The Unexplainable World of Sleep Token

Posted on June 22, 2024 by Audrey Snapka

The first thing that people think of when the name “Sleep Token” is mentioned is the band’s strange cult-like symbol, the white masks with red markings, and the black body paint. Fans have witnessed performances that resemble a religious worship as the band’s frontman stands behind a candlelit alter and the backup singers are fully covered in black hooded cloaks. A number of people have never listened to the band based solely on their appearance. However, if you were to dive a little deeper into the band’s story, you would recognize that their symbolism is so uniquely intricate and mystifying. For those of us that have listened to Sleep Token, we have been immersed into a world that we cannot explain. Many of us try to, but we are often left with more questions than answers.

Nothing is ordinary when it comes to the UK band that formed in 2016. Aside from their interesting way of composing music, they have a very extensive lore that makes them so captivating to their audience. All the members are anonymous, each one going by a different name: Vessel, II (Two), III (Three), and IV (Four). Vessel, the band’s lead singer, is said to worship the ancient deity “Sleep” and their music being the “Token” or offering to this deity. Some believe that Vessel is singing to a God, others believe it was a past lover, or even a battle with addiction. Either way, it appears, the band’s music is about an abusive relationship, and plunges into the psyche of a wounded man.

The most interesting thing about this band is there is no definitive answer. There has only ever been one elusive interview with Vessel, and their Instagram biography simply reads: "Nothing lasts forever." Fans have been left only to speculate, and many, like myself, have analyzed the fascinating complexity of their music until their heads hurt. No matter the conclusions we come to, it is obvious the band created this music with a specific design. Their music allows the listener to create their own meaning, and universally resonate with the emotion poured into their albums.

Credit: Adamross Williams/ Sleep Token

Before we can dive into the possible meanings behind their music, we cannot ignore the blatant symbolism presented by the band. Most iconically, the band’s symbol, which looks a great deal like hieroglyphics (shown above). In the only interview ever recorded, by Luke Morton, in 2017, Vessel claims “it is an acronym of Sleep Token and reads as ST in ancient ruins.” But fans believe it is a mashup of runes from Elder Futhark, the oldest form of runic alphabets, dating all the way back to the first century. Harry A. Eaton gives a lengthy explanation to this in his article “THE LORE OF: Sleep Token.” It is believed that four runes make up the band’s name: dagaz – ᛞ, tiwaz – ᛏ, uruz – ᚢ and eihwaz – ᛇ. The symbols represent a union of femininity and masculinity, self-sacrifice, love, and balance. Although it seems fitting when you put that symbolism alongside the band’s music, even Harry A. Eaton questions if they “simply just thought it looked cool.”

The band has recently constructed an apparent alphabet, which has been seen on their social media, merch, and most shockingly on their latest album cover. Fans have been able to decipher the title of the album to Take Me Back to Eden. To fully understand the depth of this album, we must return to Sleep Token’s conception. In 2016, the band released their first EP (Extended play) titled One, consisting of only two songs: “Thread the Needle” and “Fields of Elation”. It seems to be the beginning of an erotic relationship, filled with devotion and pain, and many believe it to be the initial seduction of Vessel by Sleep. In “Fields of Elation” he quotes “Your name is a sin I breathe, like oxygen / Caught in the careless arms of lust, again.” It is unclear exactly what or who Vessel is speaking to, but it is obviously passionate as the music is seductive and soft, then slowly turns into a heavier beat with more drums and a blaring guitar.

For six months, that was all us listeners were given until Two was released in July of 2017. Two appears to be about Sleep searching for a new “Vessel,” maybe as if a preface to the previous EP, which again only left the listeners puzzled. We cannot make a clear chronology as there are clues scrambled throughout their music, but when the band released “Blood Sport”, in 2019, on the album Sundowning, it was made apparent Vessel is playing a game he simply cannot win. The lyrics “I’m still your favorite regret / You’re still my favorite weapon of choosing” show a painful cycle of lust and love. The track ends with the subtle sound of Vessel sobbing. In the same album we can hear the background vocals in “Dark Signs” singing of how he “might break and bend” to bend to his basic need to be “loved and close to somebody.” Vessel’s battle with Sleep is ongoing and it reaches a peak in the song “Atlantic”.

“Atlantic” was featured on the 2021 album This Place Will Become Your Tomb (TPWBYT). The song starts off beautifully with a sorrowful piano ballot, and his voice is equally as pleasing. But if you listen closely to the lyrics, you will realize they have a more sinister meaning. Fans believe the song to be about a failed suicide attempt, as Vessel says, “bandage up the trenches”, it is thought that he is speaking about self-harm scars. He goes on with the lyrics:

I woke up surrounded, eyes like frozen planets

Just orbiting the vacuum I am

They talk me through the damage, consequence

And how it’s a pain they don’t understand

He uses the term “murder” repeatedly throughout the number, and though it was clearly his own doing, it speaks volumes to how he views this dangerous relationship with Sleep.

In “High Water”, another song on the TPWBYT album, Vessel mentions self-harm again when he says, “You are still a perfect reminder of what / All of these scars on my arms are for” all whilst calling this relationship “holy” within the same breath. Vessel never waivers on his love and need for Sleep, yet we see the relationship come to a breaking point in the most recent album Take Me Back To Eden.

The first two songs on the album, “Chokehold” and “The Summoning” both talk about how Vessel has given his “body, flesh, and bone” to Sleep. However, this album has a much greater level of anger within its undertones. “Vore”, the fifth track, consists primarily of screaming vocals for an entire five minutes and forty seconds, and, although unclear, can be perceived as Sleep’s perspective, asking Vessel to allow him back “in.” The sixth song, an arguable fan favorite, “Ascensionism”, immediately reverts to Vessel’s possible point of view where you can feel his pain reverberate from your speakers. The album ends with three overwhelming songs; “Rain”, “Take Me Back To Eden” and “Euclid”. It is almost a conversation between the two, ending with what sounds like Sleep choosing to leave Vessel (A lot of fans hear this as the opposite, but the lyrics “The night belongs to you…I must be someone new” lead me to believe that is Sleep in that moment). I do not claim to have any definitive answers to this mystery; but I do believe these songs are the most telling of the mysterious relationship. Euclid ends with both voices blending together and over each other all at once.

I believe Sleep and Vessel are one being, and I cannot pretend to know what Vessel's inner demon is. Is he really entangled with an ancient deity? Is it a struggle with addiction? Or a mental disorder? In reality, Sleep Token songs could easily be about heartbreak. I doubt we will ever know for certain. I urge you to venture into the unexplainable world of Sleep Token with an open mind, and you will not be disappointed. As listeners we can connect their music to our real lives and use it to heal ourselves. Nothing Lasts Forever.

Credit: Adamross Williams/ Sleep Token

Sources

Eaton, Harry A. “ALBUM REVIEW: Sleep Token - Take Me back to Eden.” boolin tunes, 14 May 2023, boolintunes.com/featured/album-review-sleep-token-take-me-back-to-eden/.

---. “THE LORE OF: Sleep Token.” boolin tunes, 27 Jan. 2023, boolintunes.com/featured/the-lore-of-sleep-token/.

Minimal, Misfits &. “Sleep Token: A Summarized Lore Dump.” Medium, 10 Sept. 2023, medium.com/@MisfitsandMinimal/sleep-token-taking-the-metal-genre-by-storm-d5e9fd609fc0.

Morton, Luke. “Who and What the Hell Are Sleep Token?” Loudersound, 19 May 2017, www.loudersound.com/features/who-and-what-the-hell-are-sleep-token.

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