Zac's "Quik Drag": Sleestak

Sleestak: Book of Hours 

Sleestak is back! And I must say in a fresh and very experimental way. After dropping the phenomenal Fall of Altrusia in 2011, these Milwaukee natives released a lo-fi collection of space rock ditties, entitled Altrusian Moon in 2012, get yourself over to bandcamp to stream Altrusian Moon if you missed it. Further challenging themselves Sleestak have continued their yearly release with Book of Hours, earlier this year. Further challenging their listeners, Sleestak have taken one step away from their doom and stoner roots to quench the progressive fire blazing in their psyche. With that being said there are still loads distorted RIFF'ing and repetitive grooves. New to the Sleestak arsenal is a very operatic and Phantom of the Opera style ambiance, dark and authentic. Something that I, personally, am missing in Book of Hours is Matt Schmitz's tremendous gritty and vehement vocal delivery. Don't let that keep you away from Book of Hours though. Schmitz's cleans surface with a vibrant Jim Morrison vibe. Sleestak haven't only employed experimental song structures and timing in Book of Hours, they have also departed from their familar lengthy run times for a snappy and poppier form of psychedelic rock, this latest piece runs under the twenty-five minute mark. Be sure to spin my favorite track Lone Wolf, the regular version. This steady blues based track begins with a haunting spoken piece of poetry, which brings to my mind a deranged soul drenched in whiskey entertaining his thoughts of freedom. Lone Wolf takes a sudden turn to experimental region of the netherworld with a smooth transition from blues driven guitar RIFF'ing into an Jethro Tull and Opeth-ian inspired jazz measure. Don't miss it!

Members: 

Dan Bell - Bass 

Marcus Bartell - Drums 

Matt Schmitz - Guitar // Vocals // Keys

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Zac's Favorite 10 of 2011:

Wow, another year come and gone... I've accomplished a lot in this year to remember "2011". From getting married to a wonderful woman to walking the cobble-stone streets of Poland and Czech Republic. I've drank some good brews, attended some excellent shows (including experiencing 3 phenomenal cellist covering Zepplin on the Charles Bridge in Prague, CZ), listened to some good tunes, and some... not so good. One thing is definite, my knowledge (and library) of music has grown... exponetially. Most of that is thanks to Reg and Heavy Planet.

Soooo, anyone interested to see my favorite picks of this bountiful year for music? Continue on...

10.) MonstrO
I'm just going to pull an excerpt from Seth's awesome review: "These songs are layered, psychedelic, thick, and drunk with emotion." How could this not be a favorite of mine?!
Favorite Track: Stallone



9.) Black Cobra - Invernal
Seth sum's it up pretty well. "I'm sure you're all still a little stunned, a shade confused, and perhaps completely fucking drained." Listening to Black Cobra's 2011 release is a taxing exercise, and I mean that in the best possible way. Think twice about listening to Invernal with a hangover.
Favorite Track: Beyond



8.) Machine Head - Unto the Locust
I know this one might not be up everyone's 'alley', but Machine Head have produced and delievered, consecutively, three excellent albums. Unto the Locust is the third and not quite as good as their magnum opus The Blackening. None the less heavy as hell, and carrying the American thrash torch.
Favorite Track: I Am Hell (Sonata in C#)



7.) Borracho - Splitting Sky
Take Toby's recommendation on this one, "...is that you get onboard with this one right now…because chances are, you’ll be paying good money to hear Borracho play it “in its entirety” ten years from now. Splitting Sky is an instant classic. It’ll blow your mind that this whole thing started out as a side project."
Favorite Track: All In Play



6.) Gentleman's Pistols - At Her Majesty's Pleasure
Looking for a refresh of the sound of classic rock? Luckily Gentleman's Pistols release "At Her Majesty's Pleasure". Chock full of excellent rockin' grooves lets raise a pint to these Englishmen. Favorite Track: I Wouldn't Let You




5.) Liturgy - Aesthethica
I could make some enemies with my number five, Liturgy's Aesthethica. Somehow, over the years, hipsters got into black metal... I don't know how it happened or why, hell I'm really not into black metal (and I've been devout in my metal faith). Just as rare as hipsters getting into black metal, a hand-ful of Brooklyn hipsters got together and made a black metal band (kinda...), and it works... really well. Although coming off slightly pretentious, Liturgy have pushed forward a somewhat stale genre.
Favorite Track: Veins of God






4.) Totimoshi - Avenger
After listening to Avenger I knew this was something special and immediately hoped I'd see Totimoshi on more Best of 2011... lists. To sum this one up, "Totimoshi has delivered a taste of every genre on this inventive and versatile record."
Favorite Track: Snag







3.) Sleestak - The Fall of Altrusia
The Fall of Altrusia came to me as a surprise left hook. I wasn't ready for journey the guys in Sleestak were takin' me on. Enthralled by the orchastration and intensity, I knew this was "Best of 2011" material, for me.
Favorite Track: The entire damn album!





2.) Elder - Dead Roots Stirring
"For the music nerd in me, this album has everything. Great song writing, check. Mammoth riffage, yep! Cosmic psychedelia, got it. Clean production, yes. Extraordinary artwork, check." I was almost positive, upon listening to Elder's Dead Roots Stirring, that this was the best we were going to hear all year. Well, the youngsters in Elder came awfully close and it was extremely difficult placing them second on my favorites of 2011...
Favorite Track: Again, the entire damn album!



which bring us to my #1...



