Sleep Token

Fred Durst cleaned up, Corey Taylor switched masks and gorged on Radiohead-style synths. The downtuned riffs aren’t Korn-grade, more like Meshuggah — or the copy of a copy. But everything else in art-metal crusaders Sleep Token's gamebook feels surprisingly close to the stale heyday of nu metal: an overcooked mix of cheap aggression, bargain-bin rap flows, melodic breakdowns and overwrought catharsis. All served with the added weight of dead-serious self-importance.

There’s barely a single memorable track on the British band's fourth album — not that it matters. Propped up by esoteric flair and the staged mystery of their Assassin's Creed-style costumes, the band’s popularity has hit dizzying numbers. Nearly ten million monthly listeners on Spotify — four times more than the already dreadful Take Me Back To Eden pulled in at release.
So what’s the trick? It's hard to picture old-school metalheads vibing with the watered-down trap-pop of Past Self (very Ed Sheeran, though Sheeran raps better) or with the djent/reggaeton crossover of Caramel. Even where the guitars manage to take over, they tend to stick to one chord per track. Sure, there’s a real riff on Emergence — and even a dash of sax for aesthetic — but the mood stays flatlined: all Sleep Token seem capable of is tweaking the throttle. More power, less power, ambient filler, gym-mode blast.

But you don’t rack up ten million fans with old-school metalheads. Some of them, sure, might be Linkin Park nostalgists — after all, with fifty million monthly listeners, they're still one of the most streamed rock bands out there, like it or not. But the real engine of Sleep Token’s success is elsewhere: in that Imagine Dragons brand of workout music, just with more breakdowns and smoke machines.
Predictable ups and downs, like a cardio circuit, and emotions sweetened to death — like on the hyper-protein power ballad Damocles: all gloss, no fiber, loaded with artificial highs. Like a budget keto mousse: inflated, shiny, and entirely flavorless.

(English version created with AI-assisted translation)

06/06/2025