Sleep have officially announced their long-awaited return with ‘Hempispheres’, the band’s first new studio album in nearly eight years. Alongside the announcement, the legendary stoner metal outfit has also unveiled the new single “The Morrisist.”
The album will arrive digitally on September 3rd, with a vinyl edition following on October 30th via Third Man Records, the label founded by Jack White.
The release ushers in a new era for Sleep, as it marks the band’s first album without longtime guitarist Matt Pike. Taking over guitar duties is Bubba Dupree (3rd Secret, ex-Void), while Melvins drummer Dale Crover performs on the record. According to the announcement, the album continues the band’s devotion to towering, Tony Iommi-inspired riffs that have defined Sleep’s sound for decades.
The track listing for ‘Hempispheres’ is as follows:
01 – “Have Spacesuit Will Travel”
02 – “The Morrisist”
03 – “Hempispheres”
04 – “Arrival Of The Industry Ships”
05 – “Whole Wheat Mountain Well Baked”
Alongside the album, Third Man Records will also release a 24-page companion comic written by Al Cisneros, featuring artwork from Dave Kloc and Arik Roper.
The publisher described the comic as follows:
“Here begins the saga of The Marijuanaut. An adventure which takes the reader to Planet Iommia, encounters with The Weedian, and introduces the traveller to Iommia’s deeper reverential practices, and more that resonates within the universe that Cisneros‘s lyrics created from the riff filled lands of Sleep’s discography.”
Sleep will return to the road this fall in support of ‘Hempispheres’ with the following North American dates:
- 09/08 San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park
- 09/09 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
- 09/10 Albuquerque, NM – Revel
- 09/12 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
- 09/13 Austin, TX – Levitation
- 09/14 Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theatre
- 09/16 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
- 09/17 Salt Lake City, UT – The Grand At The Complex
- 09/18 Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall
- 09/20 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
- 09/21 Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
- 09/22 Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
- 09/23 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
- 09/25 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
- 09/26 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
- 09/27 Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst
- 09/28 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
- 09/29 Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory
- 11/04 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
- 11/05 Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater
- 11/06 Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
- 11/07 Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
- 11/09 Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre
- 11/10 Montreal, QC – Club Soda
- 11/11 South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom
- 11/12 Boston, MA – Roadrunner
- 11/13 Hudson, NY – Basilica Hudson
- 11/15 Philadelphia, PA – Theatre Of Living Arts
- 11/16 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount
- 11/17 Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre
Pre-saves for ‘Hempispheres’ are available now, while Third Man Records is also offering both standard and signed editions of the companion comic. Fans can check out “The Morrisist” below.
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