Sleep Token
Biography
Sleep Token is a British progressive rock band from London, England, formed in 2016. The group is an anonymous, masked collective led by a frontman using the moniker Vessel. The band blend many styles, including progressive metal/rock, alternative metal/rock, post-metal, djent and indie rock.
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.
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Sleep Token debuted in September 2016 with the release of their first single, "Thread the Needle". The track was followed in December by the bands debut EP One, which featured two additional songs plus alternative piano arrangements of all three tracks. On February 28, 2017, they released a cover of "Hey Ya", originally by OutKast.
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. Ahead of the EPs release, the group issued two new singles — "Calcutta" in May and "Nazareth" in June. In the publications 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". 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."
Just before the release of Two, Sleep Token made their live debut at the Black Heart in London on 17 June 2017. Shows later in the year included performances at the O2 Academy Islington supporting Norwegian band Motorpsycho in October, and at Student Central supporting French synthwave artist Perturbator in December. During early 2018, they also supported Loathe alongside Holding Absence, played at festivals including Camden Rocks, and performed at Maida Vale Studios for the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show.
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. "Jaws" and "The Way That You Were" were later issued together on 10" vinyl for Record Store Day in 2021.
Since the release of Take Me Back To Eden, the group has seen massive growth in its global popularity; surpassing over 3 million active listeners on Spotify and announcing a major world tour for 2024 including venues such as Radio City Music Hall and Red Rocks Amphitheater. The group has also signed a record deal with RCA Records, showing their desire to continue building on their newfound global success by bringing their music to a wider audience.
Discography:
One (EP) - 2nd December 2016
Two (EP) - 21st July 2017
Sundowning (Album) - 21st November 2019
This Place Will Become Your Tomb (Album) - 24th September 2021
Take Me Back to Eden (Album) - 19th May 2023
Even In Arcadia (Album) - 9th May 2025 Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.
