A sacred moment in time, captured during His Third Ritual. He wishes to express gratitude to His Follower hitchyyphotos for their dedication and artistry. Praise Him.
He has expressed a desire to share new Offerings at his upcoming Rituals. He knows that His most devout Followers shall be present to bear witness. Ritual III – 01.03.2018 – Manchester Star and Garter Ritual IV – 08.03.2018 – London Boston Music Room Worship, As One.
In 2018, Sleep Token made their first appearance at the Leeds part of the Reading and Leeds Festival. They played on The Pit stage at 13:25 (1:25 PM) for a set of about 30 minutes.
Per resources provided by the Sleep Token Ritual Timeline group, the setlist for this event was similar to the recent one at the UK Tech-Fest in July this same year. With the addition of their rendition of Hey Ya at some point in the set.
Thread the Needle Calcutta Fields of Elation Jaws Nazareth Jericho Blood Sport
Sleep Token posted about Kerrang!! Magazine’s article on the collective that was released August 1 2018 to their social media accounts. This rare interview features who we know as Vessel now as “Him”, something which has become a thing of the collective’s history and long out of use. [X]
Interview text below.
Words by Jake Richardson
“WE EXPLORE THE DEEPER RECESSES OF THE MIND…” -HIM
GET TO KNOW Your quick guide to SLEEP TOKEN… THEY ARE: Anonymous, philosophical ambient metallers. HEAR: The alluring power of brand- new single Jaws. SEE: The simple darkness of the haunting clip for Thread The Needle. MORE INFO: Facebook.com/ sleeptoken
Photo Caption: Sleep Token: not keen on identity, huge on birthday cake
AMPED UP
SLEEP TOKEN
Anonymous Brit metal cult big on peering down the rabbit hole…
Sleep Token are a band shrouded in mystery. The London metallers’ mix of high-tech riffs and dreamy soundscapes have earned them a good name for themselves since forming last year, but if you want to give them credit for it, you must do so to the masked, anonymous face of their enigmatic frontman, known only as Him. Him declines to reveal specifics about the ancient deity the band worship, Sleep, but he’s more forthcoming about his own artistic motivation.
“There exists a considerable body of art that explores the deeper recesses of the human mind,” he explains. “Sleep Token serve as a means to explore this on an individual basis. The music is a representation of one individual’s deepest and most fundamental emotions and desires. This is what people connect to. They see themselves in this individual, and the music becomes about them.”
Easy-going fare this isn’t, but there’s no denying it’s pretty captivating. Sleep Token have played fewer than 10 times (they refer to their gigs as “rituals”), but they’re already Download alumni. The industrial-ish thrust of new single Jaws, meanwhile, continues their philosophical, lyrical path.
“Our jaws are the tools we have to rend apart,” Him explains. “They show our concealed aggression, and take something once hidden and burst it apart. You don’t know someone until you have seen
them destroy something. Jaws is an exploration of the frustration which accompanies the sense that someone close to you is hiding their true self.”
But while Jaws looks to expose the darkness that lies inside us, when it comes to the band’s own identities Sleep Token are steadfast in their belief that art comes before aesthetic.
“Art has become entangled with identity,” Him says of the band’s anonymity. “The aim is to provide something people can engage with without being obstructed by the identity of its creator. The true identities behind Sleep Token are irrelevant. Our identity is represented through the art and music itself.”
Sleep Token performed at the UK Tech-Metal Fest on the Winspear Stage for what is considered only their 8th ritual. At the end of this set was the live debut of Blood Sport, which would not have an official release until November 21 2019 when the album Sundowning was offered for consumption. Due to lack of sources, it is possible that Blood Sport was played previously but this is the first mention of the song the curator of this blog has found so far. Edit: Per advice from another archivist, Blood Sport was also played a month prior, at Download Fest 2018.
The setlist was as follows:
Thread the Needle
Calcutta
Fields of Elation
Jaws
Nazareth
Jericho
Blood Sport
According to several sources, the original band slated for that event had canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. The festival then advised there was a replacement act, a “worst kept secret”, as Distorted Sound Mag put it. There was hint of it on the collective’s website as well as on their Twitter.
The word “வழிபாடு” used with the July 8th date is Tamil, the world’s oldest spoken language, for “worship”.
For additional photos and saved screenshots of articles and websites reviewed for this curated moment in the collective’s history, please see the Archives drive folder here: 2018 UK Tech-Metal Fest
The Sleep Token Archive 