Sleep comeback lands: tour, comic series and first original music since 2018

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Sleep — one of the bands credited with defining modern doom and stoner metal — has returned with new music, a tie-in comic and a major North American tour this fall. The single “Have Spacesuit Will Travel” is out now, and the group arrives on stage in September with a reconfigured lineup that will shape how fans hear those familiar riffs live.

What changed and why it matters

The new track arrives via Third Man Records, and it’s being issued as a standalone release as well as a collectible flexi-disc bundled with the first issue of a comic book created by frontman Al Cisneros. That multimedia approach expands how Sleep presents its long-running riff-based mythology to listeners and readers alike.

More consequential for the band’s sound, though, is a personnel shift. Cisneros continues as the group’s singer, bassist and principal songwriter, but co-founder and guitarist Matt Pike is no longer part of the project. Filling the guitar role is Bubba Dupree, best known for his work with Maryland hardcore act Void. On drums, Dale Crover — who has been a longtime member of the Melvins — will perform in place of Jason Roeder, who has returned to focus on Neurosis.

Lineup changes of this scale can alter both the live dynamic and the studio chemistry. Pike’s playing has long been a defining element of Sleep’s identity; this new configuration signals an intentional forward step by Cisneros and a possible evolution in how the band interprets its catalog on stage and in forthcoming recordings.

New release: “Have Spacesuit Will Travel” — digital and flexi-disc (bundled with Sleep Comic Book Issue #1).

Comic: Written by Al Cisneros; artwork by Dave Kloc and Arik Roper; story follows the Marijuanaut on Planet Iommia.

Lineup: Al Cisneros (vocals, bass), Bubba Dupree (guitar), Dale Crover (drums).

Tour: North American run begins September 8 in San Diego and closes November 17 in Washington, D.C., including an appearance at Austin’s Levitation festival.

Sleep Comic Book and the Marijuanaut

The band’s first comic project expands on themes fans will recognize from Sleep’s lyrics and album art. Issue #1 introduces a protagonist called the Marijuanaut and sketches a mythic world that the press materials describe as resonant with the band’s riff-driven narrative universe. The release is available both as a single comic and as a limited bundle that includes a poster, a signed bookplate and designed rolling papers alongside the collectible flexi-disc.

For listeners, the comic represents another way to engage with the band’s creative language — a deliberate move toward multimedia storytelling rather than a simple merchandise add-on.

Tour snapshot

The fall itinerary brings Sleep to major markets across the U.S. and Canada. Below are the announced dates and venues; the schedule spans West Coast, central U.S. and eastern runs, ending in the nation’s capital.

Date	City	Venue
Sep 8	San Diego, CA	The Observatory North Park
Sep 13	Austin, TX	Levitation (festival)
Sep 28	Los Angeles, CA	The Wiltern
Sep 30	—	—
Nov 4	Minneapolis, MN	First Avenue
Nov 10	Montreal, QC	Club Soda
Nov 16	Brooklyn, NY	Brooklyn Paramount
Nov 17	Washington, D.C.	Lincoln Theatre

Note: the above table highlights selected stops; the band’s full list of dates includes additional cities and venues across the U.S. and Canada.

Perspective

Sleep’s reappearance is significant for several reasons. Musically, the band helped crystallize heavy, low-tuned riffing as a genre language; any change to its lineup invites scrutiny because it could shift how that vocabulary is deployed. Commercially and culturally, pairing a music release with a comic and exclusive physical media speaks to how legacy acts are finding new ways to engage an audience that values both collectibles and immersive storytelling.

For fans, the immediate questions will be how the new members reinterpret classic material and whether future recordings will push the band into new directions. For the broader rock and metal community, Sleep’s moves underscore an ongoing trend: veteran groups are experimenting with cross-format projects while still relying on extensive touring to reconnect with audiences.