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HARBINGER

by Sleestak

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Each 'Harbinger' CD Package includes:
    1. A beautiful 6-panel digipak with CD, containing lyrics and info.
    2. Stickers.
    3. 11"x17" fold-out poster.
    4. Sleestak iron-on transfer.
    5. 10 random orders will get a Sleestak magnet.

    MORE IMAGES AND DETAILS ABOUT BONUS ITEMS COMING SOON.

    ONLY 100 OF THESE CD PACKAGES WILL BE AVAILABLE.

    Sorry about the shipping to our foreign neighbors, nothing we can do about those costs.

    Includes unlimited streaming of HARBINGER via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 100 

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 52 Sleestak releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Veriditas, Nostalgiamancer, HARBINGER, The Vesper Serpent, Illuminated Void, A Dreamer's Tales, Libris Arcanum, Ex Oblivione, and 44 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $67.44 USD or more (50% OFF)

     

1.
Harbinger 03:41
2.
Cast not thy pearls before the wretched swine Their ignorance flourishes like grapes on the vine It sits enthroned behind empty eyes Dispensing judgement and spreading lies Liminal - the space I occupy As the world around me remains frozen in time I see the masses relish being blind Never to truly see, never to try Every politician - all dark magicians Will drown in the fire when the serpent has risen Burn down the gates to the kingdom Then slay the gatekeepers of old And when the rulers try to reclaim their hold They are crushed under obsidian flow The philosopher's stone The source of every realized Individual soul Who holds it inside Those with ears to hear Those with eyes to see Blessed be, protected With the blackened armor of god
3.
If 08:43
(adapted from the Rudyard Kipling poem “IF”) If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when they all doubt you, But allow for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by it Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, don’t look too good, nor talk too wise If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son If you can dream and not make dreams your master; If you can think and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And kneeling down you build them up If you can make a pile of all your winnings And risk it on one game of pitch and toss And lose and start again from your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss f you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son
4.
The velvet sun fades far from me Casting a warm wind on my mind The rhythmic lapping at my feet Hypnotizes and leaves me lost in time Death touches gently on my hand And whispers faint the song of the sea Remembering a life, now spent walking endless sands Reminds me of who I'm supposed to be Mother, with ever-reaching arms, pulls at me Father, always scornful, unforgiving, delivers me Tossed among the waves, helpless, sinking down Serenity flows through my veins, forever ocean bound
5.
Northwoods 08:02
Mountain of the eternal sunset So near yet so far Surrounded by the strangest Ancient forest of stars Blood on the stone Altar of bone Sacrifice to entice them, revealed Chanting the drone Future is shown Prophecy yet to be seen is sealed Unaware Decendant from the sky Blank stare Inherently knowing why Monolith Stimulates the inner eye Basilisk Northwoods kingdom is thine Blood on the stone Altar of bone Sacrifice to entice them, revealed Chanting the drone Future is shown Prophecy yet to be seen is sealed Eye of the ever-sleeping mystic Open wide to the night Out of body wayward misfit Sees with inward sight Like moths to a flame Descend Embrace the abandoned Amen
6.
My Wild Love 08:55
My wild love went ridin' She rode all the day She wrote to the devil And asked him to pay The devil was wiser It's time to repent He asked her to give back The money she spent My wild love went ridin' She rode to the sea She gathered together Some shells for her head She rode and she rode on She rode for a while Then stopped for an evenin' And lay her head down She rode on to Christmas She rode to the farm She rode to Japan And reentered a town By this time the weather Had changed one degree She asked for the people To let her go free My wild love is crazy She screams like a bird She moans like a cat When she wants to be heard My wild love went ridin' She rode for an hour She rode and she rested And then she rode on
7.
Maya 10:26
darkness floods my eyes without so much as a warming touch concentric circles of time have turned and gone like a fleeting song where are all the things I knew? when once the sun became the moon, now shines into an empty room breathing shallow breathing angel of the burning sky with trumpets loud amidst the shifting clouds where does salvation lie? I sought for it far past the wandering stars life is naught but hell disguised a fever dream built on lies where all the fools become the wise reason empty reason I can see when I close my eyes the world I knew was blind I can see when I close my eyes the world I've left behind I can see when I close my eyes where the truth tries to hide I can see when I close my eyes eternity dwells inside
8.
Collapse 05:47
your sweet eyes, i hesitate in my arms life escapes it's so hard to let you go from this unfair world the emptiness you've left behind fills my mind, stopping time i'll see you soon wait for me i'll see you soon wait for me

