Magazine Interviews/Articles
Below are scans and transcripts of all articles and interviews about Sleep Token in chronological order. Sourced from Tumblr, Youtube, and from this Google document.
Who and what the hell are Sleep Token?
Who are the mysterious figures known only as Sleep Token? We try to find out.
Source | May 19 2017
The anonymous collective known as Sleep Token are premiering their new video for Calcutta exclusively with Metal Hammer. Taken from their upcoming EP Two, it’s an odd and unique mix of technical metal and expansive indie soundscapes. But that’s not the only bizarre thing going on…
Fronted by the masked, secretive figure known as Vessel, Sleep Token worship and commit themselves to the ancient deity known as Sleep (although we have been told “no proper translation can cover it”).
To try and gain some kind of grasp on what Sleep Token are and who is behind the mask, we had a quick chat with the person known as Vessel to try and find out…
What is the story behind Sleep Token?
“How we got here is as irrelevant as who we are – what matters is the music and the message. We are here to serve Sleep and project His message.”
Who is Sleep? How did an ancient deity find himself in the UK music scene?
“He is everywhere, at all times. Vessel encountered Sleep in a dream, with promise of glory and magnificence if Vessel followed Him. The UK is old, centuries of lore lay buried here. This land has power, if only you knew how to use it.”
What is the meaning behind the markings on your mask?
“It is an acronym of Sleep Token and reads as ST in ancient runes.”
Why do you all wish to remain anonymous?
“Our identities are unimportant. Music is marketed on who is or isn’t in a band; it’s pushed. prodded and moulded into something it isn’t. Vessel endeavours to keep the focus on His offerings.”
Do you worry people will liken you to bands like Ghost?
“No. The only comparison that can be drawn with Ghost is our anonymity. Our verses are a token, crafted to magnify and embody the multitude of emotion that writhes in our subconscious. Sonically our voice is rooted in the resonation between the notes and your emotion. Take our hand.”
Your Facebook page proudly states ‘Nothing lasts forever’. Is Sleep Token a temporary vehicle for the persona known as Sleep?
“Life is fleeting and this too shall pass. But for now, we praise Him.”
What are your influences musically?
“As musicians we are inspired by the human condition and a plethora of artists, but we are deeply moved by His words and continue to do our utmost to bring them to life. As followers we are bound by a duty to combine our crafts to create music that conveys some of our most primal, and powerful emotions.”
The song Calcutta is a bizarre mix of mainstream anthemic indie and tech-metal. What on earth is going on there?
“Life is dark. Life is bright. Life is ugly. Life is beautiful. Don’t get lost in genres, they’ll only disorientate you. Music is for everyone.”
Do you think people will see Sleep Token as a gimmick and not pay attention to the music?
“The standard concept of gimmickry is none of our concern. We are here to deliver a message; touch people in their hearts and subconscious minds. Soon, regardless of cynicism, you will all be followers. “
You’re making your live debut next month. What can we expect from Sleep Token in the live environment?
“Worship.”
What lies in the future for Sleep Token?
“Nothing. Lasts. Forever.”
Sleep Token’s upcoming EP Two will be released on July 21, via Basick Records. They make their live debut at the Black Heart in London on June 17.
Metal Hammer
July 25 2017
Stay Toke
The gimmick may be goofy, but Sleep Token's music is no laughing matter
"My favourite 90s album is Fantastic Planet by Failure. It's devastatingly bleak in a way that resonates into our deepest self." VESSEL (VOCALS)
Over the years Metal Hammer has heard all manner of bizarre sonic coalitions and watched bands emerge from the deepest, weirdest corners of our scene, yet mysterious collective Sleep Token are up there among the most unique and 'WTF?' propositions so far. Not only is their music a fairly unclassifiable fusion of brutal tech-metal and atmospheric post-rock, but the band, driven by masked and cloaked frontman Vessel, claim to live in thrall to an ancient deity called Sleep. OK...
Much like Ghost's Nameless Ghouls, the remaining members of Sleep Token have chosen to remain anonymous in order to retain their shadowy presence – only agreeing to answer our questions via email.
