Why Is Sleep Token so Controversial for a Metal Band?

Seeing disparaging comments when the band is mentioned is virtually uniform, but there may be a simple explanation for it.

In the dark amphitheater of Red Rocks, a gathered crowd cannot stop its clamoring, anxious for the concert to start — the concert they’ve waited so long for, dreaming of seeing in person the band whose lyrics they know by heart — Sleep Token.

It’s in the very first seconds of interplay between the notes of “The Night Does Not Belong to God” and the stage lights, that the people begin to scream. The vocalist, Vessel, walks through the shadows to the microphone and begins to sing. The song flows, and the audience is enraptured, holding on to every word.

Sleep Token has achieved success through its incredible blend of different genres, often switched in the middle of songs, bold experimentation, and mysterious visuals. More so, through the emotional voice and instruments that follow it, and the sincere words speaking of love and all it entails: rapture, heartbreak, fury, peace, restlessness, redemption.

It seems that in almost every live video, the audience knows every single word by heart. This is the magic of Sleep Token and the effect it’s had on the music scene. Why then, for a metal band, is it so controversial?

Sleep Token had a bit of a unique start. Formed in 2016, the group recorded two demos and experimented, before claiming ground with its debut album “Sundowning” in 2019.

Even at the time, audiences reacted quite favorably to the mix of raw emotion and djent guitar. Additional interest was generated by the visuals and “lore” of the band, concerning the worship of a deity known as Sleep.

The word of Sleep Token began to spread with “Sundowning,” but it began to snowball by 2021 when the band released its much-praised second offering “This Place Will Become Your Tomb.”

Now, every few steps on your journey through the metal world, you’d run into a video of frontman Vessel performing “Missing Limbs” on his lonesome, his voice cracking as if the tortured words were still freshly turned from tear-stained paper to a declaration in front of thousands. The next corner would lead you to a reaction video to “Hypnosis” and its brutal riffs. Fair to say, the band was heading skywards…slowly, quicker, sprinting now.

It all came to a head in 2023 when the third record “Take Me Back to Eden” was released. Then, the snowball turned into an avalanche. Now, the band was inescapable, they were in every conversation, and on every social media post regarding metal music. Famous musicians were jumping on the hype train left and right, praising the band’s ability to elude classification and of course, the quality of its music.

Fascinatingly, Sleep Token achieved this level of fame while rarely sharing words outside its songs. From what I’ve gathered, they have ( not counting the recent breakdown of drumming technique and kit by drummer II) given only three interviews since its formation, two in the last year or so, each more bizarre than the last, yet they firmly established that no importance was to be given to the members of the band: the music is all there is.

Praise & fame are always followed by something else. Shortly after being named “2023 Artist of the Year” by Revolver Magazine, comments started appearing online, suggesting that the hype was overblown, the band’s music mediocre, and the style disjointed.

It only became worse when the band flaunted itsincredible new guitars, fresh from the woodwork of Jackson’s Custom Shop. The premiering of new masks didn’t help either.

It is common for bands to receive disparaging comments. There are always those who feel the need to share their dissatisfaction with a band or artist currently discussed, dismissing their music or criticizing their character. With Sleep Token, the comments seem to be particularly acidic. There’s no center line, it seems. You either love them, or you despise them.

Of course, this isn’t true. Some call the band bland, and overrated. Many are perfectly disinterested, and most people who dislike their music concede that it simply isn’t to their tastes, rather than it being an issue of musical quality or ambition. You’d expect to see these comments, of course.

When the talk turns negative, all sense leaves the room, and personal insults rush to take the empty place.

I’d like to talk about Nickelback for a bit. On the off chance you’re uninformed, Nickelback is famous (or infamous) for being probably the most hated band in rock & metal history. The hatred those musicians received was unreal.

It had nothing to do with the band’s skills, performance, or personalities. They received harsh words, hate mail, bottles thrown their way, and such.

All the vitriol, for a band that was never really bad. Unoriginal? Sure, they weren’t truly trying to be. A bit bland? You could call them that, and you could argue that their music was unimaginative and even repetitive.

Despite this, they gave their fans exactly what they wanted, and gave solid live performances. So how did it earn this bad reputation?

You see, Nickelback’s crime was its incredible reach. At one point, it was inescapable. Almost every radio station played their songs.

Every few steps on your journey through the rock world, you’d run into the gritty singing of vocalist Chad Kroeger. The next corner would lead you to a soundtrack featuring one of their familiar tunes. Does this remind you of anything?

Creed suffered through the same, though they avoided much of the enduring hate. But it was in the moment they became unavoidable that the loathing started. Much like Nickelback, they were everywhere, so they were hated. Much like Sleep Token, they were on everyone’s lips, so they were reviled.

I would argue that this is the true source of Sleep Token’s controversy. People naturally become annoyed by hearing about the same concept several times in a short period, neutrality will not stop it.

Imagine then, continuously listening to talk about a band you dislike, one that is currently dominating a field you’re passionate about.

Of course, most people are rational and mature enough to go on with their lives, but in the modern age of digital platforms, some will not refuse the call to insult and attack.

Thus, the controversy surrounding Sleep Token, and the now-expected venom that likes to loudly introduce itself in every conversation, be it alone or supported by the like-minded.

Sleep Token need not fear becoming the next Nickelback. The music is good enough and the forward momentum is strong enough to avoid such pitfalls. Its brand of art is popular to hate, and that popularity will fade with time as all things popular do, sooner or later.

Those who genuinely criticize some aspect of the band’s music or image will continue to have their say, and their sincere approach to the topic is deserving of respect.

In the meantime, fans of Sleep Token continue to love what the band offers. I’d say it’s rare to see connections between fans and music as strong as this band’s. Seeing the light in someone’s eyes when a track comes up is heartening.

It’s so beautifully human, the excitement and the jitters. Can’t imagine how it looks and feels to Vessel from the stage with all those faces in front of him.