DeadChannel

Previously unlistened album #1

Dopesmoker is a 1999 album by California doom and stoner metal outfit sleep. It was recorded at Record Two Studio in Comptche, California.



That's right everyone, I'll be starting this thing of with what many consider to be a seminal doom album. This will also be, aside from the odd bit of Black Sabbath, my first experience with the genre.

The first thing that you immediately notice about this album is the length. That is, although not objectively much above average, it's 63 minute run time is all in one song. Some people would probably be put off by this, but I'm a huge lover of lengthy songs.

Admittedly, 63 minutes is a lot even for me. Even the longest songs on a swans or GY!BE album are a little over half an hour, and I wasn't sure if I could zone out like with an Eliane Radigue track. Naturally, I was a bit concerned.

This concern turned out completely unfounded. I didn't think that Dopesmoker was excessive, boring, dull or drawn out. Quite the opposite, I found it to be incredibly compelling. Something about it is so listenable to me that since my first experience, I've given it three listens in as many days. As I write this review I'm on my fourth. There's something about this album that (snicker) super addictive.

Do you have to wait for sixteen minutes until the vocals come in? Uh, yeah. Do solos feel like days and riffs repeat for eons? Of course. Will you have to put aside an hour of your time to listen to just one track? Sure.

But I'll bet every minute and hour, day and (yes) eon is worth it for it's own sake. This is the sort of music that is very easy to (again, snicker) get high on.

When every riff is sure to be followed by a thousand more, it's easy to get lost. This is just such a massive album in every respect. It's massive sounding, it's massively epic and, naturally, it's just downright massive. I'll bet it was a massive undertaking, too.

If you just read then lyrics, they're a little laughable. How could they not be with lines like "Drop out of life with bong in hand/ follow the smoke toward riff filled land" and "proceeds the weedian - Nazareth".
But, you have to listen to the music to get it. There's nothing toung and cheek here. It's one giant ode to weed built around weird biblical references and "weedians". I'm not a stoner, but I admire these guy's dedication.

The version that I have also contains a second, ten minute long track titled "Sonic Titan". I don't think that strictly speaking it's part of this album's cannon, and I won't factor it into the score. However, I like it. It starts off with an fun, almost garage rock sounding riff, which turns right back into the lumbering hugeness that I now expect. It's not quite a huge and epic as "Dopesmoker", but it's got a cool sound to it and I like it a lot. Again, I'm not counting it as a part of the album, but it's a good addition to this edition.

I love this record. I don't think I could have picked a better start to the year. In my mind it easily makes a:
10/10