SOUNDS LIKE: An intriguing and shadowy blend of atmospheric post-rock and tech
FOR FANS OF: Meshuggah, Bon Iver, Explosions In The Sky
LISTEN TO: Calcutta
"They go hand in hand," explains Vessel when we ask if the band's sound and image are simply an exercise in gimmickry. "Sleep Token serves to add a visual dimension to our journey. A world without texture isn't a world at all." The story goes that Vessel first encountered Sleep in a dream where he was promised glory and magnificence in return for his worship. "He is the oldest God, a primal majesty that has endured the ages unperturbed by the mortality of a flawed and chaotic human race," says the frontman helpfully. "He is everyone. He is you. There's a power in music that binds us all, every note relates to another. He showed me a vision of a world filled with depth and texture."
Ok, so their 'backstory' is silly. But as far as the music's concerned, Sleep Token are an undeniably intriguing prospect, inhibiting a sparse world of heart-breaking beauty and intense heaviness where stark, and sometimes sinister, skeletal soundscapes build to throbbing climaxes with mesmerising effect. Recent single Calcutta, which premiered on Hammer's website, builds like a storm: violent, djent-tinged destruction erupting amid Vessel's ethereal and vulnerable Bon Iver-esque vocals.
"We sculpt, build and craft these sounds with an aim to deliver the emotional magnitude of His words," says Vessel. "Destroy and rebuild over and over until what is left is what His followers shall hear. The influences come from the physical and emotionally charged world at large. Dreams are textural, so is music and much like life; they bring both darkness and life. beauty and ugliness — it's our job to translate and convey those complexities as best we can. Each of these songs is an experience, but to find the real details you'll have to explore them yourself. The music will ring out and people will continue to follow, for that's what people do best. Follow. Stay with us and we'll show you the whole world through his eyes. What a magnificent sight that is."
SLEEP TOKEN'S NEW EP, TWO, IS OUT NOW VIA BASICK
Sleep Token release creepy new video for Jaws
Source | June 08 2018
Secretive collective Sleep Token have released a video for brand new track Jaws, the first new music from the band following last year's EP Two.
Speaking to Hammer about Jaws, the anonymous leader known as Him said: ‘"Jaws are the tools we have to rend apart. To show our concealed aggression. To take something once hidden and protected, and burst it apart. You know no one until you have seen them destroy something.”
Sleep Token have been nominated for Best New Band at this year's Golden Gods, and have three festival shows lined up this summer – Download, Reading and Leeds.
Jaws is available to purchase now.
Kerrang!
August 01 2018
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 tunes (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.”
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 ismple darkness of the haunting clip for Thread the Needle.
MORE INFO: Facebook.com/sleeptoken
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'S JAWS IS OUT NOW. THE BAND PLAY READING & LEEDS FESTIVALS - SEE THE GUIDE FOR INFO
Kerrang!
November 23 2019
ALL GOOD IN THE HOOD...
Mysterious masked entity SLEEP TOKEN allow a peek into their dark world on debut album…
With the hidden identities behind bands like Poland's Slavonic-speaking black metallers Batushka and Sweden's Ghost being unveiled to a curious public in recent times, it means that the similarly secretive Sleep Token might just be the most compelling group with their masks still in place. And, as they've already proven, the band are more than capable of playing up to this role of intrigue. When the anonymous collective emerged just over two years ago, dressed in Death Eater-style robes and looking ready to sacrifice your pet goat, their leader, known only as Vessel, told of an age-old deity called 'Sleep' — a name chosen as no proper translation exists in any modern tongue. They also came bearing allusions to ancient civilisations, with early songs named Calcutta, Nazareth and Jericho.
This weaving of the occult into the band's tapestry has grown smarter as they've journeyed towards this, their debut full-length. With the album named after the syndrome associated with dementia, where patients can become further confused and agitated as dusk settles in, its first single The Night Does Not Belong To God was unveiled upon the summer solstice in June. Subsequent tracks have been ritualistically released every two weeks since, always at the time of sundown in accordance qith Greenwich Mean Time (perhaps a clue towards the group's Earthly origins).
