Sleep Token: Hottest Band in Metal

SLEEPING GIANTS
"They're heavy music's latest masked mavericks, and now they've sold out Wembley Arena. But who exactly are Sleep Token? We chart the rise and rise of metal's hottest new band."
Words: Merlin Alderslade
Art and time lapse video by Luke Phillips (see YouTube channel @rockwithpjpat. Click the PODCAST Tab)

Narrated and comments by PJ Pat

Formed in 2014, Sleep Token's members choose to remain in the shadows, allowing their art to take center stage. The band's central figure, known as Vessel, serves as both vocalist and spiritual guide, leading listeners through a sonic pilgrimage that explores the boundaries between the sacred and the profane. The band's mythology centers around the worship of a deity named "Sleep," whose persona and narrative are intricately interwoven into their music and visuals.

At the core of Sleep Token's sound is a seamless fusion of diverse influences. Elements of black metal, progressive rock, and ambient electronica coalesce with soulful R&B vocals, creating an otherworldly auditory experience. The band's discography, including releases like "Sundowning" and "This Place Will Become Your Tomb," showcases their ability to traverse sonic landscapes with unparalleled fluidity. Sleep Token's music is a journey, a sonic odyssey that invites listeners to delve into the depths of their emotions and confront the complexities of the human experience.

One of the defining features of Sleep Token's artistry is their attention to visual storytelling. Music videos, album covers, and promotional materials are carefully crafted to complement and enhance the thematic depth of their music. The imagery often revolves around esoteric symbols, mystical iconography, and a sense of ritualistic aesthetics. It's a visual feast that adds an extra layer to the immersive experience of being a part of the Sleep Token universe.

Transcript

All you rockers out there! Welcome to another episode to the it's one Louder podcast where I bring you information about your favorite rock bands and favorite artists, hopefully in a very fun way. So today we're gonna get into this band called Sleep Token. Not sure if you heard of them.

They're a heavy metal band, very unique, very anonymous. They came out with their first ep in 2016 and have released a couple albums since then, three, I believe, since then. And I got a hold of this. Band probably sort of mid 2023, and I was really intrigued from the get go.

They are kind of a crazy thing. It's nothing like you've ever heard before. They are a mix, I would say between imagine, uh, dragons, ghost, and let's say death, as in death metal. Literally all those three things, you can find them in one song. It can go from super Death growl, olling kind of vocals to very beautiful poppy imagine, um, dragons type, Ed Sheeran type sound within the same song.

I found that very interesting. Not a lot of bands obviously do that.

go check them out. It's something very unique. Uh, they are a british band that came out out of London, UK,

in obviously 2016, like I just said,

they've only done two interviews ever.

and uh, the singer and his moniker goes by vessel. He'd interviewed Metalhammer magazine

the other interview the drummer, he's called two, as in roman numerals two. And he interviewed uh, the uh, YouTube channel Aldromeo talking about his influences of early new metal bands like Slipknot and Mudvane and how those drummers influenced him. So that's it. That's it. Only two interviews ever. And so they're very mysterious.

They kind of got that aura and if you see them on stage playing live, they all have makeup on, they all have masks on. So that whole genre obviously pioneered by Alice Cooper, that whole horror kind metal makeup rock

take it definitely one level more. They're kind of like slipknot. You know how Slipknot had. All of them had these masks on. Same type of deal, actually. Corey Taylor really admires them and their imagery around them, so he's a big fan as well.

I'm pumped to bring you this article regarding sleep token from the latest issue of Classic rock magazine. They came out with kind of the, um, best of or highlights of 2000. Thousand and 23. And I found this one. You ready to do this? All right. Let's do it.

this article is called Sleeping Giants. They're heavy music's latest masked mavericks. And now they've sold out Wembley arena. But who exactly are sleeptoken? We chart the rise and rise of metal's hottest new band.

music has a thing for the theatrical. From the pioneering eccentricity of our third brown to face painted trailblazers like Kiss and Alice Cooper, all the way to the mass madness of Slipknot and the campy devil worship of Ghost. It's almost as coded into the genre's dna as the guitar.

and if there's one band across 2023 who made the strongest claim to be carrying rock's history of theatricality and mystique towards it, it was sleep token.

mysterious mass viral sensations are the biggest breakout band to emerge from the metal scene since Tobias Forge decided to throw on a robe and mix black metal visuals with classic. Classic rock hooks more than a decade ago.

the space of twelve months, sleep token have grown from hotly tipped underground favorites to one of the most talked about bands on the planet.

it seems they're only just getting started.

2023, they were already positioned as one of metal's most exciting modern forces. Their unique blend of groove driven tech metal riffs and propulsive, slick r and b indebted hooks, earning them followers in their droves.

Third album, Take me Back to Eden, was one of the most anticipated releases of the year, but it was the summoning, one of the record's early singles, that truly produced a spark for the explosion that followed.

so that's the song that really got me

smooth, sultry pop metal banger. It started getting serious traction on TikTok, the social media platform dominated by savvy, hyperactive Gen Zers

seemingly couldn't get enough of this thrillingly fresh sound.

track began treading worldwide, shooting to the top of Spotify's viral songs chart and racking up tens of millions of streams, which translates to about $47. By the way, by

the time Take me Back to Eden was released a few months later, sleep Token were the most disgust act in heavy music. Incredibly, the album debuted at number three in the U. K. And when the band announced they were headlining London's prestigious Wembley arena on December 16, tickets sold out in less than ten minutes.