1.) Atlas Moth - An Ache for the Distance
I didnt' stumble onto Atlas Moth's An Ache for the Distance until late October. Honestly, the artwork caught my attention first and I slowly began to recall (well before I started writing for HP) Reg introducing the guys from Chicago's first album A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky and all the positive points. Well, needless to say, after many "Jackyl and Hyde" arguments inside this rattled skull of mine of who to give my #1 spot to it came down to the forward thinking, genre bending, Atlas Moth.
Favorite Track: Perpetual Generations



I must say again, that list was extremely difficult to put together. There have been multiple Earth-shattering records released this year in metal, and as a whole the genre has been pushed into a new direction, leaving us excited to see what's coming in 2012. Thanks for the awesome year to all the musicians, bands, fans, blogs, and readers!

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Yes, I'm long winded, but I thought I would also share some other musical treats that I have been digging in 2011 (in no particular order). Take a look, let me and the other guys at Heavy Planet know what you dug this year.

Barn Burner - Bangers II: Scum of the Earth

Butch Walker & the Black Widows - The Spade

Chelsea Wolfe - Apokalypsis

Cynic - Carbon Based Anatomy EP

The Dive

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Fran Capitanelli - Kave Talk

Ginger Trees - Along with the Tide

Lo-Pan - Salvador

Mastodon - The Hunter

40 Watt Sun - The Inside Room

Album Review - Sleestak: The Fall of Altrusia

I like concept albums. Allow me to reiterate, I love concept albums. There is something very rewarding in an album that intertwines a theme throughout its run-time, lyrical content, instrumentation, and artwork... something that pulls you in for more than a mere three minutes and forty seven seconds... something that tells a story... something that, when done well (see concept albums: Pink Floyd; The Wall, Animals, Queensryche; Operation: Mindcrime, Mastodon; Crack the Skye), draws you into an intimate relationship with the piece of music.

Sleestak's "The Fall of Altrusia" is outstanding and has completely taken me by surprise. It is exactly what I want in a "concept album". From the moment the first notes graced my ears, I was captivated. Sleestak fuses hulking grooves with cosmic psychedelia. I consider Sleestak a "jam band", but in the most positive way. "Jam bands" will tend to get carried away with a drawn out jam session and the listener can become bored, Sleestak is nothing of this type and their influences from Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd are noticeable, but never define their sound.

"The Fall of Altrusia" runs approximately fifty minutes as one song. The song is broken into seven chapters, which I find refreshing and new in concept, metal albums. This, in addition to the excellent artwork and lyric notes should completely pull us into Sleestak's story "The Fall of Altrusia". The songs, or I should say chapters, run fluidly into and through each other. "The Fall of Altrusia" intensifies and diminishes with heavy guitar driven moments and cosmic interludes and so goes the vocals. Matt Schmitz vocal presence must be noted. His overpowering roar compliments Sleestak's orchestration during the vehement scenes and recedes into a cleanly sung tone with the transition into a placid soundscape. The Fall of Altrusia climaxes with "Chapter 6 - The Marshall Prophecy" and subsides into obscurity in "Chapter 7 - Pakuni Shaman Chant of The Altrusian Moth". "The Marshall Prophecy" is tremendous in depth and texture as it is in run-time (closing in around 17 minutes). A track this magnitude could easily be compared to Pink Floyd's "Echoes".

I must apologize to these 'gents from Milwaukee, Sleestak. I've taken too long to get the word out about "The Fall of Altrusia". Hell, I've been missing out on this album for too long! Without further ado, the best concept album of the year (and undoubtedly in my top ten) , "The Fall of Altrusia".

**10 out of 10**

Matt Schmitz - vocals / guitar

Dan Bell - bass

Marcus Bartell - drums

Brian Gresser - guitar

Jon Landis - violin (session)

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New Band To Burn One To - Sleestak

 

As also seen on The Soda Shop

Todays New Band To Burn One To is Sleestak. They are from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and play an experimental/psychedelic/metal. They have some pretty heavy and trippy tunes. Definitely a good one to listen to when passing fatty around with your best buds (pun intended).

DOOM. PSYCHEDELIA. STONER ROCK. The three terms which solidify and justify the existence of this musical anomaly known as SLEESTAK.

Formed in late 2003 with former members of Sixinch, Atomic Number 9, and Planet Delirium, Sleestak have become one of the midwest's most unique bands, gaining fans in the region and abroad with their metal/psychedelic fused doom rock. Sometimes labeled a "metal jam band", the band often delve into the bluesy realms of improvisation and embrace free-flowing instrumentals, taking the music into epic mind-altering depths. Through live demos, bootlegs, and studio recordings over the past couple years, Sleestak have garnered radio play, media praise, and positive comparisons to Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Clutch, Monster Magnet, Isis, Colour Haze, The Melvins, Godflesh, Ten Years After, and other groups that thrive on experimentation, originality, and heaviness.

The "Skylon Express" full length album was officially released May 2010 in digital format worldwide and can be found on iTunes, Amazon, Napster, eMusic, MediaNet, Shockhound, and other digital media outlets. Featuring 8 songs that span the first 4 years of the band's existence showcasing a disregard for a standard style of music and a sure love of strangeness and experimentation. One thing is certain - it's HEAVY.

2010 also brings the band's next studio effort "The Fall Of Altrusia", set to begin recording in mid-July. This will not be a typical album by any standard. One can expect a journey, an experience like no other that will take the listener for a mind trip of emotions for nearly 60 minutes. Greatly influenced by other epic long-playing compositions from the likes of Cathedral, Sleep, Ufomammut, and Pink Floyd, "The Fall Of Altrusia" promises to deliver the psychotropic goods.

And deliver the goods they do