Sleep Token are a British metal band from London, formed in 2016. The group are an anonymous, masked collective led by a frontman using the moniker Vessel. They have been categorised under many different genres, including alternative metal, post-rock/metal, progressive metal, indie rock/pop, and djent. After self-releasing their debut extended play (EP) One in 2016, the band signed with Basick Records and issued a follow-up, Two, the next year. The group later signed with Spinefarm Records and released their debut full-length album Sundowning in 2019, which was followed in 2021 by This Place Will Become Your Tomb. A third album, Take Me Back to Eden, was released in May 2023.
History
2016–2019: Beginnings and early releases
Sleep Token debuted in September 2016 with the release of their first single, "Thread the Needle".[1] The track was followed in December by the band's debut EP One, which featured two additional songs plus alternative piano arrangements of all three tracks.[2]
On February 28, 2017, they released a cover of "Hey Ya", originally by OutKast.[3]
In May 2017, it was announced that Sleep Token had signed with independent label Basick Records and would release their second EP Two in July.[4] Ahead of the EP's release, the group issued two new singles — "Calcutta" in May and "Nazareth" in June.[5][6] In the publication's exclusive premiere of "Calcutta", Metal Hammer writer Luke Morton described the song as "an odd and unique mix of technical metal and expansive indie soundscapes".[5] Reviewing Two for Distorted Sound, Matt Corcoran also noted the combination of elements from multiple genres, explaining, "Across these three spellbinding tracks the band fully delivers on their genre-blending promise, moving between light indie atmospherics and dark, Meshuggah-esque heaviness and covering most of the spectrum in between."[7]
In June the band released the first in a string of standalone singles, "Jaws". In October, they released "The Way That You Were" and played their first headline (and eleventh overall) show at St Pancras Old Church, tickets for which reportedly sold out in 30 seconds.[12] "Jaws" and "The Way That You Were" were later issued together on 10" vinyl for Record Store Day in 2021.[13]
2019–2022: Signing to Spinefarm and first two albums
In June 2019, it was announced that Sleep Token had signed with Universal subsidiary Spinefarm Records. At the same time, the band's debut full-length album Sundowning was confirmed for a November release, with "The Night Does Not Belong to God" released as the first track from the record.[14] The group continued issuing songs from the album every two weeks up to the release of the album.[15]Sundowning received generally positive reviews from music critics – Kerrang! columnist Tom Shepherd gave the album a rating of four out of five, writing that it contains "moments here to truly savour, and ideas and experiences that feel unique", but noting that "the continuous nature of this dark mood entwined with the group's slow-burning, listless pace does begin to drag across [its] 50-minute runtime".[16] Prior to the album's release, Sleep Token played two sold-out shows in London and Manchester;[15] after its release, they embarked on their first North American tour supporting metalcore group Issues alongside Polyphia and Lil Aaron.[17]
After a short UK tour at the beginning of the year, several shows due to feature Sleep Token during 2020 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These included planned appearances at Knotfest Japan in March,[18]Download Festival in June,[19] and Madrid's Mad Cool in July.[20] During the summer, the band released an expanded version of Sundowning with four new piano-based tracks collectively known as The Room Below, which included cover versions of Billie Eilish's "When the Party's Over" and Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)".[21] The group were due to return to live performances in March 2021 with five socially-distanced shows called "The Isolation Rituals",[22] however these were ultimately cancelled due to ongoing pandemic-related concerns.[23] They eventually returned in the summer, headlining the second stage at the Download Festival Pilot on 18 June.[24] The day before, the band announced their second album This Place Will Become Your Tomb and released a new single, "Alkaline".[25]
"Alkaline" was followed in August and September by "The Love You Want" and "Fall for Me", respectively.[26]This Place Will Become Your Tomb was released on 24 September 2021 and gave Sleep Token their first chart positions when it debuted at number 39 on the UK Albums Chart and number 13 on the Scottish Albums Chart.[27][28] The album was promoted on an eight-date headline tour of the UK and Ireland in November, with support from A.A. Williams.[29] In January 2022, Sleep Token were featured as a cover artist for Metal Hammer magazine.[30] More shows followed in the spring and summer – in April, frontman Vessel performed an "intimate" solo show (joined by only three backing vocalists) dubbed A Ritual from the Room Below;[31] in May, the group supported Architects alongside Malevolence on a short UK tour;[32] and in the summer, they played several festivals including Download,[33] as well as touring Australia with Northlane.[34] Later dates followed in North America supporting In This Moment with Nothing More and Cherry Bombs.[35]
2022–present: Recent events and Take Me Back to Eden
Towards the end of 2022, Sleep Token announced a UK headline tour for January 2023 supported by Northlane,[36] as well as an Australian tour for April/May.[37] Ahead of a string of shows in Germany, the band released the single "Chokehold", their first new material since This Place Will Become Your Tomb, on 5 January 2023.[38] This was followed by "The Summoning" the next day,[39] "Granite" two weeks later,[40] and "Aqua Regia" the day after.[41] All four tracks released since the start of 2023 were included on the band's third album, Take Me Back to Eden, which was released in May 2023.[42][43]Take Me Back To Eden marked a significant change in the band's creative process, as they stopped working with their long-time producer George Lever in favour of Carl Bown. Vessel also took on a co-producer role with Bown for the first time in the band's career.
