Team Sleep, made up of five veterans of the Sacramento music scene, released its self-titled debut album on Tuesday after a writing and recording process that took over five years.

The band is led by vocalist Chino Moreno, also the front-man of the Deftones, arguably the most influential band to ever come out of Sacramento.

However, those expecting the mosh-inducing, headbanging sound normally associated with the Deftones is in for a big surprise with Team Sleep.

On this recording, Moreno ditches his trademark screaming vocals over crunching guitars and opts instead for soothing, softer lyrics placed over experimental drumbeats and dreamy sounding guitars.

This setting is provided by guitarist Todd Wilkinson, who spends his time away from the band as an English student at Sacramento State.

DJ Crook, who can also be seen spinning records at the Monkey Bar on select nights, drives the sound by mastering turntables and electronic drumbeats. Drummer Zach Hill, also of local band Hella, and bassist Rick Verrett, formerly of local pop-rock band Tinfed, complete the Team Sleep lineup.

With Moreno&s full-time duties in Deftones, the Team Sleep project took years to get off the ground, as Moreno had no choice but to work on writing Team Sleep lyrics in his spare time.

The initial Team Sleep lineup was just Moreno and Wilkinson trading tapes back in 1994.

In 2001, the remaining members were added and Maverick Records signed the band to a deal.

The original release date for this album was 2001, but was pushed back after unfinished songs were leaked to the Internet.

And now four years later, the album is finally out after the band wrote new material to counter the Internet leak.

Terry Date, a veteran rock producer responsible for all four Deftones albums, was also on hand to produce Team Sleep at his studio in Seattle.

&With Terry, he&s kind of like a dad,& Wilkinson said. &He&s just a wise, kind man. It was cool working with him.&

The album&s opening track, &Ataraxia,& sets the mood with Moreno crooning over quick drumbeats.

The first single, &Foreign Flag,& slows down the tempo as Moreno hits the high notes beautifully.

&Blvd. Knights& and &Live from the Stage& are the only tracks where Team Sleep sounds more like a hard rock band.

Wilkinson&s driving guitar and Hill&s punishing drums stand out on these tracks.

On the track &Tomb of Liegia,& vocalist Mary Timony handles the lyrical duties, giving a fresh change of pace.

Timony, also of Boston-based Helium, got involved in the recording process after receiving a spur of the moment type of phone call from Moreno, Wilkinson said.

In front of an intimate crowd at Senator Theater in Chico on May 3, Team Sleep debuted the new material to its Northern California fan base.

It was only the second show the band played in four years.

Wilkinson said the crowd, accustom to rowdy shows, were a little confused as to how to react to the laid back sound of the band, a polar opposite of the ear ringing frenzy typical of a Deftones show.

&It was a trip,& Wilkinson said. &They were stoked, but they were standing around thinking, &What do we do?&&

The show kicked off a U.S. club tour, including a stop in Phoenix tonight. Then Team Sleep will visit clubs along the Gulf Coast, from Texas to Georgia, before heading up the East Coast, and finishing with a European tour from June 3-22.

The band plans on returning to Sacramento, and wrapping up the tour with a hometown show in July.

Wilkinson said he plans on returning to Sac State to resume his English studies in the fall.