Band:	Sleep
Album:	Sleep's Holy Mountain
Style:	Stoner doom metal, Stoner metal
Release date:	November 01, 1992
Guest review by:	bossmanbob

01. Dragonaut
02. The Druid
03. Evil Gypsy/Solomon's Theme
04. Some Grass
05. Aquarian
06. Holy Mountain
07. Inside The Sun
08. From Beyond
09. Nain's Baptism
10. Snowblind [Black Sabbath cover] [bonus]
+ Dragonaut [video] [bonus]

Alongside Kyuss, Sleep is widely regarded as one of the two progenitors of stoner metal. The primary reason for this is their seminal album, Holy Mountain. Their third album, it marked a divergence from their earlier, more St. Vitus influenced, tracks. This album was sent to Earache as a demo, but the label immediately saw its worth and signed the band, releasing the album completely unchanged in 1992. Sadly, it would be the last album released by the group while together, as their next two albums would be released post-breakup.

The album oozes a strong stoner vibe from the time you look at the cover (which prominently displays cannabis leaves) to the time the last track cuts off. Lyrically, each song takes you on a fantastical voyage to numerous locations, whether to Mars on the back of a dragon in 'Dragonaut', or leaving Atlantis to touch the Sun in 'Aquarian'. Each track is a masterful example of the genre, leading you along with their psychedelic guitar riffs, a veritable pied-piper of pot. All the classic elements that would go on to make up the genre are present: strong grooves, long jams, heavy riffs, references to marijuana usage, but with an almost Southern twist flowing through it all, especially on the brief instrumental track 'Some Grass' which has a a distinct bluegrass sound to it. The vocals have a heavy, almost bluesy feel to them, as if they drifted up through a fog of smoke to reach your ears. The entire album has a sort of hazy quality to it, leaving some of the tracks less crisp than they could have been, which gives it a more appropriate feel I think. Too sharp and precise and this album would have lost a lot of its stoner feel.

Somewhat prophetically, within their tracks they seemed to predict the success of their album, and the coming formation of the stoner metal genre. On the title track the refrain "Look onto the rays of the new stoner sun rising" is heard twice, seemingly heralding the coming such bands as The Sword, Bongzilla, Hermano, and Weedeater.

Overall this is a great album and a must have for anyone into Stoner metal.