Al Cisneros

Al Cisneros ( /sɪsˈnɛəroʊs/ is an American musician from San Jose, California. He has performed bass guitar and vocals for the bands Sleep, Om, Shrinebuilder, and Asbestosdeath.

Biography

He began his musical career in 1989 by founding a local punk metal band, Asbestosdeath, along with Chris Hakius (drums), Matt Pike (guitar) and Tom Choi (guitar). Cisneros performed bass guitar for the band, and they released two EPs in 1990. Shortly thereafter, Choi left the band.

Cisneros, Hakius and Pike renamed themselves Sleep. In 1991 they released their debut album, Volume One. They soon gained a devoted underground following in the doom metal scene. In 1992 they released their next album, Sleep's Holy Mountain, which is widely considered a key release in the early development of stoner metal. Between 1995 and 1998, Sleep worked on what would become their final album, Dopesmoker, a single song lasting one hour. However, their record label refused to release it, and in 1998 Sleep disbanded. The album was released in shortened form during 1999, and in its entirety during 2003.

Immediately following the breakup of Sleep, guitarist Matt Pike formed the band High On Fire. In 2003, Cisneros and Hakius decided to form their own band named OM, with Cisneros on bass and vocals and Hakius on drums. They released the albums Variations on a Theme in 2005, Conference of the Birds in 2006, and Pilgrimage in 2007. In January 2008, Hakius decided to leave the band. Cisneros has since recruited Emil Amos on drums; the duo recorded a 7" titled Gebel Barkal which was released on Subpop August 15, 2008. The bands 4th studio album God is Good was released on September 29, 2009 by Chicago label Drag City. Cisneros is also a member of Shrinebuilder along with Scott "Wino" Weinrich (Saint Vitus), Scott Kelly (Neurosis), and Dale Crover (The Melvins). Their debut self-titled album was released October 20, 2009 on Neurot Recordings.

Equipment

Basses

• Rickenbacker 4003.

Amps

• Custom "Vivekananda" Electric Amp power unit.
• Sunn Coliseum amps.
• Green Matamp slave unit.
• Ampeg SVT CL
• Acoustic 360

Cabs

• 2x Green 4x15
• 1x Jericho 2x15
• 2x Electric 4x12
• 1x Ampeg 6x10
• 2x Ampeg 8x10
• 1x Emperor 8x10
• 1x Emperor 2x15
• 2x Emperor 4x12

Effects

• Custom fuzz pedal used with OM, unknown manufacturer.
• Musitronics Mu-tron auto-wah, used with Sleep, can be heard distinctly on the song "Dragonaut".
• Raagini Synth box.
• Boss DS-1 Distortion.
• Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner.
• Ernie Ball Volume Pedal.
• DOD 250 Preamp/Overdrive.
• Mountainking Electronics Megalith fuzz,used on Shrinebuilder's debut album

Discography

With Asbestos Death

• 1990 – Dejection
• 1990 – Unclean

With Sleep

• 1991 – Volume One
• 1992 – Volume Two
• 1992 – Sleep's Holy Mountain
• 1999 – Jerusalem
• 2003 – Dopesmoker

With Om

• 2005 – Variations on a Theme
• 2006 – Conference of the Birds
• 2006 – Bedouin's Vigil (Split 7" with Six Organs of Admittance)
• 2006 – Inerrant Rays of Infallible Sun (Blackship Shrinebuilder) (Split EP with Current 93)
• 2007 – Pilgrimage
• 2008 – Live at Jerusalem
• 2008 – Gebel Barkal
• 2009 – Conference Live
• 2009 – God is Good
• 2012 – New album

With Shrinebuilder

• 2009 - Shrinebuilder

External links

• Official website of OM
• OM on MySpace (includes samples)
• Shrinebuilder on MySpace (includes samples)
• Sleep on MySpace (includes samples)
• Asbestosdeath on MySpace (includes samples)