Sleep is an American stoner/doom metal band from San Jose, California. Guitarist Matt Pike and bassist and vocalist Al Cisneros have been the only constant members throughout the band's history. Critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes them as "perhaps the ultimate stoner rock band" and notes they exerted a strong influence on metal in the 1990s.
Tim Skold is a Swedish musician and record producer who produces solo work and has also collaborated with multiple musical groups including Shotgun Messiah, KMFDM, Marilyn Manson and Motionless in White.
Brendon Small is an American actor, stand-up comedian, writer, director, producer, and musician who is known for co-creating the animated series Home Movies and Metalocalypse. He also writes the music, and is the main performer for the fictional melodic death metal band Dethklok, which began as the subject of Metalocalypse but has taken on a life of its own, with four albums and an occasional live touring band, headed by Small. Small has also released two albums under his own name, in a similar musical style to Dethklok.
Leif Edling is a Swedish musician, best known as the bassist, main songwriter and one of the founding members of the epic doom metal band Candlemass. He is the only constant member of the band since its inception to the present day. Nevertheless, since the band's second reunion in 2002 Edling has been backed up again by founding rhythm guitarist Mats Björkman, who had been absent from 1997 to 2002.
Al Cisneros is an American musician. He is the lead singer and bassist for stoner rock/doom metal bands Sleep and Om. He also was a member of Shrinebuilder and Asbestosdeath and has put out nine releases as a solo artist.
Orange Goblin are an English heavy metal band from London. Formed in 1995, the band's lineup currently consists of singer Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, drummer Chris Turner, and bassist Harry Armstrong. Their most recent album Science, Not Fiction was released in July 2024.
High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with their song "Electric Messiah". The band has released nine studio albums, with their newest, Cometh the Storm, released in 2024.
Jeff Loomis is an American musician, best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Nevermore during its existence from 1991 to 2011, as well as brief tenures in its precursor, Sanctuary. In 2014, he joined Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, and in 2021 he joined Graham Bonnet's Alcatrazz as well. He left Arch Enemy in 2023. As a solo artist he has released two albums and one EP.
Christopher Louis Hakius is an American retired rock drummer best known for his work in Om and Sleep.
Dethklok is a fictional melodic death metal band featured in the Adult Swim animated television series Metalocalypse, known for its satirical or parodic lyrical themes.
The Sword was an American heavy metal band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2003, the band was composed of vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III for most of its tenure. Originally signed to Kemado Records, the group released their debut album Age of Winters in 2006, the material for which had been largely written by Cronise prior to the band's formation. Gods of the Earth was released two years later, giving the group its first entry on the US Billboard 200 chart when it reached number 102.
Blessed Black Wings is the third studio album by American heavy metal band High on Fire. It would be the only with Joe Preston on bass who would be replaced by Jeff Matz.
The Art of Self Defense is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band High on Fire. It was released originally by Man's Ruin Records in 2000.
William Brent Hinds is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor.
Asbestosdeath was an American doom metal band from San Jose, California, the precursor to the highly influential band Sleep.
Underminded is an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California. The band has been on hiatus since 2007 as its members concentrate on other projects. Frontman Nick Martin was in Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows, and has been in Sleeping With Sirens since originally filling in for them in 2013. Drummer Tanner Wayne has been the drummer for In Flames since 2018.
Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep.
Jerusalem and Dopesmoker are two versions of the third studio album by the American stoner doom band Sleep. The former title was released in 1999 by The Music Cartel and the latter was released by Tee Pee Records in 2003. The music for these albums comprises an extended hour-length piece, developed over four years and recorded in 1996 under the auspices of Sleep's label at the time, London Records. When recording had completed, London was unhappy with the finished product and refused to release it, leading to Sleep's disbandment and the album surfacing on bootlegs and unauthorized indie releases in subsequent years. All versions of the album received very positive reception from music critics, who described it as a high-water mark in both the stoner metal and doom metal genres.
Lions were an American rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 2005. The lineup consists of singer Matt Drenik, guitarist Austin Kalman and drummer Jake Perlman. Trevor Sutcliffe was Lions' bassist from their formation until his departure in 2009, where he was replaced by Mike Sellman. The band formed following the breakup of The Good Looks, the previous band of both Drenik and Perlman.
Electric Messiah is the eighth studio album by American metal band High on Fire, released on October 5, 2018, through Entertainment One Music. It is the band's third album to be produced by Kurt Ballou, and it serves as a tribute to Lemmy Kilmister of the band Motörhead. On August 6, 2018, Electric Messiah's title track was released early for streaming. On October 3, 2018, the band released "Spewn from the Earth" as the album's second single. The song "Electric Messiah" won the Best Metal Performance at the 2019 Grammy Awards. It is the band's last album with founding drummer Des Kensel, who announced his departure in July 2019.
