Hempispheres

ストーナー／ドゥーム・メタルの伝説的バンド、Sleep（スリープ）通算5作目のフルアルバム『Hempispheres』。

前作『The Sciences』以来、約8年半ぶりのスタジオアルバムであり、インディーズレーベルの Third Man Records からリリースされる本作は、プログレッシブ・ロックやスペース・ロックの要素に大きく傾倒。シンセサイザーやヴィブラフォンが導入され、SF的な世界観が強まったサイケデリックなヘヴィ・ミュージックを展開している。

Sleeps fifth studio outing finds the long-running stoner metal institution navigating the astral plane of a new era. Hempispheres is the bands first effort without co-founder and six-string architect Matt Pike, who left the fold after the release of The Sciences in 2018. Bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros steers the band in a decidedly more cosmic direction with the help of guitarist Bubba Dupree (Void) and drummer Dale Crover (Melvins), delivering plenty of Devils Lettuce-induced torpor while dialing back some of the sonic heft of the past. The result is perhaps the sleepiest Sleep record yet, one that balances monolithic, Sabbath-worshiping riffs with droney psychedelia. Opener "Have Spacesuit Will Travel" eases in on a rolling bass groove and drifting guitar lines before blossoming into a driving, midtempo journey to the stars, replete with woozy synth flourishes and lyrics steeped in doomy weed philosophy. "The Morrisest" follows a similar trajectory, but leans further into the shadows, while the sprawling 11-minute "Arrival of the Industry Ship" continues to embrace atmosphere over might, smothering its colossal riffs beneath layers of dewy fuzz and narcotic ambience. Even by the bands standards, Hempispheres is an unapologetically immersive experience, more accessible to an audience predisposed to meet it halfway in a skunky haze. The firepower Matt Pike brought to Sleeps seminal recordings is noticeably absent, but rather than replace it, Cisneros and company chose to embrace a more celestial, perhaps age-appropriate approach to getting ripped. ~ James Christopher Monger.