SLEEP GIVETH, COALESCE TAKETH AWAY

Following months of speculation, reunited doom metal gods Sleep have announced a string of dates following their appearance at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in upstate New York. I guess someone’s puttin’ up a big stack of bills for Sleep to do this, because all of those dates fall in a row without any days off: in other words, they’ll be flying from show to show and backlining gear. That costs mucho moolah. Between this Sleep reunion and the recent success of High on Fire, it sure is a good year to be Matt Pike (or one of his fans). Neurosis drummer Jason Roeder will be replacing original drummer Chris Hakius on these shows; no exact reason is given for Hakius’ absence. Check out Metal Insider for details about the additional six dates in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Austin, Portland and San Francisco.

Meanwhile, following a stellar return to form in their early 2009 release Ox, Lambgoat is reporting that recently reunited post-metallers Coalesce will return to hibernation after a fun-filled two years of recording, releasing not one but two records, and a ton of touring. In a public statement, bassist Nathan Ellis was very careful in his choice of words — “This is a good time for a break,” as in a break, not a break-up — so all you Coalesce freaks out there shouldn’t get your panties up in a bunch. I’m sure they’ll be back at some point. In the meantime the members will be working on their new homes and businesses, finishing their PhDs and lying supine on the couch.

The lord giveth and the lord taketh away. You win some, you lose some. Yin and yang. Sleep and Coalesce.

-VN