Sleep, Dopesmoker and the Cocoanut Grove

by Mat Weir

If there is one band who has influenced Doom Metal the most in the 21st century, it would be Sleep. Birthed from the ashes of the San Jose sludge band, Asbestos Death, Sleep began as a four-piece, quickly moving to a power trio of Matt Pike on guitar, Al Cisneros on bass/vocals & Chris Hakius on drums. By building upon & dragging out early stoner rock riffs–ala Black Sabbath, Pentagram, the Melvins and more–Sleep revolutionized the doom metal scene in the Bay and beyond, spawning a huge cult following. Their mission was to turn metal into art and they succeeded with four, must-have records (three full-lengths & one EP) before disbanding in 1998 after only eight years together. Of their three releases the final, Dopesmoker, is THE unquestionably quintessential album for metal heads, music lovers & stoners alike. It was also the album that destroyed the…