And yet for all this dark mystery and carefully constructed enigma, perhaps what surprises most about Sleep Token is the way they sound. Despite a supremely witchy aesthetic that hints at the gloomiest doom unearthed from some rotting catacomb, the main fabric of their debut is a mix of chilling electronics and otherworldly pop, with a sinister heaviness only intruding on the fringes. These are songs that share less with the metal of the similarly-robed Sunn 0))), and more with, say, Deaf Havana's slower, more pensive and thoughtful moments.
It begins with the aforementioned The Night Does Not Belong To God, a song that's as strange and sparse as it is spellbinding. With little more than a ringing digital tone and a muscular, crooning voice, the band conjure a dense mood that hangs heavy with longing, before bantamweight drumming and Deftones-like guitars inject a jolt of power. The song's lasting impression is one of immense feeling, and it's this rich atmosphere that cloaks almost the entirety of Sundowning.
At times, it's captivating. The Offering provides gasping melodrama, while Dark Signs projects EDM lightness onto evil chugs. The extremely minimal Drag Me Under, meanwhile, doesn't even sound human. The band's lyrics also go a long way in helping to construct this ethereal world, as they collide images of divinity with flashes Of what seems to be their own lives. And while convention may have taught us that emotions mean more when pinned to a personality or some real-life flesh, the facelessness of these private sermons can make them feel shared and empathetic, or perhaps like being inside a confession booth.
Admittedly, save for Gods — the record's only true out-and-out metalcore song — the continuous nature of this dark mood entwined with the group's slow-burning, listless pace does begin to drag across Sundowner's 50-minute runtime. But there are moments here to truly savour, and ideas and experiences that feel unique. The band have shown they can create vast episodes that exist primarily within their ancient universe, while also feeling very vulnerable and human at their core. That alone should be reason enough to hope that Sleep Token's secretive allure stays intact for a long time to come. TOM SHEPHERD
Q&A - A SERVANT (MOUTHPIECE FOR THE VESSEL)
Sleep Token have become pretty big already, without any details of the members' identities coming out. Why is there so much secrecy around the musicians in the band?
"It matters not who they are. It matters not what they say."
Where did the name Vessel for your singer come from?
"'Vessel' is no name. It is merely a descriptive term, one that may indeed be applied to us all. He is no different, in this regard."
The album is very eclectic, drawing upon various different styles that are often not found in rock. Where do these influences come from?
"Death. Power. Desire. Anguish."
"OUR IDENTITY MATTERS NOT TO BELIEVERS..." A SERVANT
Are you pleased that nobody has figured out the identities of the people behind the music yet?
"The entity is the music. There is nothing further to discover."
Would you say that there's an element of actual, occult magic to Sleep Token? ls that part of the reason why you're so secretive, like Jimmy Page in the '70s?
"Such boasts are not his to make. Should a wild animal be considered 'secretive' if it does not tell us its name?"
You've supported BABYMETAL at big shows, as well as your own headlining gigs, which have sold out almost immediately. Does appearing live in front of people make it harder to stay anonymous? Or does it simply prove the strength of what you're doing, in that the anonymity stands up to such things?
"The gathering of Followers only further exemplifies the truth, that the identity of the creators matters not to those who believe."
Is Sleep Token a band, or a larger entity, with no beginning or end?
"Nothing lasts forever."
Any final thoughts?
"Worship."
