Asbestos Death
Dejection/Unclean

In the beginning, there were Asbestos Death, the legendary formation featuring Al Cisneros on vocals/bass, Chris Hakius on drums, Matt Pike on vocals/guitar, and Tom Choe on guitar. They were the embryonic part of that sacred monster called Sleep which would soon offer sustenance to all those consumers of Offbeat Doom.

Still devoted to Sabbatical music and their distorted riffs, Asbestos Death play uncompromising music without frills, a mighty Doom Metal that allows for moments of sick psychedelia and trippy journeys. The tracks on this new double EP, reissued by Southern Lord in a single format, reveal to us who Sleep were even before "Volume One." The cover of the first side is that of "Dejection," initially released by Profane Existence, featuring two tracks, opening with the apparent calm of "Nail", and ending with the instrumental "Scourge". The second side, "Unclean," includes "Anguish" and "The Suffering" which will end up on "Volume One", totally self-produced, showing us a band even heavier and angrier, characterized by Al's borderline vocals.

In short, an absolute must-have CD, even for those who may not know Sleep.