Over the last year and a half, Sleep Token has become a household name for metal fans (yes, they are indeed a metal band), and their rise in popularity over the past few years has been nothing short of meteoric.
I consider myself lucky to have witnessed their ascension firsthand, having attended 18 rituals over the past year and a half, beginning with their very first US headline show, a 1,200-person capacity venue in Philly, and ending in a sold out show at the 20,000-capacity O2 Arena in London. To experience their growth over such a short period of time has been remarkable, and when Sleep announced a seven-show tour of their home country back in February, I knew I couldn’t miss it.
After nearly a year of anticipation, I arrived in Glasgow the day before the first ritual and met up with several fans who had travelled far and wide with the same plan as me: battle public transport across the UK and hit every date on the tour. And over two weeks in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, and London, we gathered in worship of our favorite band.
Why does this band inspire such cult-like dedication, pulling in followers from across the globe to follow them tirelessly? In my experience, seeing the band play is only a fraction of the spectacle. The community the band has built around them, drawn together by our love for the music, is what makes Sleep Token so special. We spend hours queuing outside the venues together, battling sub-zero temperatures, wind, rain, and huddling together for warmth. We trade handmade bracelets and crafts, listen to music, and share food, thermal blankets, and stories. This time spent together in anticipation, combined with the feeling that underneath it all, we share a common connection to the themes of Sleep Token’s music is what draws us together, and creates profound and lasting relationships.
Honestly, maybe we are a cult. But I’m okay with that.
The final ritual on December 3rd at the sold out O2 Arena in London marks the end of the “Take Me Back To Eden” era – their third album that launched them into stardom.
American rock band Bilmuri begins the show with incredible energy. Their sound is a mixture of post-hardcore and pop-punk, with a little bit of country spice. Vocalist, saxophonist, and flautist Gabby Rose pumps up the crowd with energetic solos, and guitarist Reese Maslen provides harsh vocals and some words of wisdom (…”Fortnite”?). They brought a piece of the midwest with them to the UK, and the audience ate it right up.
The anticipation in the crowd is palpable as the stage crew breaks down Bilmuri’s setup and prepares for the main act to take the stage. Cheers erupt as the band’s logo is revealed, and Vessel’s mic stand is put into place. As the lights dim and the first notes of “The Night Does Not Belong to God” begin, the roar of the crowd is deafening. An impressive lighting rig extends out over the audience, and hundreds of lasers fill the arena with a perfectly executed light show. Fog billows off the stage, adding another layer to the immersive experience that is a Sleep Token ritual.
The setlist takes the audience on a journey through time, beginning with the first song off their debut album, “Sundowning”, and moves chronologically through their discography. The music varies widely from soft, emotional piano ballads to crushing breakdowns, and interludes featuring a robotic female voice separate the music from each of the three albums.
Each band member, or “vessel” brings their own flavor to the show. Vessel wears his heart on his sleeve as he sings and dances across the stage. High up on his drum riser, II seems larger than life as he towers above the stage, smashing out huge drum fills and gesturing theatrically to the crowd. Bassist III commands the crowd into action, gesturing wildly to split the pit down the middle for a wall of death during “Granite”, which features one of their heaviest breakdowns. Guitarist IV, affectionately known as “Ivy” by fans, belts out harsh vocals that compliment Vessel’s tone perfectly, and he saunters around the stage knowing he has the audience in a chokehold. Backing vocalists “Espera” look and sound ethereal.
The band seems to be in a celebratory mood for the final show of the tour. They chase each other across the stage and pull open Christmas crackers. Vessel even stops for a moment to do some gaming on a Steam deck during the guitar solo in “The Summoning”. It’s nice to see such a joyous, silly side to the band. The love they have for their music, each other, and their fans is quite clear despite not speaking a single word. Vessel’s gratitude is overwhelmingly apparent as he breaks down to his knees and extends the microphone toward the crowd for the final few lines of “Euclid”, and removes his in-ear monitors to hear the audience sing back to him.
Any Sleep Token ritual is a cathartic experience for the members of the audience, but this final ritual at the O2, their biggest headline show to date, was something special to witness. 2024 was a pivotal year for the band, and I can’t wait to see what the new year brings for them. Sleep Token will make their next mark on music history headlining Download Fest in June.
“They are each stood on a stage of their own. And yet they are here, united by that sense of never truly belonging. They see something beyond their own bleak horizons. And they reach for it, together. So let us join now to reflect their joy and to serve as a conduit for their anguish. To swallow their fear. To worship.”
– Vessel