Man, that is so awesome to see that type of energy and that type of frenzy, um, regarding a heavy sounding band. You know, this type of stuff you normally m see with the Taylor Swift's of the world, the Ed Sheerans of the world, but I'm really pumped that you start seeing this with this type of music, which is awesome.

this without officially revealing their identities or even ever giving a proper interview.

While the band's popularity undoubtedly exploded this year, the hype for sleep token was being sown from the very beginning. As soon as their debut single, thread. In the autumn of 2016, they began bewitching the rock underground, their unique fusions of genres unlike anything else in a scene at the time.

even ever since, I don't think there's a lot of bands doing what they do, which is really unique. Really cool. Two eps followed, one released that December, and two a few months later.

But as fresh as the music itself was, the thing that really added to Sleeptoken's allure was that no one had the foggiest idea of who the members were. Wearing cloaks and masks and led by the mysterious vessel. The band evaded giving press interviews almost entirely

vessel granting Classic Rock's sister magazine Metalhammer a solitary short conversation in mid 2017 that remains the only interview they've given to date.

know the drummer two also did an interview with Drumio. Right?

don't mention that.

got to say, you know what? In this day and age, it's super refreshing to see a band be secretive like this and maintain that mystique and that aura. Another band that comes to mind is Guns n'Roses. They really do interviews and they really kind of pump stuff out. Um, but a lot of the bands, as you know right now, especially the ones coming up, they're showing you everything they're doing from the studio, even songs that aren't finished.

They're taping themselves and putting it on social media, on, like even the process of writing a song. Song. I mean, the guy taking a leak in a bathroom, that kind of stuff. It's almost like an overload of sharing and, uh, this is like obviously the complete other spectrum of it, so I find it pretty refreshing actually.

Although I'm not as much of a fan of this band as Guns N'Roses is one of my favorite bands. So as a fan of guns and roses, you kind of wish they did a little more of that. But I get it. It makes you want to see them even more when it come to down.

lifting the lid on the mystical concept driving the band, namely that of worshipping a deity named Sleep and spreading his message to as many people as possible. Vessel was delightfully cryptic in his answers.

Quickly poo pooing a comparison to Ghost, whose own mysterious shtick had helped them become a serious force in the metal scene. The only comparison that can be drawn with ghost is our anonymity vessel noted. Our verses are a token crafted to magnify and embody the multitude of emotion that rifes in our subconscious.

Sonically, our voice is rooted in the resonation between the notes and your emotion. That explains that. Then, man, talk about taking it really seriously.

The enigmatic aura surrounding sleep token only added to the growing hype

the time their first show took place at a packed out Black Heart club in Camden, London in May 2017, they had already become a major talking point. Following a couple of years of sporadic release s and more shows, Sleeptoken finally unveiled their debut studio album titled Sundowning. It was announced in June 2019 with a new song from the record released every two weeks throughout the year.

Uh, that's an interesting way of doing it. Until the album was available in full in November, with each song emblazoned with its own symbol and visualizer furthering the band's fascinating mythology. In 2020, one's second album, this Place will become your tomb, was released, garnering critical acclaim and putting the band in bigger venues, and their shows felt less like rock gigs and more like frenzied cult gatherings.

Rings.

fans almost delirious in their adulations of this strange, anonymous, soulfully powerful collective. Fast forward two years and you'll struggle to find anyone with a passing interest in heavy rock that hasn't at least heard of sleep token. Where the band go from here is anyone's guess. But one thing is for sure.

The way they have so carefully protected themselves and their ip suggest they are taking the utmost care worth planning every maneuver.

that in mind, we suspect that the gospel of sleep will continue to spread far and wide for some time yet.

Well, there you go, short and sweet article for you.

to add to this, let me read you what I saw on Wikipedia, just to add a little bit more context. So it says, sleep token are said to be the mortal representatives of the ancient deity known as sleep. Led by the mass and cloak figure appointed vessel, the master created her behind the music.

Okay, I'm quoting vessel here. And he states that we are here to serve sleep and project his message. When NASA about sleep, he stated that he is everywhere at all times. Vessel encountered sleep in a dream with promise of glory and magnificence. If vessel followed him

Vessel seems like a very interesting character. I don't know if any of you out there worship the deity sleep. I definitely worship sleep. Not the, but definitely love my pillow time. I worship sleep about six to 8 hours a day depending on the day.

thank you so much for checking this out. I really appreciate your loyalty. If I brought you value here, if you learned a thing or two, definitely smash that like button and subscribe. Really appreciate it. And I'll I'm going to continue bringing some more articles as I see fit. All right.

Rock on one ladder. Don't forget, whatever you do, do one ladder, especially when it comes to rock.

A BIG thank you to Luke Phillips who provided the amazing artwork and time lapse video for this episode. Please go check out his unique talent at lukephillips.art. Looking forward to working with him again!