In March 2023, Sleep Token were nominated for Best UK Artist at the Heavy Music Awards.[44] The band were also booked to perform at that year's summer festivals, including Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium,[45]Wacken Open Air in Germany,[46]
and Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK.[47] The band attracted significant international attention when video footage of their 29 April 2023 performance of "Atlantic" in Sydney, Australia went viral due to an audience member’s audible fart which was described in the media as "absolutely sinister" and "ferocious".[48][49][50][51] In May 2023, Sleep Token won the Best UK Artist award at the Heavy Music Awards. In the same month, the band announced a standalone headline show at Wembley Arena, which is scheduled for December 2023. The Wembley Arena show sold out within 10 minutes of the tickets going on general sale.[52] During the show, the band revealed new masks to indicate the band entering a "new era".[53]
Following their success in 2023, Sleep Token received accolades from the music press at the end of the year. Metal Hammer readers ranked Take Me Back To Eden as the best album of the year,[54] while the magazine's writers ranked it fourth best of the year.[55]Revolver also named it the #1 best album of the year,[56] as did Rock Sound who also named Sleep Token the best British band of the year.[57]Kerrang! staff called the album the third best of 2023.[58] Writers for the NME named Take Me Back to Eden their 21st best album of the year,[59] while ranking "The Summoning" the 18th best song of the year.[60] By February 2024, the album had sold over 50,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[61]
On 14 February 2024, Sleep Token announced that they had signed with RCA Records.[61][62]
Artistry, identity and musical style
Since their formation, the members of Sleep Token have remained anonymous. Rich Hobson of Metal Hammer explains that the members, who all wear masks and cloaks, "obscure their faces, they don't talk onstage, and they have only ever done one interview", with that very publication.[63]
Vessel
The lead singer and primary songwriter of the band is known by the moniker "Vessel".[64] Vessel and II are the only members of the band who have been credited as performers on Sleep Token's studio albums. II is also the only member apart from Vessel who has been given songwriting credits.
The group's focus on anonymity and visual style have been likened to similar practices employed by Ghost,[63][65][66]Slipknot,[64][67][68] and Gwar.[67][68] Slipknot's frontman Corey Taylor has praised the band's image and artistry, comparing their approach to the one Slipknot took in the band's early days.[69]
In 2017, Sleep Token's then-new label Basick Records published a description of the band which read, "A band that goes above and beyond simply writing and playing music, Sleep Token are said to be "the mortal representatives of the ancient deity known only as 'Sleep', led by the masked and cloaked figure appointed 'Vessel' ... the master creator behind the music."[70] Since the band’s formation, only two interviews have ever been granted. The first, with Metal Hammer at the time of their signing with Basick, frontman Vessel expanded on the lore of the band, stating that "We are here to serve Sleep and project His message." When asked 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."[5] The second, a video interview and playthrough with drummer II with YouTube channel Drumeo, talking about his earliest influences of nu-metal drummers Joey Jordison of Slipknot and Matthew McDonough of Mudvayne to incorporating elements of the United Kingdom’s electronic music and hip hop scenes, to his playing style with Sleep Token which he considers a blend of gospel music with that of Deftones drummer Abe Cunningham.[71]
Musically, Sleep Token have been categorised in a wide range of genres, including alternative metal,[72]post-rock/metal,[73]progressive metal,[74]indie rock/pop,[75] and djent.[76] Emma Wilkes of Revolver, noted elements of trap and jazz. According to Mary Varvaris of The Music, "[the band fuses] heavy metal, electronica, hip-hop, and modern-day djent/progressive metal."[76] Hobson has suggested that the band has a "fluid approach to genre", claiming that they incorporate "elements of everything from tech metal and alternative to pop and R&B".[63] Similarly, John D. Buchanan of the website AllMusic has written that Sleep Token "combine post-rock, post-classical, and post-metal tropes with soulful indie pop vocals into a blend that sounds like nothing else".[77] The band's label Spinefarm Records has simply stated that "in a world of form and genre, Sleep Token cannot be confined".[78] The band have been vague about their influences, simply crediting "a plethora of artists" as inspiration;[5] early in their career, though, they did name Leprous, Agent Fresco, Bon Iver and Meshuggah as influences.[79] Commentators have also posited performers such as Deftones, Cult of Luna, Explosions in the Sky and Ólafur Arnalds as possible influences.[77][80][81]
Members
Vessel – vocals; studio guitar, keyboards and bass[82]
^Trenwith, Roger (28 October 2017). "Motorpsycho / Sleep Token". The Progressive Aspect. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
^ abBelling, Alasdair (23 September 2021). "Who the hell are Sleep Token?". Blunt Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
^Shutler, Ali (21 May 2023). "Corey Taylor praises Sleep Token, compares them to early Slipknot". NME. Retrieved 10 June 2023. There are hints of early, early Slipknot there... At first we were like, 'Nope. You get nothing. This is what you get, you figure it out. We'll let the music speak for ourselves'.
