Dopesmoker Exclusive 2 LP

A Newbury Comics exclusive color vinyl pressing. 1 Orange Swirl LP, 1 Light Blue LP.

“Dopesmoker” was recorded by Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Melvins) at Record Two Studio in Comptche, California While recording the song, it began to form differently than the band had originally envisioned. Pike stated that the “song was getting slower and slower and then it got weird. We started tripping out and second guessing ourselves.” Recording the album was difficult. Pike recalled that “there was so much to memorize for that album, and we had to do it in like three different sections because a reel-to-reel only holds 22 minutes. It was really cool, but it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in in my life. “Sleep were in the studio for one month then went home to rehearse and returned for another month. Pike noted that they ended up with two or three different versions of the song.

In the aftermath of the breakup of the band four versions of the album were released. In 1999 “Jerusalem” came out with a running time of 52 minutes and is a single composition split into six identically-named tracks. There are 3 different versions/releases of “Jerusalem” : (1) a rare London Records promotional disc (2) a bootleg with cover art by Arik Roper, and (3) the Rise Above/Music Cartel Records All three of these versions are edited and considered unauthorized versions. The version of the album titled Dopesmoker was released on April 22, 2003 by Tee Pee Records on compact disc and vinyl with a 63-minute running time. That version is the only version the band considers to be “authorized” and worthy of release. “Dopesmoker” stands as one of the towering achievements in recent metal history, a mesmerizing, intoxicating, and incredibly complex song that is still unrivaled in the annals of (stoner) metal.