dead Meadow and Sleepy Sun.

Ever since the single, Take Me to Your Dealer, dropped back in September of 2018, the groovy lead drew me in and I started keeping an eye out for the full album. Released on Bandcamp in April, Yung Druid’s self titled album is no disappointment: It’s full of high flying vocals, killer guitar leads, and walls of reverb and distortion. The drums sound great in the mix, with heavy cymbals that are really allowed to ring out and sing. The guitars and bass are down-tuned and heavy, and the vocals never struggle to hit the high notes.

The album officially releases on June 1, 2019 through Totem Cat Records. A limited run of 300 vinyl records is available for purchase on Bandcamp. Hopefully the band reissues more units for the June release as supplies are already limited (32 remain at the time of writing this).

Take Me to Your Dealer (5:56) is the album’s riffy opener. It’s a groovy, psych-doom song with X-Files inspired lyrics and a trippy last half that feels like you’re being taken away on an alien abduction trip.

Sleepy Eyes (6:47) is filled with commanding riffs and has some cool change-ups. Two vocal tracks create nice harmonies throughout the song. Heavy distortion on the guitars and lots of reverb on the vocals give this song some great psychedelic qualities.

Underneath the Aching Sky (4:35) is a shorter headbanger with some seriously catchy guitar and vocal hooks. The vocals carry some echoes of Ozzy and Geddy Lee, and the guitar riffs are dark and Sabbath-esque. Pay attention for the awesome sounding china cymbal.

Lung (4:47) takes a break from the heaviness is much softer. The vocals are a little more laid back and the song has some great guitar solo work.

After a hard hitting intro, Went into a Wooden Room (6:24) features a standout bass line guides the way into a psychedelic audioscape. The track grooves along and takes its time unfurling itself.

Morning Come (4:26) finishes the album strong. The closing song featuring strong guitar riffs, a solid rhythm section, and beautiful vocal melodies.

If you’re into 70’s influenced retro rock with tons of riffs, high flying vocals, and plenty of stoner lyrics, look no further than Yung Druid. Check out the music video which is just as trippy and spaced out as the music. The video also has tin-foil hat wearing aliens, so go for it!