Al Cisneros of SLEEP | Photo by Richard Giraldi

Once guitarist Matt Pike ripped into the blusey, slink-riff of “Dragonaut” from Sleep’s 1993 album, Sleep’s Holy Mountain, all bets were off. Marijuana smoke billowed up from the black T-shirted crowd and devil horns rocked back and forth in unison. Shirtless with only jeans and converse, Pike hunched down and snarled toward the crowd, while on the left side of the stage bassist and vocalist Al Cisneros spoke the lyrics, “The reptile pushes itself out into space/ Leaving behind, the human race”, like marching orders. It was at this moment that the band’s name seemed so ironic, as there was certainly no way any human being could “sleep” through this torrential, crawling riff assault.

Sleep give the term “power trio” a run for its money. Before the show even started, the stage’s three bass amplifier stacks with matching cabs and two guitar amplifier stacks were an ominous sign of what was to come.

The band stepped on the stage promptly at 9 p.m., and Pike wasted no time in rustling up some noise and feedback by flicking the pick-up selector on his guitar back and forth. A few minutes later, he launched into a barrage of grinding riffs. When Pike, Cisneros and drummer Jason Roeder hit their first full head of steam, the sound was so menacing and so aggressive that those in the front row might have found standing at the edge of the O’Hare’s runway more tolerable on their ears.

What makes Sleep’s version of stoner metal so beastly is that there’s no middle ground whatsoever in their songs. There are brief lulls from the scorched earth riffage, as in the beginning of “From Beyond”, also from Sleep’s Holy Mountain, but it was only long enough for the crowd to catch their breath. The slow-chugging bass intro in “From Beyond” took only mere seconds to explode into a white wall of deep fuzz that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Matt Pike of SLEEP | Photo by Richard Giraldi

If there’s any complaint about Sleep’s performance, it’s that at times Cisneros’ bass and Pike’s guitar were so powerful that Roeder’s big backbeat got lost in the mix. And for such heavy tunes that Sleep were pumping out, a much more up-front rhythm section would have served them well. This could have been more the venue’s mixing issue than the band’s playing level. But for the most part, the drums did come out clean most of the night as Roeder’s throbbing cymbal crashes and snare attacks were unrelenting.

Cisneros spoke maybe two words, which were “Thank You”, to the crowd, but the night wasn’t about crowd interaction. It was about ear-splitting guitar, stomach-rumbling bass and thundering drums to which Sleep definitely fulfilled their end of the bargain.

It’s quite something to see a band that haven’t been an actual cohesive unit in over 13 years perform like it’s still 1995. Plus, it’s nice to see Pike can still find his way around a six-string after utilizing a custom nine-string guitar in his main project, High On Fire. Luckily, Chicago will see Pike sooner than later when he returns with High On Fire just next month. For now though, let those sludgy moments of Sleep sink in and give the ears a rest.