Sleep Token

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Are you ready to taste the demon toast? All right, we, we four are assembled. [00:00:13] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:00:17] Speaker A: Welcome to another demon toast. I'm King Loki, your host, the editor of Death Wish Poetry magazine. With me are Brittany, Erica and ncaa, my co hosts. My awesome, awesome erudite co host. And tonight we will be talking about Sleep Token. I was going to make a joke about the Insane Clown Posse, but you know, we will actually talk about them eventually. So whatever. Yeah, Sleep Token is blowing up. I mean, it has blown up. I don't know. They're super big in Britain, they're super big everywhere. It's my understanding that they have never played a show that was not sold out. And their, their music really does transcend genre. Their songs of, of longing, Toxicity, sadness, and the tumult of love and human connection are just exquisite. And well, tonight we'll be diving into really what they're about, what they, what their music means to us, and what sense you can really make out of everything they do. So I'm assuming everyone here loves Sleep Token. [00:01:15] Speaker B: Love Sleep Token was like a great. [00:01:20] Speaker C: Example of most people's first time experiencing them. At least that's how I felt was just. It's so overwhelmingly beautiful almost. And it takes a minute to kind of process everything the first time and really like sort through and appreciate all of the layers. [00:01:38] Speaker B: Yeah, very much. [00:01:40] Speaker A: Yeah, that's. That's like the big thing with, with them because like, you know, you come in going, oh, they wear masks. It's like slipknot. And then it's not. [00:01:46] Speaker B: And no, it's not. [00:01:48] Speaker A: The music will change genre mid song and multiple times. Like your Joel's already on the ground because you're like, oh, this piano is so delicate. It's like they're afraid to play the keys. And then boom. Fucking shift into, into metalcore like nothing. Like it's no one's business. So, you know, go ahead me. [00:02:06] Speaker B: Oh. So I, I mean, I'm a huge Sleep Token fan. I discovered them on their second album, Sleep Cycle. So this place will become your team and we'll get into all three of their albums. But I discovered them when they released Alkaline as a single. It came up on like a Spotify shuffle for me of like, you know, I just had it playing like a smart shuffle of songs that it thought I would like. That song came up, stopped me in my tracks. Cuz I had quite literally never really ever heard anything like this before. And I was like, what am I listening to? And so I, you know, because usually I just like play it in the background and just, you know, I'm vibing along and all of it. You know, a lot of the music I listen to is like, sounded similar enough that like, it doesn't often stop being my tracks like that, but this song did. There's something about his lyricism, the intonation, the emotive, like, nature of his vocals. And then I also, like, I'm a huge drum nerd. So the drums in particular really stand out to me for this band because their drummer is like, truly, truly exceptional. One of the premier drummers of the world. And so that also struck my ear and I was like, this drummer is insane. What is going on? And so that's what started my Sleep Token journey several years ago. And it's been a real joy to like, watch this, like, wave of success that they're having. I do want to say, like, they. Most of their shows when they are in the uk, do sell out. Even back when they were like teeny tiny. But they did do some tours over here. Like they were on this one tour with in this Moment. They also were in another tour with Issues and Polyphia. I think some of those didn't look into. I'm sure not every single one of those tours sets sold out for them. But, you know, they were openers. But I think what you're saying is when they are headliners, they sell out. And that I do think is accurate. Even when they were tiny and they were headlining, you know, they would headline, I guess, probably smaller venues that was more on par with the size of band that they were at the time, but they would sell out. Like their very first show that they ever put on, sold out. The very second show, sold out. Like, it doesn't matter if they are highlighting, they are selling out. So I think that is really kind of astounding. [00:04:19] Speaker A: Yeah, it's my understanding that people will go to festivals just to see them. And they won't eat, they won't leave her necessarily. But the. The idea is, oh, we're here to see Sleep Token. Everything else is a BONUS, you know, 100%. [00:04:30] Speaker D: Exactly. [00:04:31] Speaker B: Very much. They will go straight to that stage, stay at that rail. Doesn't matter what or who is playing. They are just. They're gonna sit their little butts right there all day long and wait for Sleep Token to come on. [00:04:44] Speaker D: Talking about herself. [00:04:45] Speaker B: Stop calling myself out. Calling myself out. I did manage to. I didn't do that. But when I did see. So the two