American stoner/doom legends Sleep unleash new full-length album »Hempispheres«; out today via Third Man Records!
American stoner/doom legends Sleep have released their new full-length album »Hempispheres« today, September 3rd, 2026 via Third Man Records.
Listen to »Hempispheres« on all major streaming platforms!
Tracklist:
01. Have Spacesuit Will Travel
02. The Morrisist
03. Hempispheres
04. Arrival Of The Industry Ships
05. Whole Wheat Mountain / Well Baked
Courtesy of Third Man Records:
Sleep announce their new album, »Hempispheres«, out digitally September 3rd via Third Man Records, and out physically October 30th. In conjunction, they release the new single, »Arrival Of The Industry Ships«, »Hempispheres« doesn’t attempt to continue where 2018’s »The Sciences« left off. With significant new blood in the lineup, the album instead finds its own footing – distinctly in the spirit of Sleep’s decades-long legacy, but sharper and more agile.
»Hempispheres« begins Sleep’s first mission without Matt Pike on guitar. The music and art are alive, and after the decades of obstacles that Sleep has overcome, it is time to move forward and make songs and albums. Alongside bassist and songwriter Al Cisneros, the latest incarnation of Sleep features Dale Crover on drums and Bubba Dupree on guitar. Dale has been in some serious bands, like the Melvins and Redd Kross. That Cisneros would seek him out makes sense, an almost elementary choice that probably wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows. Bubba Dupree, from the fiercely loved band Void, hailing out of Columbia, MD, is a pick that is not only completely mind-blowing, but a choice no one would have seen coming.
Cisneros had been writing demos and dying to turn them into finished tracks. When Crover passed through town on tour with the Melvins, Cisneros asked if he wanted to help build out the songs and join the band. The connection ran deep: Crover had seen Sleep live in San Francisco in the early ’90s, and the early incarnation of Sleep had themselves been transformed by witnessing the Melvins’ legendary 1988 »Gluey Porch Treatments« era shows. Cisneros calls Crover’s drumming “…otherworldly, life changing.”
For guitar, Cisneros needed someone who knew the essence and vibe of Sleep’s past work, but equally important, had done their own Iommic Studies and would be working from that, bringing their own voice and ideas. Dupree came highly recommended, the first jam session nailed it: a vibe Cisneros describes as “blue sunglasses era Iommi.” A planned one-off recording for a flexi disc/comic book project evolved into full band membership. The album was recorded at the Melvins’ studio with longtime engineer Toshi Kasai, built from a handful of ideas worked out across a few sessions.
Dupree discovered Sleep’s »Holy Mountain« in the mid-’90s and was floored – heavy, psychedelic, yet punk-adjacent. However, stepping into Pike’s shoes weighs on him – “Matt’s an icon” – but he’s resolved that imitating Pike’s style would be hollow. Instead, he’s leaning into his own voice, determined that “Sleep’s soul is still totally intact,” on display on lead single “Have Spacesuit Will Travel”, which “maintains Sleep’s trademark sludgy wall of sound” (Consequence). Today’s »Arrival Of The Industry Ships« finds the band operating in the same vein.
Pre-order »Hempispheres« at THIS LOCATION.
Sleep US tour dates:
Sep 8, 2026 The Observatory North Park San Diego, CA
Sep 9, 2026 The Van Buren Phoenix, AZ
Sep 10, 2026 Revel Entertainment Center Albuquerque, NM
Sep 12, 2026 Granada Theater Dallas, TX
Sep 14, 2026 Tower Theatre Oklahoma City, OK
Sep 16, 2026 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO
Sep 17, 2026 The Grand at The Complex Salt Lake City, UT
Sep 18, 2026 Treefort Music Hall Boise, ID
Sep 20, 2026 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC
Sep 21, 2026 Neptune Theatre Seattle, WA
Sep 22, 2026 Neptune Theatre Seattle, WA
Sep 23, 2026 Roseland Theater Portland, OR
Sep 25, 2026 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
Sep 26, 2026 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
Sep 27, 2026 The Catalyst Santa Cruz, CA
Sep 28, 2026 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA
Sep 29, 2026 The Observatory Santa Ana, CA
Nov 4, 2026 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
Nov 5, 2026 The Pabst Theater Milwaukee, WI
Nov 6, 2026 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
Nov 7, 2026 Saint Andrew’s Hall Detroit, MI
Nov 9, 2026 The Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON
Nov 10, 2026 Club Soda Montreal, QC
Nov 11, 2026 Higher Ground South Burlington, VT
Nov 12, 2026 Roadrunner Boston, MA
Nov 13, 2026 Basilica Hudson Hudson, NY
Nov 15, 2026 Theatre of Living Arts Philadelphia, PA
Nov 16, 2026 Brooklyn Paramount New York, NY
Nov 17, 2026 Lincoln Theatre Washington, DC
Sleep is:
Al Cisneros – Vocals, Electric Bass Guitar, Moog
Bubba Dupree – Electric Guitar
Dale Crover – Drums
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well