Is Sleep’s Dopesmoker still the heaviest album of all time?

of sleep dope smoker Legendarily heavy. On any decent sound system, your ribcage will rattle. It’s like a massage chair slowly assaulting you. In 2015 guitar world It has been named the heaviest album ever recorded. “You’ll never find anything heavier,” wrote Ethan Varian.

On November 6th, for no particular reason, I felt like taking on the challenge.

I wanted a riff that would flatten me. I listened to 26 very heavy albums recommended to me by friends and strangers. Four challengers advanced to the semifinals, and I listened to their stories one after another. dope smoker. One album was so heavy that I listened to it three times in a row.

And I have to say this. I found something heavier.

But before we can get started, we need to discuss it first. heavy Aesthetically. Heavy is somehow not the same. cruel or offensive. The point is that they are getting into more and more trouble: rhabdomyolysis, osteolysis, being left crushed on the pavement.

dope smoker This is the standard by which I measure myself. It’s such a powerful album that if you listen to it drug smoker, That’s all I do. The 2022 album, which is a remastered version for streaming services, consists of two songs, ‘Dopesmoker’ and ‘Hot Lava Man’.

‘Dopesmoker’ is a song that is over an hour long. It features a pounding megalithic riff that changes slightly with each repetition. It’s probably the loudest minimalist composition I’ve ever heard. The guitar is downtuned two steps from standard tuning, making the sound more dense. There are often a ton of bass guitars making sounds. even heavier.

The song moves like a granite statue coming to life. The guitar, bass, and vocal tracks all move together like a hymn. It takes eight minutes to get to the iconic first line: “Get out of life with a baton in your hand.” The vocals sound like they are singing. The drums are recessed in the mix (the cymbals are the most noticeable) and are fairly simple.

‘Dope smoker’ thick. It’s also slow. That’s what makes it so instinctive. The guitar solo is nice, but doesn’t really carry the weight. In most cases, this makes the leaves relatively heavier.

While meeting or exceeding these standards heavyThe most common suggestion I received was from Electric Wizard. dopetrone, Bonripper’s destruction of satanic worship, And Boris’s Amplifier worship. I’ve dropped every possible suggestion into a Spotify playlist and made a note of the ones I should listen to on Bandcamp. Some bands, like Sunn O))) and The Body, have multiple entries.

Listening to all 26 albums in my collection was a slow process. only I heard. This wasn’t background music. Normally, I would sit down and focus on the album, one song a day.

If all controversial albums had to be separated by a common musical lineage, it’s Black Sabbath. (Huh?) There is a kind of purist quality to Sabbath worship. This is especially true for the Church of Misery and Stoner Metal subgenres. One of the other albums under consideration was that of Godflesh. street sweeperIt’s something that stands out in this context. It was surrounded by clearly inspired material. Two other bands I’d like to point out as having shaped my pursuit of heaviness are the Melvins and Sunn O))), which were the only bands that scared my cat.

The heaviest tracks I heard while exploring were aggressively anti-commercial. It’s hard to imagine it being played on corporate radio. black bond angels Verdun It’s a song that’s almost 52 minutes long. Khanate’s self-titled album seems completely uninterested in concepts like ‘groove’, ‘song structure’ and ‘spirit’. shallow north dakota mob wheel I’m in trouble.

famously, dope smoker It was not released initially because it had no commercial prospects. London Records promised Sleep full creative control, but shelved the album as soon as they heard it. (This was one of the tensions that led to the band’s breakup.)

The slowness that makes the music really heavy contrasts with TikTok-based music. TikTok usually speeds things up if you’re not already optimistic. It was refreshing to experience music that felt persistent in itself.

While I was listening, four competitors appeared. amplifier worshiphellish Live from RoadburnBonripper’s free, And The Body / Thou collaboration Liberated from love / You, whom I always hated.

I thought that might be the case. dope smoker It was basically the pinnacle. It was a testament to an aesthetic that no one is trying to achieve anymore. but free From 2024, Live from Roadburn It was released in 2018, I’m free from love / I always hated you It is from 2015.

To prepare for the semi-finals, I listened to each album back to back. dope smokerThis makes judgment incredibly easy. amplifier worship, free and free from love I was knocked out almost immediately.

This left me with Hell’s. roadburn live. It’s an odd choice since it’s basically a live version of Hell’s self-titled album, but it’s definitely heavier, especially the songs “Subodin” and “Machikitos.” This may be partly because live songs perform differently than studio versions. Especially since instead of Matthew S. Williams recording with MSW, the band does all the parts themselves.

Live from Roadburn It’s not as heavy as Hell’s self-titled one. It’s heavier than that too Drug smoker.

So what is rendering? roadburn Is it heavier? First of all, the guitar is literally tuned lower. In my opinion, it’s better to drop an A than to drop a C. roadburn With frequent use of repetition, there are also changes in tempo, usually slowing down (“Helmzmen” is a sort of grinding pause). Here’s some more vague feedback:

But the deciding factor is the drums, which are much higher in the mix. roadburn See more drug smoker, That means I can do it feel Bass and Tom. Especially on “Machitikos,” where pounding drums thicken and underline a guitar solo.

For other purists, my verdict may be questionable. I’m considering it eventually drum to leaf based middle. But there are only so many ways to get it. heavyThis makes the drums too fast for swimmers, making them equivalent to the full-body swimsuits banned by the Olympics. roadburn If the drums are lower in the mix, they’re probably heavier still. maybe — But the drums play a decisive role.

Listen to both albums back to back on good speakers. (Headphones don’t do the job here.) Once you get the feel for it, roadburn I don’t think there’s any debate about the sternum. Spending two hours listening to music as an activity rather than doing anything else is something people should do more often. The music is still powerful if you’re willing to pay attention.