Customer Reviews

Jerusalem

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A previous reviewer called this album "stupid", but in a good a way. And that's exactly right. It's LaMonte Young in a Slayer t-shirt. It's minimalism for a guy in a jacked-up Gremlin. It's getting to know one riff so well that at the twenty minute mark it feels like the two of you, riff and human, are celebrating your 50th Wedding anniversary.

It's completely rad. It's a frigging hour long song about High Priests making a frigging weed run in ancient Judea. That is awesome. It's art. I'm not kidding.

This is simply delicious sludge. Never before has pretty much one note sounded so good. Well, there is the occasional guitar solo, but then it's back to a sheer wall of Sabbath-esque amplitude. The term "concrete" has been used in other reviews to characterize Sleep's crude, tremendous sound, and I concur. This ridiculously long song just pounds your skull, like a giant, angry gorilla clobbering you with a cement truck, over and over again. Only, in a good way. If that makes any sense to you, buy it and you will Perceive the Awesomeness.

ONE RIFF.OVER FIFTY MINUTES.ONE...RIFFFF....THIS IS SO HEAVY,AMAZON WILL NEED TO DELIVER TO YOUR HOUSE WITH A FORKLIFT.YOU WILL THROW YOUR BACK OUT JUST OPENING THE JEWEL CASE.THIS IS NOT "MUSIC",BUT DIVINE MEDITATION.HALF WAY THRU AND YOU WILL BE DEEP IN TRANCE.BY THE END,YOU WILL BE WISHING THIS WAS A 10 DISC BOXSET.
A PERFECT,AND FITTING EPITATH.

A note of caution: This album contains ONE 52 minute song. You may hear a total of four chord changes in 52 minutes. It could very well be the slowest song known to mankind. The vocalist sings in one note, not finding that elusive second note until the very end of the song. A paen to long journeys under the burning sun, the lyrics speak of a dope-addled caravan traveling to the holy land. You can almost hear their anguish and feel their heat-induced hallucinations.

Jerusalem also may very well be one of the heaviest songs ever recorded. Sleep's swan song is a dirge like no other. Part funeral and part celebration, "Jerusalem" is unique in it's length and vision, classic in it's riffing, courtesy of soon-to-be-legendary Matt Pike. Produced by Billy Anderson, these riffs could destroy the earth with their density. Remember, this is not for those who have short attention spans. Not to be listened to while operating heavy machinery.. . .

This album is quite possibly the sludgiest album I've ever heard. The guitar solos are perfect (if you listen to Black Sabbath every day like I do). The lyrics are stupid (except for the word "marijuanaut", that's clever) but who cares? The singing only takes up a sliver of the time anyway. I will recommend this to people who like slow, heavy music. WARNING: this is SLOW. Take Type O Negative's slowest song and slow it down some more. If that sounds exciting to you, buy this album.

Sleep seem to be dedicated to three things: God, pot, and Black Sabbath. How else would you explain a band writing the best 52-minute jam session that Tony Iommi never made, with lyrics about serving our Lord and Savior via marijauna? Myself, I'm straight-edge (I'm a bit more open-minded than most so-called Christians, but my views are similar) but that is inconsequential. Regardless of your beliefs, if you want a MASSIVELY HEAVY riff-fest in the vein of the most stoned and doomed dirge-mongers, this is where it's at. Huge guitar riffs and lysergic vocals are sluggishly prodded by thunderous drums, with resin-soaked bass holding it all together. This is the sound of the Dirge...

The overall experience is not unlike the feeling you get when an ocean wave knocks you down, and despite your brain's feeble protest, you refuse to stand up. Titanic pressure makes your reflexes lethargic. The weight of the ocean and the sound of the distant waves drowns out your better judgement and survival instinct, until your mind no longer registers anything save the mighty ocean itself.

In summary: you like Sabbath, Earth, or Cathedral? Get this, and drop out of life with bong in hand....

This is one of the best stoner metal albums I have heard to date. It does not compare to the riffs on Holly Mountain, but 52 minutes of slow, slow stoner metal with lyrics about getting stoned with bong in hand is awsome! Not since Iron Monkey have I heard such intensity in a band. Sleep has done it again, achieved supreme status of stoner metal gods. They finally got off Earache Records and I would have to say that this was the album to do that. A must for all true stoners and metal fans.

The heaviness descends! Although much more massive in terms of sheer riffing power and volumic weight, I'd have to say this one falls short of other current day OPUS-length psychedelic excursions-- notably, the 32 minute "25... TAB" by Monster Magnet (1991) or the lesser 19 Minute "Burn Out" by The Electric Wizard (1998). There's simply not enough going on here in terms of instrumentation and mind-expanding experimentation to render THE full mesemerization eclipse upon a listener's auditory pleasure center.

I love SLEEP. And I know I'm in the minority in recommending their first album, VOLUME ONE over this, and their best known effort "Holy Mountain." Volume One offers all the riff- crushing magnitude of Jerusalem, with more varied textures and some unique and rather dynamic instrumental interplay (without losing an ounce of overall crushing power). "Holy Mountain's" cool too, but I find it less original (more slavishly imitative of Sabbath) than Volume One.

So there you are? Now I'm going to go read what others are saying about "High On Fire." I'm indeed curious.

This band, like Earth, are simply an amazing Drone/Metal/Noise band. Without a doubt, you will sit enthralled by this album. 52:08 mins long. This is one entire song (which is split up into 6 parts really), that never lets up from start to finish. There are no slow parts, no breakdowns, no clean vocals..Just a very heavy riff that does change somewhat in parts, growling vocals which come and go throughout the whole song, and basically this album is one hell of an enjoyable experience.

If i was to describe Sleep's sound, i would say i have no words to describe it. They truly are original in the sense that they break boundaries. One song that goes for just under an hour is what i call breaking the boundaries. Earth has some half an hour songs, but this is almost twice as long. Another way they break the boundaries of this genre is that they take their influences from certain bands, and turn it into their own very easily. This album is just awesome.

To those fans of the Drone/Metal/Noise genre, get this or miss out on a truly remarkable album by a truly amazing band. This is a definite 5 out of 5 album.

God's hooks! this is sludge manifested sonically. slower than concrete for most of the 52 minutes. three guitar solos (each more than a minute long) break the delightful monotony. an additional keyboard break is supplied for the refueling of any devices the listener may deem appropriate (dig the coconut bong on the back cover!) when the singer doesnt even start until three minutes into the song you know its good. i suggest parking near your local train yard and watching slow moving freights with your stereo on very very loud. dont be fooled upon your first listen. i popped it in the cd player on the way home from the record store and was thoroughly confused. once you've heard it all the way through you'll either love it or never want to go near it again. thats understandable - its not the type of tune you can whistle while making lunch but, if it is your cup of tea or, to be fair, bottle of robitussin, humming it to yourself may become habit. it takes a type of person to enjoy this stuff and since youre here reading this i can assume you are in good taste. if you have any other sleep stuff it doesnt really compare. sure its good but Jerusalem is (if i may use the term.... and i may...) EPIC. also check out the one sleep guys newer band High on Fire - it resembles the rough boiling fuzz of Jerusalem but in much faster Motorhead-esque / sabbath riff punishment (imagine jerusalem on 72 rpm instead of 33.) buy this cd now and prepare to stare at the wall!