An Offering from Drumeo | Sleep Token II
Source | December 19 2023
Transcript
The Iconic Drumming Behind "The Summoning" | Sleep Token
Source | February 27 2024
Transcript
The Iconic Drumming Behind "Hypnosis" | Sleep Token
Source | September 17 2024
Transcript
The Iconic Drumming Behind "The Offering" | Sleep Token
Source | November 12 2024
Transcript
2025 The Metal Roundup Interview w/ George Lever
Source | May 14 2025
Transcript
Metal Hammer
November 2024
BEHIND THE MASK
The mythos, the mystery, the meaning — we decode every Sleep Token song
One EP (2016)
The music and the mystique — it all began here
WORDS: MATT MILLS
THREAD THE NEEDLE
Released in September 2016 as the lead single for debut EP One, Thread the Needle is the first song Sleep Token ever put out. It weaves together sensual alt pop and djent riffs, loading it all with layers of enigma. Is it a lamentation of a toxic relationship, a song about a bloke gagging for a shag or something deeper and more mysterious? The imagery suggests a sexual undercurrent. 'Bury me inside this labyrinthine bed,' sings masked frontman Vessel. 'We can feel that time is dilated.' Fans have theorised that Thread the Needle is about Vessels's obsession with Sleep, the enigmatic deity that hovers over Sleep Token's entire existence, which makes it their origin story. Yet it could be a metaphorical tale about a real relationship — one whose course is chart throughout the rest of the EP.
FIELDS OF ELATION
Maintaining the themes of Thread the Needle, Fields of Elation deals with adoration-tinged toxicity. 'The daylight recedes in unison. This room buries the hours like death,' Vessels says at the start of the song. He could be referencing sex, staying in a bedroom while the sun sets, but as Fields of Elation proceeds from subtle industrial music to heaving metal, the lyrics take on a horrible dependent edge. 'Your name is a sin I breathe, like oxygen,' begins the second verse. By the end, Vessel is so trapped inside this relationship that he repeatedly declares, 'I'm losing my faith in our lives apart.
WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS
The seven-and-a-half minute When The Bough Breaks brings the EP's thematic trilogy to a traumatic head. The more troubling parts of the relationship at its heart are brought to the foreground. 'Everything we touch turns water into blood,' runs the chorus, while Vessel accuses his unspecified partner, 'You don't really love, you just hate to be alone,' before desperately unloading the lines, 'Don't lie to me!' Those bitter lines, combined with the song's title, make it obvious that this is a split — though whether it's between two people or Vessel and the deity with which he's obsessed is a different matter.
TWO EP (2017)
Love and obsession as Vessel travels through space, time and geography
WORDS: MATT MILLS
CALCUTTA
The three songs on Sleep Token's second EP are named after historical settlements, each older than the last — seemingly a metaphor for the decay of a relationship. Calcutta is named after the British-Indian settlement that was established in the late 17th Century, though the region has been inhabited for more than 2,000 years. The song sees Veseel sounding repaired by a new partner (or maybe Sleep). 'Missing pieces find me,' he intones at one point, later adding, 'You are more than warm belief / Melting skywards / More than silence broken / I'm whole again.' Spoiler alert: it won't last.
NAZARATH
Named after the millenia-old settlement in Israel (the birthplace of Jesus's father Joseph, according to the Bible), Nazarath shifts between metal and more atmospheric sections. The lyrics are vividly violent, suggesting whatever Vessel is singing about has taken a turn for the worse. 'I'll see you when the wrath comes knocking on your bedroom door with money,' Vessel hisses at one point. It gets more vivid. 'Let's load the gun, makes her eat the tape in the bathroom mirror,' he sings in a disconcertingly angelic voice. 'See if she can guess what a hollow point does to a naked body. Literal or metaphorical, they're unquestionably furious.
JERICHO
Cited as the world's oldest walled city, Jericho has been inhabited for more than 11,000 years. The song that takes its name sees Vessel fixated on a previous relationship — possibly the one referenced in Nazareth. 'Until I wake, I dine on old encounters,' he intones. He seems to have moved on, though how that will play out isn't clear. 'You taste like new flesh — say my name again, he commands at one point. The quick bounce back and comparisons to past events suggest that, once again, it won't last.
JAWS/THE WAY THAT YOU WERE (2018)
The standalone singles that sit outside the lore — or do they?
WORDS: MATT MILLS
JAWS
Divorced from the storytelling of the first two EPs, Jaws sees Vessel beg for a seducated partner to open up emotionally. 'Show me what wounds you've got, show me love.' Yet there's something dangerous about the singer's cagey partner. 'Are you watching me with th eyes of a predator as you move towards the door?' he wonders. The single's artwork, which fills the outline of a shark's mouth with pictures of flowers, also hints towards the person in question being a duplicitious one.
