We take a trip to the second of Sleep Token’s headline shows at The O2 to meet the fans and find out why they will always be part of the Ritual…
Last night Sleep Token rounded off their epic sold-out UK arena tour with their second headline show The O2 in London. With 20,000 fans gathered in worship to the secretive entity known as Vessel, it's a staggering reminder of just how far and how fast the anonymous collective have grown.
As a Download headline set comes closer into view, we decided to head down to the capital's largest arena to find out how Sleep Token's glow up has happened, why their music connects so deeply, and why there's nothing else quite like them...
How long have you been a fan for?
"Probably since April, but as soon as I heard them I fell deep into this massive hole. Every day since has just been Sleep Token! I think there was a video on TikTok that played Take Me Back To Eden, and after that I just fell straight in. And I'm not getting out."
Why do you think Sleep Token have suddenly exploded?
"I think it's nice that everyone's giving the smaller bands a chance. Sleep Token have shown they have so much to offer, they're not just one genre. It's literally everything. They have such a wide fanbase now, it's amazing how they've gone to this from where they were in such a short space of time. They're also really likeable. Anyone can connect with them."
If you could ask Vessel one question, what would it be?
"Ooh, I don't know! Maybe, 'What got you into your music?' I'd like to know where he gets the lyrics from, how long did it take to craft the songs... What inspired him, really. They go deep into what everyone's feeling, it's how you can connect with them."
What other bands are you into?
"Linkin Park have been back on my radar since they've come up again. Falling In Reverse, Bad Omens, that kind of thing!"
And what are you wearing today?
"I'm trying to go for an Espera look – Sleep Token's backing singers, there's three of them. They wear the body chains and the masks."
How long have you been a Sleep Token fan?
"Probably for the last three or four years. I saw them almost two years ago in London – I can't exactly remember where, but it was in a much smaller venue! [It was] before they released the latest album and it was the best gig of my life, I absolutely loved it. I'm so excited to see them tonight."
How did you get into them?
"I got into them via a friend. I'm a musician, I play in a band call Anton Vic, and when I was doing my uni degree my mate Joe asked me if I'd listened to them. He's a proper metalhead, full dreadlocks and all. I hadn't at the time, but listened to Alkaline as the first song and I loved it instantly. And when they brought out Take Me Back To Eden, I was sat there at midnight at the end of my bed waiting to listen to it, and then really annoyed the neighbours by playing it really, really loud. I've loved them since."
Why do you think they've suddenly exploded?
"I think they've exploded because there's literally something for everyone in their music. There's a lot of artists that go around saying that their music is for everyone and I can understand that to an extent, but with Sleep Token there is everything. It reached out to so many different people – you look around at their gig and see people from all walks of life."
If you could ask Vessel one question, what would it be?
"Either, 'Can we go for a pint?' or, 'Can I be your mate?'"
What other bands are you into?
"I'm getting into Bad Omens at the moment, my partner very much got me into them. Spiritbox – I'm desperate to see them. Korn as well, that sort of stuff. And then we can go to the other spectrum of Hans Zimmer and John Williams, all the classical stuff, but my heart is in metal."
What are you wearing today?
"A red jacket I bought off my mate for £40. His girlfriend has a matching one, she went to see Sleep Token in Birmingham the other day also wearing the jacket. Then this jumper I've had for years, and underneath is a Sleep Token shirt that I wore at the last gig I went to. The rest is pretty much just gigging clothes I normally wear."
How long have you been a Sleep Token fan?
"I'm relatively new – my boyfriend Thomas introduced me to them. I think it was about six months ago, maybe."
What do you like about them and why do you think they've got so popular?
"I like them because they're just a bit different, it's something fresh and new! They make music I've not really listened to before and I love the masks!"
What other bands are you into?
"Bring Me The Horizon – I'm a huge fan. You Me At Six, I love them. Holding Absence, big fan of them as well."
If you could ask one question to Vessel, what would it be?
"Mine would be, 'Where does your inspiration come from?' The mask thing, the different sound... where does that originate from?"
And finally, what are you wearing today?
"A long leather jacket. These boots are dope, they're Dr. Martens high platform – I love anything with a high platform."
How long have you been a Sleep Token fan for?
"The last three or four years. My sister got me into them. I'm a sucker for a bit of lore and they really dive deep into theirs. I was like, 'This is fucking interesting,' and dove into it all, into Eden and Sleep and then Rain. I was like, 'I fucking love this, this is great!' Considering they're quite a new band, their lore is expansive. It's got history to it."
Do you think that's part of the reasons they've exploded?
"Yeah, definitely! Obviously TikTok and that helps as well, but I think it's the message behind it."
What other bands are you into?
"I listen to Bring Me The Horizon, Motionless In White, I Prevail, Lorna Shore – I got into them recently. I'm basically reliving my Year 9 emo phase."
If you could ask Vessel one question. what would it be?
"I've actually never thought of that before, that's really good. I don't actually know. I'd like to know why he's chosen the look he has, because it's very distinctive. Is that what you as a vessel would look like? I'm into costumes and prop making, so that really interests me. It's obviously changed through the years, but I think it's just gotten better and better."
