| Asbestos Death | |
| Origin: | San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Genre: | Doom metal, sludge metal |
| Years Active: | Late 1980s – 1990 |
| Label: | Profane Existence Southern Lord |
| Spinoffs: | Sleep, High on Fire, Om, Noothgrush, The Sabians, Operator Generator, It Is I |
| Current Members: | Al Cisneros Chris Hakius Tom Choi Matt Pike |
Asbestosdeath was an American doom metal band from San Jose, California, the precursor to the highly influential band Sleep.
Asbestosdeath started life in the late 1980s[1] as a trio consisting of Al Cisneros on bass, Chris Hakius on drums, and Tom Choi on guitar.[2] Matt Pike later joined as a second guitarist. They recorded two 7"s: their first (Unclean, 1989) was self-released (Asbestos Records) and a second 7" (Dejection, 1990) was released later that year by Profane Existence.[3] [4] Choi left Asbestosdeath to form Noothgrush after the release of the second 7".[5] The band recruited Justin Marler to replace Choi and changed their name to Sleep.[6]
In 2007, Southern Lord Records reissued Asbestosdeath's two 7"s on CD and 10" vinyl.[7] The four songs on the album comprise the entirety of Asbestosdeath's recordings.[8] [9]