With indie giants The 1975 and Sam Fender already tearing apart the two main stages to headline Reading & Leeds this year, it’s easy to lose sight of the festival’s rich history with the hard rock world. may become That is, at least, until metal scene’s current leaders, Sleep Token, take to the Festival Republic stage to prove the genre is still alive and thriving at the festival.
The band’s grip on the scene this year is unquestionable, aided greatly by the strong new album Take Me Back to Eden, and within seconds of them starting their set, that It’s easy to see why. Anonymous frontman Bessel approached, wearing his signature cloak, lit by just one spotlight of his own, to make sure the rest of the stage remained in the dark. Meticulously track every step.
From there, he opens with the enchanting opening verse of “Chokehold,” and as the song unfolds, the lighting glimmers of the band and the hooded backing singer eerily still behind him. It looks like
Given their striking aesthetics, unconventional performances (which they call Ritual), and subtle technical sounds, this set seems to be more of an advantage if placed in a mainstream setting. It feels like However, without uttering a single word to the audience and using a minimal stage setup, the band instead did the opposite, attracting perhaps the most devoted fans the festival has ever seen. I’m here.
Songs from the latest album dominate the 45-minute set, with “Rain,” “Granite,” and “The Summoning” all proving to be the strongest of the night. What’s more, rather than the fans mindlessly moshing during the performance, the Sleep Token crowd seems to be more admiring the track than anything else. With Vessel switching between subgenres effortlessly and embodying each emotion with every move, it’s hard not to follow him on a deeply satisfying journey.
That said, we can’t shake the feeling that despite the band’s continued top form, we’ve only been shown a fraction of what they’re capable of. And with the biggest headlining show of all time scheduled for Wembley Arena later this year, it was just a glimpse of the band reaching the peak of their power.
Sleep tokens played:
“Chokehold”
“something like that”
‘granite’
‘was’
“Hypnosis”
“alkalinity”
“Summon”
‘rain’
“The Offering”
Sleep Token at Reading Festival: a captivating glimpse at metal enigma
