BEYOND THE VESSEL - The psychology of how Sleep Token became the masked mammoths of metal music

They successfully headlined Download, earned a number one album and have over six million monthly listeners. So, how has English rock band Sleep Token won over the alternative music scene and nurtured an exceptionally devoted fanbase?

- Zoya Raza-Sheikh

WE ALL HAVE snapshot memories of KISS slathering on theatrical black and white makeup for the stage, and glam metal's Mötley Crüe showing up with powdered faces and pink cheeks. Alternative bands have never shied away from the circus of costume and aesthetic, but Sleep Token take it a step further. In their case, the masks and cloaks they wear are crucial for maintaining anonymity. The band, with their lead vocalist known only as Vessel, and drummer going by 'II', plus two touring musicians, have reached an unprecedented level of commercial fame and success, akin to the likes of fellow masked metal acts GHOST and Slipknot. Their fourth album, Even in Arcadia, released in May this year, topped the charts in the UK, US and Australia. Now, after their KoRn-approved headliner set at Download in mid-June, Sleep Token are being positioned as a once-ina-generation metal band.

If you're not familiar with Sleep Token, there's a chance you've missed their guitar-guzzling, black metal-inspired tunes. At times, their mega-mashup of styles feels like Twenty One Pilots slammed against Imagine Dragons' chart-patented poprock and tender, Coldplay-esque lyrics. After forming in 2016, their ascent as one of rock music's newest highlights has pulled them into the mainstream spotlight.

Aside from their sweep of the charts, what stands out about Sleep Token is the passion of their fanbase. Rolling Stone UK reached out to some of their fans to find out what it is about the band's image and music that lures them in.

Becky Remmer, 42, from Ottawa, Canada, first saw Sleep Token with her husband in Montreal in May last year. Such is her devotion to the band that she has travelled across the world to see them perform. "The first concert I saw them at was in Quebec, and I immediately bought tickets to see them in Toronto a few days later, and then flew over to see them in Glasgow and Manchester as well.