Hundred Year Old Man – Sleep in Light (Review)

Hundred Year Old Man are a post-metal/sludge band from the UK and this is their second album.

I really liked 2018’s Breaching, so am pleased to see the return of Hundred Year Old Man. The band have obviously been feeling creative since I last caught up with them, as Sleep in Light contains a whopping 80 minutes of new material.

Sleep in Light rises from the ashes of the tragedy of a band member’s death to deliver an immersive emotive experience that’s simply stunning. I love this sort of music, and Sleep in Light is on another level. The band’s post-metal soundscapes are atmospheric and affecting, drawing in elements of doom, sludge, dissonance, ambient, and drone to help inform their compelling songcraft. Layered with rich darkness and enhanced with synths and electronic effects, this lengthy album demonstrates exactly why I rate Hundred Year Old Man so highly.

This is an album to lose yourself in. The band’s skill at mood-building is up their with the best of them, and these new songs find their expressive music at its best. I like albums that take the listener on a journey, and Sleep in Light definitely does that. When you’re listening to this album the rest of the world falls away, so absorbing it is. These post-metal soundscapes are exemplars of emotive songcraft and atmospheric setting and manipulation; Hundred Year Old Man’s music is transportive.

The name Hundred Year Old Man should ideally be uttered by anyone who has a taste for post-metal, sludge, doom, drone, etc. If you’re a fan of bands like Isis, Cult of Luna, Neurosis, Year of No Light, etc. this is essential.

I loved Breaching, but against all of the odds, Sleep in Light is even better.

Don’t miss this.