Leagues Beneath
{{Infobox song
| name = Leagues Beneath
| cover = Leagues Beneath (2018).jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Sleep
| album =
| released = {{Start date|2018|05|23}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Doom metal|stoner metal}}
| length = {{Duration|m=16|s=44}}
| label = {{hlist|Williams Street|Third Man}}
| writer = Al Cisneros
- Matt Pike
- Jason Roeder{{cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/895747146|title=ASCAP Repertory entry for this song |work=ASCAP|accessdate=May 14, 2021 }}
| producer =
| prev_title = The Clarity
| prev_year = 2014
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = Leagues_Beneath_(2018).ogg
}}
}}
"Leagues Beneath" is a single by the American stoner doom band Sleep. The song was released for free digitally on May 23, 2018 through Adult Swim's 2017 singles series,{{cite web|last1=Blais-Billie|first1=Braudie|title=Sleep Share New Song 'Leagues Beneath': Listen|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/sleep-share-new-song-leagues-beneath-listen/|work=Pitchfork|date=23 May 2018 |accessdate=May 24, 2018}} marking Sleep's second entry following 2014's "The Clarity".{{cite web|last1=Helman|first1=Peter|title=Sleep – 'Leagues Beneath'|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1997680/sleep-leagues-beneath/music/|work=Stereogum|date=23 May 2018 |accessdate=May 24, 2018}} "Leagues Beneath" was released a month after the band's 2018 return album, The Sciences, which marked Sleep's first full-length studio release in twenty years.{{cite web|last1=Camp|first1=Zoe|title=Hear Sleep's Smoldering New One-Off Song 'Leagues Beneath'|url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/hear-sleeps-smoldering-new-one-song-leagues-beneath|work=Revolver|date=23 May 2018 |accessdate=May 24, 2018}} Later in 2018, "Leagues Beneath" was released on etched vinyl through Third Man Records.{{cite web |last1=Cush |first1=Andy |title=Sleep's 'Leagues Beneath' Is Coming to Vinyl via Third Man Records |url=https://www.spin.com/2018/08/sleep-leagues-beneath-third-man-colored-vinyl/ |publisher=Spin |accessdate=August 18, 2018}}{{cite web |title=Sleep's 'Leagues Beneath' Limited Aquamarine Vinyl Available in Select Stores |date=14 August 2018 |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/sleeps-leagues-beneath-limited-aquamarine-vinyl-available-in-select-stores/ |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |accessdate=August 18, 2018}}
Composition
Musically, "Leagues Beneath" is a long, slow epic that begins with B-tuned guitar and gradually builds by introducing new elements. Al Cisneros' vocals are not heard until nearly six minutes into the track. After the song's protracted crescendo, it concludes with a somber passage where layers strip away and give way to clean, psychedelic string sounds. Phil Witmer of Vice praised "Leagues Beneath", writing that it is "possibly bigger than anything on The Sciences",{{cite web|last1=Witmer|first1=Phil|title=Sleep's New Song 'Leagues Beneath' Is an Aquatic Doom Epic|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/sleep-leagues-beneath-new-song-2018/|work=Vice|access-date=May 24, 2018}} and Brock Thiessen of Exclaim! called it "sprawling" and "a total scorcher".{{cite web|last1=Thiessen|first1=Brock|title=Sleep Release New 16-Minute-Plus Epic "Leagues Beneath"|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/sleep_release_new_16-minute-plus_epic_leagues_beneath|work=Exclaim!|accessdate=May 24, 2018}} Revolver wrote that the song is "droning, transcendental, [and] punctuated with next-level riffing."{{cite web|title=6 New Songs You Need to Hear This Week: 5/25/18|url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/6-new-songs-you-need-hear-week-52518|work=Revolver|date=25 May 2018 |accessdate=May 28, 2018}} At nearly seventeen minutes, "Leagues Beneath" is the group's longest track since 1999's "Dopesmoker" and, by some metrics, constitutes an EP.{{cite web|last1=Kennelty|first1=Greg|title=Sleep Releases New 16-Minute Song 'Leagues Beneath,' Which Was Not On Their New Album The Sciences|url=http://www.metalinjection.net/av/new-music/sleep-releases-new-16-minute-song-leagues-beneath-which-was-not-on-their-new-albumthe-sciences|work=Metal Injection|date=23 May 2018 |accessdate=May 24, 2018}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| title1 = Leagues Beneath
| length1 = 16:44
}}
Personnel
Sleep
- Al Cisneros – vocals, bass
- Matt Pike – guitars
- Jason Roeder – drums
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.adultswim.com/music/singles-2017/59 "Leagues Beneath"] at Adult Swim
{{Sleep (band)}}
{{authority control}}