Al Cisneros carries a solid rep as the singer and bassist for two of the finest bands to have churned and thudded at the intersection of stoner rock and doom metal, Sleep and Om. However, Cisneros also has a rewarding string of solo forays into the hissing, echo-laden realms of dub, with the new “Dragonaut Dub” EP his latest dive into this heady style. The set is out now on vinyl with an absolutely splendiferous cover illustration by Arik Roper via Eremite Records.
Prior to Sleep, there was Asbestosdeath, a gang of doom crushers who released a pair of 7-inch slabs in the 1990 timeframe that were later compiled by Southern Lord on the “Dejection Unclean” 10-inch in 2007. With some personnel changes, Asbestosdeath quickly morphed into Sleep, releasing Volume One in 1991 through Tupelo Recording Company, and then Sleep’s Holy Mountain the next year through Earache Records. From there, the band became a defining outfit in the slowly unfurling stoner rock scene.
It was Dopesmoker (originally Jerusalem) that really put Sleep on the map when it was released after a hiatus in 1999 by The Music Cartel and then in an updated version with the band’s preferred title in 2003 by Tee Pee Records. Subsequent expanded editions have hit racks through Southern Lord and Third Man, as the latter label has released Sleep’s last two albums, The Sciences from 2018 and Hemispheres from earlier this year.
In one of Sleep’s dormant stretches, Om was formed by Cisneros and Sleep drummer Chris Hakius, though through a slew of studio and live recordings Om released between 2005- ’14, Cisneros has been the constant member. Such is obviously the case with his solo output, which commenced in 2012 with the “Dismas” 45 on his own label Sinai.
Short players being the preferred format for Cisneros’ solo work, enough stuff was issued to eventually get corralled into the Sinai 2012-2022 Dub Box, which offered seven 7-inch records released by Sinai, plus added material issued by ZamZam and Drag City. There are additional releases not included in the Dub Box on Drag City, Samaritan Press, and Pressure. Cisneros’ latest solo joint drops three tracks onto 12-inch wax pressed at 45 rpm, with the A-side “Dragonaut Dub” a version of the opening track from Sleep’s Holy Mountain.
It’s nice to go back and soak up the original; the better to appreciate the tripped-out transformation of some wondrous Sabbath-like thunder. The first thing dub fans who are newbies to solo Cisneros will absorb is that he’s no dilettante, nor is he so studious that his work sounds like it was exported off the island in a crate by ocean freighter circa 1975.
Some might consider a metal guy dabbling in dub to be unusual, but let’s correct some perceptions straightaway. First, what Cisneros does is more than dabbling, as he offers a consistency in approach with his bass as the bedrock, a crucial element in this EP’s “Song for Dave Sweetapple” and its version, “Sweetapple Dub.” And second, dub’s druggy atmosphere was surely a big aspect of attraction and ultimately a unifying factor.
Cisneros has previously sampled bong rips and smoked-out coughs in his solo tracks. “Dragonaut Dub” isn’t quite as weed-centric, but it’s still beautifully baked.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
