SLEEPBOMB PREMIERE THE LAST SINGLE OFF ‘THE SLEEPING DEAD’ LP(DUE TO RELEASE IN 2025) – ‘REFUGE/RESIST’. |
| Getting closer to the release of ‘The Sleeping Dead’ LP on January 24, 2025, the doom/post-metal band presents the last of the series of the singles. Available from now on. |
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“A rather Heavy Psych kind of thing, with several melancholic passages guiding the audience onwards with only a few smaller eruptions here and there. Claire Hamard’s hypnotic vocal melodies and many spherical synth parts show how much these
people understand the necessity of avoiding full-blast-mode all the time in order to establish mood.” — Veil of Sound |
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| ‘Refuge/Resist is like the film itself’ – explains Clair Hamard. ‘Alternating long, uncertain pauses with both dramatic and physical tension. Just like the scene in the movie that presents characters at complete odds with each other building up a precarious shelter threatened by the zombies amassing outside, the harmonic construction of this track is constantly challenged by an imminent dissonant attack.’ |
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| With every moment of calmness, supported by repetitive drone-sounds, Sleepbomb deliver the symbiosis of etherial vocal harmonies and agressive riffing. While the absence of any real resolution at the end of the track heralds the future failure of the plan hatched by the characters, unable to cooperate. |
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| According to bassist, Tim Gotch, ‘Refuse/Resist’ reflects the dichotomy of the film ‘as a whole’. “It begins as a refuge for Barbara, who enters the seemingly deserted house while fleeing from the zombie. She quickly discovers that the house is less of a refuge than she thought, exacerbated by the abrupt arrival of Ben. Ben quickly proves himself to not be a threat as he dispatches multiple zombies.” |
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| Subtitled “Excerpts from their score for George Romero’s 1968 ‘Night of the Living Dead” and based on their full length score for the film, The Sleeping Dead is an epic serving of filmic doom. Starting with the drum parts fully synchronized with the cinematic imagery, during the recording process each track was pared down to the essential character of each scene from the most influential zombie film of them all. ‘Unlike ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’, we knew that the final product would not be a fully synchronized score due to rights issues and the large amount of dialogue in the film.’ states Sleepbomb‘s Tim Gotch. ‘This meant that we were able to edit down some of the longer sections into a “song” format and really focus on the feel of the scenes for The Sleeping Dead record itself rather than retaining the full length of tracks just for timing requirements.’ |
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| Recorded, mixed and mastered at Earhammer Studios by Greg Wilkinson (High on Fire, Autopsy), The Sleeping Dead shows Sleepbomb in a heavy, focused mood. Pre-order ‘The Sleeping Dead’ coming out this January 24 via Koolarrow/Consouling Sounds here. Or on Bandcamp here. |
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| Photo credits: Fred Aube. |
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| Sleepbomb is a San Francisco-based psychedelic doom project focused on full, original scores for genre films including the German Expressionist silent masterpieces – The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu and Metropolis. Historically a live experience, Sleepbomb has performed their scores across the West coast of the US since 2003 and now has set their sights on expanding to the East coast and the world for 2025. |
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| Originally stylistically close to a chaotic version of Throbbing Gristle vs Black Sabbath, Sleepbomb has been exploring experimental sounds and forms, guided by the band’s love of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Coil, Neurosis, Sunn 0))), Ulver and Swans, among others. Settling on a drone influenced style of doom metal as the overarching theme while exploring other genres as appropriate for each film’s particular style, Sleepbomb’s goal is to re-contextualize the experience of these well-known films. They succeed in this goal. |
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| Sleepbomb joined Bill Gould’s Koolarrow records and Belgium’s Consouling Sounds in 2023 for the release of their score for the classic 1920 German Expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. They are overjoyed to repeat this collaboration for their January 2025 release of The Sleeping Dead: excerpts from an alternate score for George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead! |
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● Charlie Hernandez: guitars
● Tim Gotch: basses, synths
● Rob Johnson: drums and percussion.
● Claire Hamard: vocals, synths, electronics |
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