Whatever you call it, chances are if you’re at all familiar with the droning downbeat sounds of the genre, then you’ve heard of Sleep. More than 10 years since their last full-length titled Dopesmoker, the stoner metal titans have since unveiled a brand new track entitled ‘The Clarity’ as part of the Adult Swim single series.
Opening with a minimalist drone sound before hitting the listener over the head with defunct time signatures and slow paced, echoic guitar wails, Sleep dismiss any pre-conceived thought of having lost their spark. Clocking in at just under the 10-minute mark, ‘The Clarity’ showcases Sleep at their most natural; thick, spacey riffs, together with crashing snare and cymbal hits as well as Al Cisneros’ signature throaty vocals that spiral throughout.
Perhaps what’s most refreshing about ‘The Clarity’ is that despite its inherent fuzziness, the production remains balanced, resulting in one of their most clean sounding tracks to date, albeit without compromising its atmosphere. If this is a sign of Sleep’s new album to come, then metalheads everywhere are in for a treat.
