Sleep guitarist Matt Pike has teased that the pioneering stoner metal band will soon be reactivated again.
The musician, who also fronts stoner/thrash trio High On Fire, spoke about the state of Sleep in a new interview with Steelworks, and revealed that the band has quietly been at work on something.
Sleep haven’t released an album since 2018’s surprise-released comeback, The Sciences, nor played a show together since 2022.
“Well, we haven’t played live in a while and we took a little hiatus,” said Pike (as transcribed by Metal Injection).
“Right now we’re just playing [Dungeons & Dragons] online really, and there’s some surprises coming up, but I can’t elaborate or share on how that’s going to turn out.”
Pike added: “We’re talking and working on stuff again, but it’s not come to fruition. It’s nothing that I can announce. You know us, we’ll drop a record in the middle of the night and no one will know it’s coming. So it’s… I don't really give away those secrets because that band [are] so odd. I don’t know what’s gonna happen myself.”
The guitarist then concluded: “I’m on good ground with those dudes and we’re talking about some cool shit. I’ll leave it at.”
Sleep, currently composed of Pike plus vocalist/bassist Al Cisneros and drummer Jason Roeder, formed in 1990 and have released four records since: Volume One (1991), Holy Mountain (1992), Jerusalem/Dopesmoker (1999/2012) and The Sciences (2018). Holy Mountain and Jerusalem/Dopesmoker especially are continually acclaimed, the latter previously being described by Metal Hammer as “a masterclass in both the stoner and doom metal genres”.
Pike is currently promoting the new High On Fire album, Cometh The Storm, which comes out on April 19 via Mnrk Heavy. Its release will be followed by an extensive tour of Europe in June and July 2024. Dates are available below and tickets are on sale now.
High On Fire 2024 European tour:
June 4th – Brno, Czechia
June 6th – Gdansk, Poland
June 8th – Norje, Sweden
June 10th – Hamburg, Germany
June 11th – Cologne, Germany
June 12th – Nijmegen, Netherlands
June 14th – London, England
June 15th – Manchester, England
June 16th – Glasgow, Scotland
June 17th – Leeds, England
June 18th – Bristol, England
June 20th – Wasquehal, France
June 21st – Dessel, Belgium
June 22nd – Copenhagen, Denmark
June 25th – Toulouse, France
June 26th – Bilbao, Spain
June 27th – Viviero, Spain
June 30th – Clisson, France
July 2nd – Aschaffenburg, Germany
July 3rd – Dudingen, Switzerland
July 4th – Torino, Italy
July 5th – Slunj, Croatia
July 6th – Vienna, Austria
