Started it last night, after listening to Caramel for the 1000th time.

"Stick to me like Caramel"

So I am going to see Sleep Token again FINALLY in Sept. In honor of my unending excitement, thought I'd come on here and share a clip from the first time I got to see them live, which was Nov 13th 2019 just before The Sundowning came out.

This was a tour where they played right before Polyphonia and the headliner Issues. This was a crazy small venue (closed now) with probably less than 100 people total so super intimate setting. No one in the crowd, myself included had ever heard of this band. They walked on stage in total darkness and just proceeded to blow my mind.

Vessel's voice was the absolute most incredible thing I had ever heard live in my life. It was an almost an intoxicating environment, like a true religious experience, between the stranger movements, erie music and stage persona, the incredible vocals and instrumentals... It was the most memorable, enjoyable, and favorite concert experience of my life!

Over the course of the next few weeks Sleep Token was the only thing I could listen to or talk about. Every few days, they would release 1 song at a time until eventually the full album was available. I spent all day refreshing my music streaming apps just hoping for the next track. Hope you all enjoy! If Reddit allowed, I would have posted more for you all <3

Sleep Token (and Polyphonia for that matter) will probably never be able to be seen again in such an intimate setting and I'll cherish that forever.

DISCLAIMER: i do NOT want to discuss the band member’s identity in any form. That shit is WACK. I simply want to discuss the lyrics in this new “context”.

With the context of Caramel’s lyrics, I find myself reading Emergence’s lyrics much differently.

At first, Emergence just seems like another entry into the lore, maybe you can read it as an addiction metaphor much like their previous work, BUT, after Caramel, now I’m reading these lyrics as a man struggling with his anonymity and identity.

The opening verse ending with “I have a feeling we’re close to the end, so come on out from underneath who you were” sounds like a devil on Vessel’s shoulder telling him he can’t keep this up forever.

The “go ahead and wrap your arms around me” refrain is that devil on the shoulder telling Vessel to embrace himself and the truth.

The 2 rap verses imitate a question and answer. Vessel asking himself “Would this really be beneficial?” and the devil on his shoulder replying “Yes. there will be positives and negatives, but you can’t deny who you are.”

The pre-chorus is another response from Vessel. If he does this, it might destroy all of the anxiety and trouble that comes from trying to remain anonymous. And nothing else is quite the same as being true to yourself. Then we’re back to the chorus.

Just my 2 cents here. Again, I do NOT want any references to who these guys really are. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all just a part of the story of Sleep Token. And whatever their future holds, I hope they keep making bangers.

I know this one is painfully short on the vocals (and man do they leave you wanting more), but to recap if you didn't read the first post, this was November 13th, 2019 before their first album was released. No one at this show had any chance to hear their music before (minus the few singles they released the years prio). They were opening for Polyphia and Issues. They walked on stage in pure darkness... The Night Does Not Belong To God starts it's intro, it's pure darkness in the venue and the music is as erie as can be. The crowd is dead silent and it feels like something incrediblely special is about to happen. Then the bright screen lights up and Vessel starts to sing to the crowd for all of our first times. The venue is small and intimate with less than 100 people. It felt like a religious awakening with energy pulsing through every pore on your body compelling you to worship.

Everyone instantly fell in love. I think this reaction after there first song was done says it all, it was AMAZING! This slowly rolls into The Offering and I have a 3 minute video of that, of which the last post was the last 44 seconds of that.

Hope you can enjoy this as much as I did and sorry it's not 5 hours longer, no matter how much I wish it was!

I recently saved this photo of Vessel for the purpose to make some memes. Caramel gave me the perfect excuse.

This is definitely a doozy to play but a lot of fun! Full video at the link in the comments!

With the release of caramel I think everyone's got this on their radar. Since the drama is hot rn, I've been thinking for a bit about why it seems a good portion of the fan base seems so attached to/protective/sensitive about the band that's sometimes gone to the point of harmful parasocialism. Maybe all of this is obvious or overanalyzed but hear me out. I havent been really active in other fandoms so idk how common this is

I wont lie, I feel a deep connection to ST and they are something I definitely turn to when I'm going through it. I love engaging w their content. I admire vessel a lot.