about

Formed in the latter part of 2003, Sleestak started as a heavy rock band intent on delivering riffs in the vein of Clutch, Black Sabbath, and C.O.C. From the early days in the basement, with the many hours of open, free-for-all jamming, the band slowly gained their own identity and expanded their cumulative influences above and beyond the hard rock heroes they set out to emulate. More extreme and underground groups such as Isis, Sleep, Electric Wizard, Yob, Neurosis, and Esoteric were finding their way into the speakers and headphones of the band. Also, at once having an appreciation for that slower, sludge-filled pit that is Doom Metal, the band were drawn into the hypnotic voids of psychedelia created by the likes of Pink Floyd, The Doors, Dead Meadow, and Hawkwind. These elements have earned them the opportunity to share the stage and perform with the likes of Yob, Acid King, Black Cobra, Clutch, Totimoshi, High On Fire, and many, many more.

While many genre labels have been lain upon Sleestak, the one that the band embraces the most is “progressive doom”. This seems fitting as the group continually strives to push their creative limits, be forward in thinking, and ignoring current trends even within their own chosen genre. This became evident with the 2011 release of The Fall Of Altrusia. An epic concept album, Sleestak here were found to embrace and combine all aspects of their beloved influences and it became a turning point for the band. Subsequently gaining praise and critical acclaim for that album, it allowed them to be seen and heard amidst the smoke-choked sea of their peers.

In 2013, the band released their next studio album entitled Book Of Hours, which focused on songwriting, clean vocal stylings, and had a darker, more Sabbath-esque tone. After a number of years, much soul searching, and many hours of basement jamming, Sleestak started to intermittently record songs without any intention of releasing a proper album. However, in 2020, it appeared that the band had acquired enough cohesive material to release Aeon (the band's fourth studio album). The songs on Aeon ventured into previously unexplored territory, which showcased the group diving into heavier atmospheric sounds and synthesizer elements, and even included an extended version of Pink Floyd's "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" as the climactic closer of the album.

Shortly after Aeon's release, Sleestak began writing material for a follow-up album which would be entitled Harbinger and released in Summer of 2022. The songs on Harbinger highlight the band's evolution, maturation, and ultimate love for experimentation and genre-hopping.While there are a few Sabbathy arrangements thrown in for good measure, the attentive listener will be rewarded with doomy folk, ethereal psychedelic synth passages, soul-crushing guitar riffs, along with some of the most emotional material Sleestak have written to date.

What the future brings for Sleestak is still a near death/afterlife vision shrouded in mist, unclear in its scope or purpose. The path has been found and the journey continues…

credits

released July 26, 2022

SLEESTAK ARE:
MATT SCHMITZ - VOCALS, GUITAR, KEYS
MARCUS BARTELL - DRUMS
DAN BELL - BASS

ALL SONGS WRITTEN BY SLEESTAK, EXCEPT “MY WILD LOVE”, ORIGINALLY BY THE DOORS.

RECORDED AT HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN STUDIO, HARTFORD, WI. MIXED AND MASTERED BY MATT SCHMITZ.
DRUMS RECORDED AT SILVER CITY STUDIOS, MILWAUKEE, WI
AND MIXED BY JOSH EVERT AND MATT SCHMITZ.

SLEESTAK WEBSITES:
SLEESTAKMUSIC.COM
SLEESTAK.BANDCAMP.COM
YOUTUBE.COM/SLEESTAKOFFICIAL
FACEBOOK.COM/SLEESTAKOFFICIAL
TWITTER.COM/SLEESTAKMUSIC

ALTRUSIAN GRACE MEDIA WEBSITES:
ALTRUSIANGRACE.BANDCAMP.COM
YOUTUBE.COM/ALTRUSIANGRACEMEDIA

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Sleestak Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Doom from Milwaukee, WI

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