THE WAY THAT YOU WERE
Sleep Token's first original non-metal song (they had already recorded a cover of Outkast's Hey Ya! by this point). Vessel hopes for his subject to return to their former self with such lyrics as, 'And you think I don't notice the way you were, and act like you don't feel it.' Towards the end, he strongly suggests that whoever he's talking to is losing their strength and happiness because of an abusive relationship: 'How much did they hurt you? And how much did they break you?' A romantic partner or Sleep? Only Vessel knows.
Sundowning (2019
Love is never straightforward...
WORDS: EMILY SWINGLE
THE NIGHT DOES NOT BELONG TO GOD
On the surface, The Night Does Not Belong To God lauds of Sleep and His nocturnal domain. Floating in like a prayer, the track likens slumber to paradise. However, despite the initial sense of beauty, it actually hints at Sleep's darker intentions. As the title suggests, the night is ruled by Sleep, who follows His own rules, unbound by concepts of omnibenevolence. Rather than solace, Sleep deceives Vessel with a false taste of divinity in order to make Vessel a dependent servant. Sleep's control mirrors the neurological phenomenon of 'Sundowning', the sensations dementia sufferers may experience in the evenings — a reflection of Vessels's heightened confusion.
THE OFFERING
The Offering follows Vessel's descent into the dark depths of sleep. As Vessel tumbles down into a void of unconsciousness, synths clashing with embittered riffs, he slowly succumbs to Sleep's control. As the track tussels between piano-led introspection and furious rumbling, the conflicting tone conveys the complexities of holy devotion, yet this quickly transforms into resentful snarls of 'take a bite. Worship once seemed to offer salvation, yet the relationship has devolved into something parasitical. If nothing changes, Vessel's loyalty to his god could consume him entirely.
LEVITATE
Sleep isn't the only relationship Vessel tackles on Sundowning. Basking in a soft haze of piano, Levitate vulnerably hints at a lost love. The track seems to suggeset Vessel felt inadequate in the previous relationship; he insists he wont be able to reach his ex-partner 'where the angels inhabit, deeming himself unworthy of Heaven while his partner is deserving of a place beyond the pearly gates. Throughout, Vessel seems to be consider his love an anchor, ashamed to be dragging down a lover that is destined to fly. After leaving his partner, he needed to fill the void with a new obsession — enter Sleep.
DARK SIGNS
Amid Vessel's battle with Sleep, he nestles in more details about his complex past relationship. Pitch black omens and alarm bells are among the many Dark Signs that Vessel ignores while pursuing his ex-partner. Sadly, the end result was toxic; nowadays, the partner would prefer Vessel to 'forget that you know me' entirely. In the aftermath, Vessel barely knows himself, admitting, 'I miss the man I was... I hate who I have become. The track also mentions 'marks on the dashboard,' alluding to the car crash depicted on Take Me Back To Eden's Granite. Foreshadowing? You bet.
HIGHER
Higher blurs the lines between pain and pleasure, traversing a diverse palette as it explores the 'bloody and fury' that dominates Vessel's life. Switching between dreamy synths and light post-metal breakdowns, it's unclear whether Vessel truly wants to escape the pain, or whether he lusts for it. 'We just can't resist the violence,' Vessel implores. While the track could be reflecting on his past relationship, the lyrics also explore Vessel's obligation to Sleep, referencing how Sleep needs 'a melody' to repay 'the debt' that Vessel owes.
TAKE AIM
Take Aim exists in an effervescent hazze, gentle and vulnerable as its lovesick musing. It paints Vessel as prey, constantly at the mercy of his lover, a hunter poised and ready to shoot. For Vessel, love stings 'like weapons kill,' desperation to please making him 'hate himself' — yet, despite all the pain, he longs for the brutality of love. If love is pain, then Sleeo's intoxicatingly cruel autocracy is the height of affection.
GIVE
Vessel takes centre stage throughout Sundowning, but Give hands the reins over to Sleep. High vocals dance over a backgdrop of castanets, a swell of transcient instrumentals tempting Vessel to give in to Sleep's command. Sleep promises he 'will be there' for Vessel, vowing to watch out for him and protect him from enemies, if Vessel simples 'gives in' to Sleep's command and embraces his dark impulses.
