Released: 2018

Genres: Stoner Metal, Doom Metal

The Musiquarium’s The Sciences Review Score: 10 out of 10

As transcending as an experience as Dopesmoker was, it certainly made for a challenging album, considering it was just one 63 minute-long song. Yes, its appeal was how gargantuan it was, and how incredible of a feat the band had achieved in recording such an epic track, but some fans or casual listeners may have preferred the relatively more bite-sized songs of 1992’s Sleep’s Holy Mountain. While The Sciences isn’t lacking in the song-length department, no track exceeds 15 minutes, so it makes for a compromise between the band’s previous two albums.

After an instrumental intro of guitar feedback and distortion from the title track, Marijuanaut’s Theme starts with a bong rip, followed by one of Matt Pike’s best guitar riffs yet. Sonic Titan finally gets a studio release, after having been performed as far back as the mid nineties, with one such live version previously appearing on one of the Dopesmoker reissues — the song definitely sounds titanic.

Giza Butler is a reference to Black Sabbath’s bassist Geezer Butler, who along with the rest of the original incarnation of said band are basically deities to Sleep and to the stoner/doom genres and heavy metal in general — Geezer Butler also appears on the butter in the gatefold, along with guitarist Tony Iommi’s face on a piece of toast, and drummer Bill Ward on carton of milk. Antarctican’s Thawed (the longest track on the album) builds up slowly, but is spellbinding the entire time. The album wraps up with another instrumental, The Botanist, which is one of the most melodic songs on the album.

Although some fans may prefer Sleep’s Holy Mountain or Dopesmoker as the definitive Sleep album, a case can be made for The Sciences as being the band’s most rounded effort.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view Sleep on Discogs.

Back to the 2018 Album Reviews Guide or the Sleep Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard