Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area, The Sabians feature two former members of doom metal legends Sleep, whose three seminal early 90's albums were among the most influential of the genre. After taking part in the sessions for Sleep's first album, 1991's Vol. 1, guitarist Justin Marler quit the band and enlisted with a Russian Orthodox monastery, where he spent the next seven years training to become a monk. Once he'd completed his studies, Marler reunited with Sleep drummer Chris Hakius in 1999 to form The Sabians. With the help of fellow Sleep alum Matt Pike (by then fronting High on Fire), the duo secured a rehearsal space and began auditioning musicians. Lead guitarist Patrick Huerta soon came on board, but a small army of bassists slipped through their ranks before the arrival of Rachel Fischer in late 2001. Shiver was the second of two albums by the California rock band known as The Sabians. It would be recorded in March 2003 and released in July 2003, featuring nine songs and a hidden track. The band would tour to support the album but not long after would disband when Justin Marler re-located to Austin, Texas. Chris Hakius would re-connect with Al Cisneros to form Om.