GODS
Sundowning tends to exist in softer alt metal soundscapes, but Gods is another beast entirely. It takes place after submitting to Sleep's seducation on Give, leaving him fearsome enough that even the 'Gods avert their gaze' from him. As soon as it rips open, the track is tyrannical, Vessel transforming from crooning boy next door to a raw, rampaging metal howler, rebuking the god for luring him down a dark path.
SUGAR
There's something bewitching about Sugar. Curious synthetic arpeggios lure you in, a bubble of intoxication as Vessel admits he's 'developed a taste' for the pain he experiences in a toxic relationship. Whether the 'chains' he finds himself addicted to are literal (naughty, naughty) or figurative, Vessel is fully consumed by the control he once resisted. It's a sharp twist from the venom unleahsed on Gods, but perhaps a sign of Vessel accepting the inevitable. It is easier not to fight.
SAY THAT YOU WILL
The vulnerability is back in full force for Say That You Will. Once again Vessel is divulging his unhealthy history with love; as Gods and Dark Signs show, when Vessel surrenders to the subject of obsession, he can transform into someone quite violent. Reflecting on his ex, we learn that Vessel's relationship was painted with 'sorrow' as well as 'blood, the 'impulse to love and the instinct to kill' becoming entangled. Rather than trying to change the narrative, Vessel seems to be addicted to the violence of love, doomed to repeat the same tale in his devotion to Sleep.
DRAG ME UNDER
Drag Me Under is a sedative in sonic form, soporific piano sinking you deeper into its clutches. It almost mirrors the album's opener, emulating a liminal headspace. While Vessel tries to fight back throughout the record, Drag Me Under admits defeat — and Vessels sounds positively angelic as his falsetto cries ring out, not an ounce of anger in his voice. It's as if any love is good enough for him, no matter how bloody — he implores Sleep, or a lover, to 'drag me under again,' no matter how bruised he may end up. The track's final section also seems to plunge underwater, perhaps preluding This Place Will Become Your Tomb.
BLOOD SPORT
Blood Sport is a fluttering display of regret and suffering in the face of love. The track sees Vessel mourning his past relationship, sombrely wishing he could 'be forgiven' and have his partner back. Yet Vessel is aware of his mistakes; he confesses he played a role in destroying his partnership, admitting he 'made loving [his partner] a blood sport'. The song seems to reflect how violent delights often have violent ends — and, unfortunately for Vessel, he's destined to have another violent relationship with Sleep.
SHELTER
Recorded for 2020's stripped-down From The Room Below session and released on the deluxe edition of Sundowning, Shelter is simultaneously bittersweet and tender. It adds another layer to Vessel's regret over his old partner, reliving memories with fleeting 'what ifs'. It's a sign that Vessel is still lovestruck, longing for a second chance in the hopes that 'this time' he will do things right.
THE COVERS (2017/2020)
Sleep Token have strayed into pop territory via Outkast and Whitney
Given the sheer amount of lore and theorising surrounding each Sleep Token's song, it's not surprising that even the band's choice of covers have come under scrutiny. In 2017, they released an unlikely piano ballad cover of hip hop duo Outkast's 2003 megahit Hey Ya! — a song Outkast rapper Andre 3000 has said is "about people who stay together in relationships because of tradition...but you end up being unhappy for the rest of your life". Familiar, much?
Two more similarly stripped-down covers followed three years later: Whitney Houston's 80s pop hit I Wanna Dance With Somebody and Billie Eilish's 2018 single When The Party's Over, both recorded for 2020's From The Room Below session. Both mine the same themes of desperation and loneliness, tying in with Sleep Token's worldview.
Metal Hammer
May 2025
"THERE WERE PEOPLE IN THE EARLY DAYS WHO DIDN'T GET IT"
Transcript
2025 Behance Article (deleted)
Translated by theforbiddeneden on June 12 2025
Noruwei, under the creative direction of Timcet, designed and produced the visual universe for EVEN IN ARCADIA, the fourth studio album by the British anonymous British band Sleep Token, released by RCA Records on May 9, 2025.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
All visuals were conceived and executed without the use of AI.
