Yesterday’s (November 12th) announcement of Sleep Token being named as one of the three headliners for the annual ‘Download Festival‘ next year was a surprising development to many. The rising British alternative metal outfit, who intentionally cloak themselves in mystery, aren’t exactly a new band, having been around since 2016.
However, when stacked up against the lengthy careers and overall impact of the festival’s other newly revealed headliners in Green Day & Korn, Sleep Token are relative unknowns. Green Day have a 2x diamond-certified album to their credit and decades of chart-topping albums and headlining performances to bring in audiences.
Korn pioneered the genre of nü-metal and landed numerous platinum certifications for their extensive catalog, which managed to crossover into the mainstream in the late 90s and early 00s.
Sleep Token on the other hand began to only truly experience commercial success in 2023, after the initial singles from their third studio album “Take Me Back To Eden” found viral fame on TikTok.
Since then, the group have enjoyed a rapid ascent to top billing. In December of last year, the outfit delivered on the hype in their native UK, selling out the 12,500 capacity OVO Arena Wembley. The ballooning size of venues of they’ve managed to fill since over the past year further reflects their arrival as a player in the British metal scene.
Earlier this year the group also leveled up business wise, making the jump to RCA Records. However, even with their burgeoning list of accolades and achievements, there’s still a vocal contingent who feel Sleep Token are a flash in the pan. Those individuals certainly made their voices heard on social media following yesterday’s ‘Download Festival‘ announcement.
Some argued that other bands with more established and decorated careers deserved the spot instead. Others doubted that the band were ready for the spot, while the band’s ardent followers took to their defense. Now ‘Download Festival‘ founder Andy Copping has spoken out on the decision to book the band atop the fest.
Speaking with NME, Copping stated of what led him to make the controversial choice:
“It was seeing their meteoric rise over the last two years that made me think, ‘This is a band that deserves to be elevated. They’ve got a sold-out arena tour in a couple of weeks which we already know will be a sight to behold.”
He continued:
“I think it’s important for the festival to bring new bands through to headline. Back in the day, I did it with Slipknot. I did it with Avenged Sevenfold and Biffy Clyro. In 2023 we did it with Bring Me The Horizon. Now, every one of those bands across the world is perceived as a festival headliner.
That’s what I felt this time with Sleep Token. It feels like we’re the first major festival that’s taken the bull by the horns and gone, ‘OK, it’s time. Its Sleep Token’s moment’. I know it’s going to be amazing for them, amazing for the festival and amazing for the fans.”
He later added of the pressures of running a festival of this scale in the modern age:
“The festival has to evolve because people’s tastes and people’s expectations evolve all the time. The festival will die if we don’t move with the times, so we have to be innovative. We have to see what’s going on across social media and analyse the way people are consuming music in the TikTok age.
All of that is super important. Luckily, we’ve put together a very wide and varied young team who are giving input into what they feel the festival should be. We also talk to the fans all the time and ask them what they want to see. We seek out feedback on what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. From that, we’ve found a formula that’s been working for us.”
Last year’s ‘Download Festival‘ felt the impact of social media due to a campaign waged by a number of bands that were booked to play the fest. Various artists, including the likes of Scowl, SPEED, Pest Control, Dying Wish and more all took to protesting the event and withdrawing from the bill in light of the involvement of Barclayscard being a primary sponsor for the event.
Those artists above took issue with Barclays‘ financial involvements in the facilitation of weapons used by Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. In response, ‘Download Festival‘ parted ways with Barclayscard.
As for Copping‘s stance on the growing need to elevate younger artists to headlining status, he’s certainly not wrong. Metal and rock have experienced a general decline in mainstream interest over the past two decades, with festivals now often being left to lean on tried and true evergreen artists to anchor their bills.
However, with the generation of guaranteed headlining artists slowly beginning to age out, there’s been a growing concern of the lack of suitable replacements to eventually take their place. It’s a worrying situation that Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson publicly lamented earlier this year.
He cited several reasons as being potential factors in the situation, including the financial risks promoters face in taking a gamble on newer artists, the overall greed of the music industry, and a shrinking amount of smaller venues that allow artists the chance to build themselves up.
Next year’s ‘Download Festival‘ will take place at June 13th-15th at Donington Park in Derby, UK. The initial lineup announcement also includes sets from Weezer, Bullet For My Valentine and many more.