What are you wearing today?
"I've got the Dr. Martens on, classic emo. Ripped, skinny jeans and my custom Levi's jacket. And then a load of other shit I could find."
How long have you been a Sleep Token fan?
"I first saw them at Sick New World. I knew their song The Summoning, and knew I had to see this band. That must have been last year. I have all the vinyl now, I'm totally obsessed. This is my favourite band now."
Where have you come from for this?
"California!"
If you could ask Vessel one question, what would it be?
"'Are you gonna play Blood Sport tonight?'"
What other bands are you into?
"Slipknot, Rob Zombie."
Why do you think Sleep Token have suddenly exploded?
"I think they're approaching metal as though it's a new genre. Even bands that are kinda similar are nothing like Sleep Token. It's like they're talking to everybody. They're going to get everyone into metal, literally everybody. They're expansive and inspire new bands. Sleep Token is the start of something great."
What are you wearing?
"I've got a Sleep Token shirt on, a beanie that I can't remember where from, and I've put some Sleep Token-esque makeup on. I just threw some shit on and put some red marks on."
How long have you been a Sleep Token fan?
"I want to say two years ago, I was able to work one of their shows. I bartended one of their concert venues so I got to see them play. After that it was game over."
Where have you come from?
"California as well! Anaheim, California. They're not playing America at the moment but I think we would have come either way. To see our favourite band in another country, who doesn't wanna do that?"
If you could ask Vessel one question, what would it be?
"I'd almost want to ask, 'What's your real name?' but I like the idea of not knowing who they are. I would ask him for a hug!"
Why do you think they've suddenly exploded?
"I agree with everything Pedro said before. My mom, who doesn't listen to this kind of music, looked them up and she thought they are amazing. And she hates metal! I think the allure of not knowing who they are is also really attractive for them. I don't ever want to know who they are, I think if I found out I'd be really sad. That mystique of not knowing who they are draws people in."
What are you wearing?
"A KILLSTAR one-piece bodysuit, a Free People vegan leather jacket and then my nails are Sleep Token themed!"
How long have you both been Sleep Token fans?
Adrian: "Over a year now..."
Raegan: "Two years, because it was when we first started dating!"
Did you get into them at the same time?
Raegan: "Yeah, I'd say me probably more so at first. And then we both gradually started learning everything. Going into the lore, how they became what they are now."
How did you first find them?
Adrian: "Our friend V showed us Sleep Token – they made us listen to The Summoning. At first I was like, 'This is cool, but I'm not sure if it's up my alley.' But I kept listening and realised it's just amazing and I had to listen more."
Raegan: "We were working at the same coffee shop and V showed me the song. Loved it right off the bat, couldn't stop listening, and ran it straight into the ground."
Why do you think they've suddenly exploded?
Raegan: "I feel like a lot of it has to do with the internet, social media and stuff like that. You're just hearing bits and pieces all over the place."
Adrian: "It was specifically The Summoning, it was all over TikTok – you couldn't not hear it!"
What other bands are you both into?
Adrian: "I have a wide mix! A lot of metal, especially death metal and deathcore. But also stuff that's pretty like indie and folky."
Raegan: "Lorna Shore."
Adrian: "Peach Pit, which is the calmer, softer type of music."
Raegan: "Spiritbox, Korn."
If you could ask Vessel one question, what would it be?
Raegan: "If he could pick any song of theirs to do over or do differently, what would it be and how?"
Adrian: "Since they're so artistic and pick from so many genres, what gave them that idea to do that? Was it just like the choice to bring out more emotion, or did they just want to create something different to what everyone always hears?"
Can you walk us through what you're both wearing?
Adrian: "Raegan made pretty much everything we're wearing right now. The idea for this jumper was from the song Fall For Me. It talks about burning cathedrals."
Raegan: "Yeah all the clothes we're wearing that I've made have been inspired by Sleep Token."
How long have you both been Sleep Token fans?
Micah: "You're very recent!"
Louie: "Yeah I am, I'm about four months."
Micah: "I'm about two years. I saw a video edit where they used a song of theirs and then I introduced Louie."
What was it about them that grabbed you?
Micah: "They sound completely different, they're a really different sound to anyone out there right now. They mix a lot of genres."
Louie: "I'm a big fan of their songs and I'm also in love with the aesthetic."
Micah: "Their aesthetic is really cool."
What other bands do you listen to?
Micah: "Sleep Token. Sleep Token. Sleep Token."
Louie: "Sleep Token."
Micah: "Ghost, Korn, Slipknot, all of that kind of stuff. And also randomly, Hozier, I am obsessed. I have a Hozier tattoo."
Louie: "I listen to Led Zeppelin. I'm more of an old sort of rock fan. I listen to a lot of Sabaton."
If you could ask Vessel one question what would it be?
Micah: "'How do you come up with the masks?' Everything they do has meaning, so there must be a meaning behind the masks."
What are you both wearing?
Louie: "I've got a Sleep Token shirt and blue jeans."
Micah: "I've also got a Sleep Token shirt on that I cut up. A skirt and some really ripped tights. And Louie's zip hoodie."
