Asbestosdeath Dejection Unclean

This four-song EP may be short in length, but what it lacks in quantity is made up for in history. Dejection Unclean is the complete discography of the band that directly spawned stoner/doom metal legends Sleep, consisting of two 7-inch recordings from 1989 (Unclean) and 1990 (Dejection). Before Sleep's Volume One was released in 1991, Al Cisneros, Chris Hakius, and Matt Pike were accompanied by guitarist Thomas Choi under the moniker of Asbestosdeath, and as one would assume, the material found on Dejection Unclean is a direct precursor to the groundbreaking Sleep record. And while most of the material from Dejection Unclean shows up in one form or another on Sleep's Volume One ("Scourge," "Anguish," and "The Suffering" all existed first in Asbestosdeath form), this EP tends to differ from much of Sleep's discography. The Sabbath-worship stoner metal is not as prevalent on Dejection Unclean, where instead grimy doom lays the musical foundation. These four tracks are incredibly raw in nature, yet still leave room for the placement of a number of surprisingly fitting clean guitar lines. The ominous clean guitar intro of "Nails" leads into a meandering bass-driven track that slowly develops grit before launching into a sludgy riff that Sleep fans have come to know and love. "Scourge" excels without vocals, and as it alternates between dark, subdued passages and crushing riffs soaked in dirty distortion, it's impossible to ignore the excellent unprocessed nature of this disc. The most impressive aspect of Dejection Unclean deals simply with its age. For being nearly twenty years old, this material is still as relevant to the stoner/doom scene as it was at its release, and when it resurfaced under the name of Sleep, it served to influence countless other acts in the genre. In that respect, this disc should be an essential part of any Sleep fanatic's collection, but at only four tracks in length, and most of them being reincarnated on Volume One, its material isn't necessarily going to turn the heads of the casual doom/stoner metal listener. However, the fact that Southern Lord took the time and money to dig up these recordings and give them a more widespread release is very admirable. Hopefully other labels will start to do the same with other rare and out of print material from key artists. Bottom Line: Asbestosdeath's Dejection Unclean is the precursor to Sleep's Volume One, and its heavy doom foundation and extremely raw nature should make it rather attractive to fans of the genre. Since most of Dejection Unclean ended up on Volume One, this EP might not be a necessity for the casual Sleep fan, but its re-release in a much more accessible format is definitely appreciated.