Our journey began with the Sony RCA creative team and led us into the core of Arcadia: a multi-layered concept structured into distinct environments and phases.
The title Even In Arcadia refers to the Latin phrase Et in Arcadia ego, popularized through paintings by Guercino and Nicolas Poussin, and later integrated into mysterious sculptural elements like the Shepherd's Monument at Shugborough Hall.
Arcadia, in this context, isn’t a fixed place, it’s a system of symbols, utopian imagery and fragile balance. Our mission was to translate that into a consistent visual narrative across multiple releases.
Sketches
Initial concept art phases explored the thematic structure of the album: identity, conflict, metamorphosis.
RCA Creative Director Leo Araujo developed early sketches to define the main composition that could be expanded across four animated visualizers.
Banners
Each single was accompanied by a banner: graphic elements designed by the talented illustrator Alex Tillbrook inspired by the song’s title and core message. Each banner will burn during the animation and the fire symbolized the ignition of a conflict that spreads throughout the entire visual universe.
Character Design
In the world of Arcadia, two factions emerge: House Veridian and The Feathered Host.
Veridian stands for strength, control, and resistance (“The house must endure”).
The Feathered Host symbolizes emotion, intuition, and circularity (“The cycle must be broken”).
These two symbolic systems collide visually and conceptually throughout the four visualizers.
House Veridian
The Feathered Host
The Black Flamingo
The Flamingo is key symbol of transformation, struggle, and unstable beauty. It appears on the album cover and in all the animation teaser presentations.
Its 3D design was developed in collaboration with Locus Solus Studio (Amsterdam), based on a study of real flamingo movement to capture elegance and mystery in an animated context.
Single 1 - Emergence
Released: March 13, 2025
Set in a garden, [the] Emergence animation depict[s] the protagonist, Vessel, undergoing a transformative rebirth and a new existence with Sleep.
The background structure is a hidden monolithic palace.
Single 2 - Caramel
Released: April 4, 2025
The scene moves inside the palace: polished marble, sharp light and shadow contrasts and filtered sunlight reveal a setting that’s both sublime and suffocating.
The environment reflects a paradox: "The stage is a prison, a beautiful nightmare." It exposes the duality of fame and creation, trapped and observed.
Single 3 - Damocles
Released April 25, 2025
We created a fountain to represents power and the weight of expectation.
As water cascades from above, the blue blossoms suggest glory, yet the structure itself evokes the ever-present possibility of collapse.
Single 4 - Even in Arcadia
Released: May 2, 2025
The final visualizer reveals the city of Arcadia from a distant cliff. It is a moment of stillness before destruction, he overlook symbolizes the tension between idealized spaces and the shadows that linger within them.
The Glitch
A hidden detail appears briefly in each single: the glitch.
An instant revealing the ongoing battle between the factions.
While most symbols were decoded by the Sleep Token community, the glitch remains a subtle visual code for those who look closer.
BTS
This section shows the creative pipeline behind the project, starting from a selection of high res still frames from the animations.
Credits
CREDITS
Client: Sony RCA Records
Project Management, digital art and production: Noruwei
RCA Records team:
Senior Creative Director: Leonardo Araujo
Creative Manager: Shoshana Reist
SVP of creative: Niki Roberton
VP Marketing: Aaron Stern
Noruwei team:
Digital Artist: Elia Pellegrini (Timcet)
Chief Creative Producer: Nicola Morino
Creative Producer: Romina Kolewa
Concept Art: Massimiliano Nigro
Flamingo Model creation: Locus Solus
Banner 2D illustration: Alex Tilbrook
This wasn’t just a commission, it became a connection and we are proud to have played a part in shaping it!
2025 Backstage Explorer's Interview w/ Lani Hernandez-David
Source | August 2 2025
Transcript
2025 Sleep Talkin' Interview w/ Shaun Hodson of Loki Films
Source | October 18 2025
Transcript