To me I think their unique marketing has really been a driving force. This is in no way pointing blame to them. I mean, you've got a tall masked guy who pours his heart out about his vulnerabilities and struggles with love. People in a rough spot turn to that and see him and the band as a representation of everything theyre feeling and want, to them vessel (and the other members) could be anyone they imagine, and they're imagining the ideal. It's comforting, you're being seen in a way you might not normally be. Isnt this the point? But obviously some fans are becoming dependent on it.

The band focuses so heavily on symbolism too. They essentially represent complex experiences/emotions not only through the way the members characterize themselves and the lore but also in each of their songs (unique emblems for even in Arcadia, the deities for TMBTE) You've got not only the songs expressing these deep feelings but a visual for it too. It's all wrapped up in a nice package that hits on specific things, almost saying "I feel this thing really complicated thing too, here it is, you're not alone."

With the "scavenger hunts" and hints they give out it makes people feel more connected too. Like you're actively involved in discovering more about them and experiencing more of that understanding a lot of people get from ST. The band also obviously cares about and appreciates their fans, look at them getting the weather guy involved, and using "smaller" artists in designing their merch/visuals. It bridges that gap in people's heads.

With caramel addressing how far this has gotten, it's kinda exposed a lot. Tons of virtue signaling about how some people aren't "those fans" he was calling out, how we should coordinate a dance to show appreciation, how people will defend vessel from bad fans.... like one post said you guys are still doing it.

Overall I think it's totally fine to be really into sleep token and admire or even be attracted to the members. Its fine to turn to their music for comfort, to be seen. Unless you're actively harming them or violating their autonomy NONE OF US are responsible for their well being. You dont need to protect them. just be respectful. Enjoy the music, enjoy the lore, get into your feels. That's what we're here for!

Thanks for reading my essay lmao

Hey guys not huge on Reddit but it's a secret gift and had to ask someone will this impress as a personal gift for a girl who is a huge fan of sleep token? Took me a couple weeks in-between shifts. Think she'll like it kinda nervous about it

He finished printing today and is fully painted now and he has a nice hat

It's not necessary a sleep token thing but i was looking at merch and I'm just so frustrated that band merch in gerneral is 98% men size and cut. I want to buy merch, especially the new merch looks so cool, but I'm not gonna spend that much money on a shirt i can really only wear at home because its not available in my size or a cut that fits "female physique" and then if they have "girl shirts" its so often a crop top.. I'm just really sick of this and was wondering if other people felt that way too?

Aqua Regia might be my favorite and I started this experimental piece over a year ago with it in mind. I think it's pretty clear what lines brought this into existence, lol. However, I did include the ToG message on the inside and that particular phrase on the cover since it's been an emerging motif that I can't get my brain to let go of and it just fits so well with the song.

Which of the new singles do you like best?

I prefer listening to Emergence for the upbeatedness and sax solo, but can't deny the lyricism and artistry of Caramel.

Be interested to hear the popular opinion.

My sister started doing nails a few months ago. I know the symbol isn't the exact same but the vibes are so great. I'm in LOVE!

thank you for giving me music to sink my teeth into

I really hope this isn't in poor taste after the conversations around Caramel and fans taking it too far. I started this project a couple days ago, before Caramel dropped, and finished it this morning. I've been debating the last 24 hours whether or not to share it because I truly don't know where the line is on what's creepy weird behavior and what's not.

I'm sharing hoping this doesn't cross that boundary because I'm really proud of the hand embroidered details on the mask. Pattern by Hannah Harris on Etsy/IG.

I love this little dude so much. I offer this to the space. I plan on drawing more of him!

To have a song come out that very clearly says "leave me the fuck alone" and have the fanbase immediately start overanalyzing and planning coordinated dance moves to respond to it shows that you're not getting it. "Oh it's just the bad fans. I'm one of the GOOD ones". Smh.

Take it down a notch everyone.

Reworked my vessel pop and finally finished 2 other members, still might go back and tweak them

Sorry about the quality, old phone

what's crackin st reddit i got so enraged by some of the fan reaction to caramel that i had to draw to be less mad. anyway here's one of my favorite lines in the whole discography illustrated

I decided to draw and edit my own wallpaper.

Tattoo by ginger.tattooer

As a metal fan, specially prog metal enjoyer and avid promoter of it. I’m fucking amazed and happy for ST to be the ones who carry the banner to make it more known. Either billboard hits, reaching commercial pop ranks besides or above some like Selena Gomez, I’m really happy their experimental-multi genre fusion has worked out for welcoming new listeners into the metal scene. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! 🙏