Hempispheres is the fifth studio album by the American stoner doom metal band Sleep. The album was digitally released on September 3, 2026, with physical copies set to be released on October 30, 2026, through Third Man Records. The album was preceded by the single "Have Spacesuit Will Travel (4:20 Flexi Edit)" that was released in June 2026 alongside a comic book written by Al Cisneros and illustrated by Dave Kloc and Arik Roper.
Background The album marks the first release of Sleep's new formation, consisting of vocalist Al Cisneros, guitarist Bubba Dupree and drummer Dale Crover, replacing Matt Pike and Jason Roeder.
Musically, the album maintains a reverence for Black Sabbath and Tony Iommi, while drawing on sonic traits evocative of acid blues and proto-metal from bands such as Cactus, Deep Purple and Hawkwind.
Critical reception Any Decent Music gave the album a weighted average score of 6.1 out of 10 from five critic scores. According to Metacritic, it received "generally favorable" reviews based on a weighted average score of 62 out of 100 from six critic scores.
Track listing
Personnel Credits are adapted from Tidal and Stereogum. Sleep Al Cisneros – lead vocals, electric bass guitar Dale Crover – drums Bubba Dupree – electric guitar
Production Toshi Kasai – engineering JJ Golden – mastering
Artwork cover illustration by Dan McCarthy
References