Sleep Token are topping the bill at this year’s Download, off the back of an epic tour that included two nights at London’s 20,000-capacity The O2. It’s a bold move when any band is elevated to the top of the British rock mountain, but here, head honcho Andy Copping explains why the time is now for the Donington masses to gather and Worship…
“The band first came to people’s attention in 2017 when [K! Editor Luke Morton] did an interview – I remember people were talking about them – but the first time I saw them properly was at Download Pilot in 2021. I remember going into the tent, which was busy, but watching them perform I knew there was something different. It wasn’t the anonymity and the masks – I wasn’t focused on that – but it did feel like a ritual. It felt like there was something happening that was very different and resonated with the Download Pilot audience. I thought, ‘There’s something going on here, this is definitely a band who are going places.’
“I also saw them at the Eventim Apollo in 2023. It was supposed to be at Brixton, but it got moved to Hammersmith [because Brixton was shut down]. They were sitting at 4,000 tickets about 10 days out, but in the last week they sold 1,000 tickets! It was miraculous, really. When a show moves, you usually get some refunds, but 1,000 tickets went in a flash. I watched the whole show and thought, ‘They are so far away from their contemporaries, they’re on a road of their own.’
“There’s a uniqueness about Sleep Token. It’s hard to put them in a specific musical box because it’s heavy, it’s light, it’s prog, it’s heartfelt ballads… And the mystery has taken it a step further, from KISS back in the day, or Slipknot when they first came out – it’s really coming into its own. But what sets them apart is that you can’t put them in a box, and they appeal to fans of different music. That’s not to take away from the killer bands coming through, but if Sleep Token are leading the charge and kicking doors open for the scene to continue to rise, then fair play to them.
“When Wembley went on sale and sold out in 10 minutes I was like, ‘This is beyond anything that anyone could have thought in terms of their popularity explosion.’ And not just in the UK – I’m seeing it in America, Australia and Europe as well. Suddenly, something is happening. I saw the Wembley show, it was amazing, and obviously Vessel had that wobble, but I thought it was great that he was still onstage while the crowd were singing the songs.
“We then started talking to them about Download 2025. The arena tour had gone on sale and blown out two O2s, and it sold out everywhere. This is their moment, this is their time. We, as a festival, have to be bringing bands through and believe in what we’re doing, but we don’t do it in a haphazard way. It’s very measured, it’s calculated, and I think it’s Sleep Token’s time. We spoke with them and they agreed to do it. It’ll be massive for them and for the festival, and I think that any detractors, when they see it, will get it. They’ll understand what it’s all about. It’s a lightning-in-a-bottle moment for our scene where a band has come in and done that.
“I think they’ll win over non-fans at Download with how dynamic the show is. Out of curiosity people will watch, and mark my words, they’ll say after they play, ‘I was not familiar, but they’re now my new favourite band.’ They have something about them that’s going to win people over. People will become part of the gathering, part of the Worship.
“A lot of people go, ‘It’s a new band,’ but they’ve had three albums. If you want to take it back, Guns N’ Roses exploded on album number one, Nirvana exploded on album number two, and here we are with a band on album three. I think that our scene is really lucky to have a band like Sleep Token come through and rise to the top. We’re going to see a lot of festivals across the world making them a headline act. We were first and we love being the innovators. What we did with Slipknot, what we did with Avenged Sevenfold, and most recently with Bring Me The Horizon, all those bands deserved to headline Download and we were the first to give them that opportunity. And we’ve been absolutely proved right. Sleep Token are going to be the next great festival headliner across the world, and how great it is that they’re British, too. It’s part of the new British Invasion. That’s how we came to the decision.
“I can’t wait to see what show they’re going to deliver at Download. They know they’re at the top table and they want to do something off the chart and really unique. I know they want to blow their contemporaries out the park with what they deliver and I have every faith that they will.
“The next step is to become a festival headliner [in their own right]. Is it Reading & Leeds? Do they do their own stadium or own outdoor site? You can already see ‘Sleep Token Presents The Ultimate Gathering’ and they do a greenfield site somewhere and it’s a Sleep Token-curated event. There’s no ceiling for them and I think that’s where the band are headed. No question about it.”
Get your Download 2025 tickets now. This feature originally appeared in the special edition Kerrang! Presents Sleep Token magazine.
Read this next:
