Review: Sleepbomb ‘The Sleeping Dead’
Compiling an end of year top ten is nigh on impossible as was proven by the fact that Sleepbomb‘s last album the superb The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari only managed to make it as an honourable mention in my 2023 list. It would have been included as one of my top albums of the year had the competition not been so stiff.

The San Francisco outfit’s (Charlie Hernandez – guitars, Claire Hamard – keys/electronics/vocals, Tim Gotch – bass/synths and Rob Johnson on drums/percussion) passion for movies remains undimmed and this time around the focus is George Romero’s 1968 horror classic Night Of The Living Dead. The plot of said film (for those not in the know), centres around a group of unsuspecting people getting trapped in an old farmhouse after the dead unexpectedly rise from the grave. Unfortunately, according to bassist Tim Gotch ‘the final product would not be a fully synchronised score due to rights issues and the large amount of dialogue in the film’. However, I’m personally stoked to be covering it rights or no rights, so with that said…
Cemetery Song starts in a manner that slowly builds the song’s tension, reminiscent of the early ‘80s mournful post-punk gothic sparseness of The Cure’s Seventeen Seconds era. Around the four-minute mark is when the band gradually introduces heavier instrumentation ultimately leading to a crushing doom metal style finale. The track perfectly encapsulates the sense of terror felt by the film’s protagonists as the dead slowly start coming to life. A superb opener.
Refuge/Resist (not to be confused with the similarly titled Sepultura track from Chaos A.D.) is the longest track on the album and features Claire Hamard‘s beautifully ethereal vocals while the music has a shoegaze, or in this case, doomgaze vibe ala Nadja and Have a Nice Life. While not as brutal or extreme as those bands, it still manages to pack a punch in a manner which Sunn O))) fans will be able to appreciate. Superb.
an album of stunning depth and quality…
Flames From Afar showcases the band’s post-rock sensibilities, there’s even a little space rock thrown into the mix, think Godspeed! You Black Emperor jamming with Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream. A far lighter, atmospheric yet welcome sounding piece. It Was A Good Plan is a thunderous Neurosis post-metal epic with a quiet-loud dynamic. The track also recalls Italian progsters Goblin and their work on 1978’s Dawn Of The Dead were it filtered through Ufomammut and Yob. Needless to say, this is undoubtedly my favourite track on the album.
Emergency Broadcast Network is the shortest piece on the record at just over two minutes and really acts as an interlude. Despite its length, it’s still worth listening to as it recalls the ethereal beauty of bands such as Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine. The Basement Is The Safest Place has a hypnotic groove, the drumming reminding one of say John Bonham though with darker music, haunting vocals and a more ominous tone than that of Led Zeppelin’s.
Another One For The Fire appears to tip its hat to the wonderful mysteriousness of Twin Peaks (RIP David Lynch), the dream-pop of the late, great Julee Cruise and the ethereal wave of This Mortal Coil. An elegiac and profoundly moving conclusion to the album.
Requin Marco‘s stunning artwork may act as the album’s hook with which to draw the listener in, but this would be for naught were the music presented lacking in substance. Naturally for a band of Sleepbomb‘s calibre this isn’t the case as you are left with an album of stunning depth and quality.
Label: Consouling Sounds | Koolarrow Records
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Scribed by: Reza Mills