places I've seen them, I saw them play on Blue Ridge Rockfest in 2023, it did manage to make it all the way to Barrier, but I didn't stay there all day long. I just crowd surfed all the way to the front and then plopped in the beginning in the front. And then I just stayed there and weaseled my way all the way through till I got to the front. And then I was fortunate enough to be able to see them on their tour last May at Radio City Music hall, which is. It was probably the greatest, like, sonic experience I've ever had in my entire life. Not to mention the visual effects, but we'll get into that. [00:05:26] Speaker C: I bet. It was insane. [00:05:29] Speaker B: It was unbelievable. Have any of you attended. Have any of you attended any event in Radio City Music Hall? Just. [00:05:37] Speaker C: I haven't. [00:05:37] Speaker D: Never. [00:05:38] Speaker A: I suck. I used to live in New York and I never did. [00:05:40] Speaker B: There is a reason why that venue is as iconic as it is, because the acoustics in there, the sound system in there, unbelievable. Like, unreal. So I feel really fortunate that I was able to make it to that. [00:05:52] Speaker A: So, Sleep Token at Radio City. That's pretty cool. [00:05:55] Speaker B: It was amazing. [00:05:57] Speaker A: Absolutely. I mean. I mean, in the tradition of bands like Gwar and, I don't know, Squidpisser, why not Necrogobicon? I mean, they have a grander sort of mythology about them, which. Or Ghost, you know, where essentially the. The frontman who goes by simply Vessel, and he wears a mask with runes and, you know, arcane sigils, you know, engraved into it. He is essentially tasked by this ancient, nameless, formless God called Sleep. And if I'm explaining any of this badly, California will correct me. I will. And you should. But basically, Sleep says they have. Oh, I have been here always. I am everywhere. If you will be my messenger, I will give you grandeur and glory and. Well, his relationship with the deity Sleep is perhaps explored across these three albums. Sundowning this place will become your tomb and take me back to Eden. Did I miss anything there? [00:06:59] Speaker B: No. I mean, obviously they have eps that came out prior. [00:07:03] Speaker A: Right, right. [00:07:03] Speaker D: Sorry to interrupt. [00:07:04] Speaker B: Albums. Yes. [00:07:06] Speaker A: Okay. [00:07:07] Speaker B: Okay. It might upload the audio as, like, two different files or something like that for Daniel, but we'll figure that out. [00:07:14] Speaker A: You didn't get kicked out or anything? [00:07:15] Speaker B: You're still here the whole time as far as we were concerned. [00:07:18] Speaker A: It does say you're recording, so. No. [00:07:20] Speaker D: Okay. Awesome. I couldn't hear anything anyone was saying for a second there. I got freaked out. [00:07:25] Speaker A: It's okay. It's okay. So let's dial back. So I did not listen to the eps. Ca. Okay, go ahead. Set me straight on the eps. [00:07:32] Speaker B: So the eps, believe it or not, do matter in the story of, like, the very, very early formation of the. The themes that be that are explained, explored throughout the entire discography, as well as an understanding of the birth of Sleep Token itself. So it could be worth your time. And anybody listening, if you've never listened to Sleep Token before, their entire discography, they don't know how to write a bad song. So the whole entire thing, like, just. It's all worth it. And it all does tie together thematically. I think for the purposes of our podcast tonight, like, having listened to all three albums is more than sufficient. And if there's anything that I need to go back and be like, oh, that was in, you know, the first ep. I don't mind doing that, but I would definitely recommend those eps. You can hear the birth of Sleep. I don't know how else to describe it. You can hear it. What it becomes was always there. And you watch this little seed come to life, and, yeah, it's definitely worth your time. So that's all I'll say about that for now. Unless we need to circle back. [00:08:41] Speaker A: I mean, for me, it started right here with this song. The Night does not belong to God. I mean, I'll just play a snippet. [00:09:04] Speaker B: Comes down, like heaven and Night comes Down. [00:09:14] Speaker A: I mean, I can't play the whole thing. I don't want to get killed by, I don't know, YouTube or whoever. Sleep Tokens, terrifying divine lawyers or anything. They will get me. They will get me. And the power of the mighty Thor will not protect me. But seriously, you know, I got into them because me and Ca were discussing various bands. She's like, you really should listen to Sleep Token. And so I did what I do, and I listened to Sundowning, the first album, from Beginning to End, and was just transfixed by not just the. The virtuosity of it, but the. The sensuality of the entire album. You know, I mean, that. That. That song is just. I mean, the instrumentals are so gentle. It's like. It's like a vessel is smoothly welcoming you to his gospel of sleep, if you will. You know, and for a lot of people, I mean, that might be the first thing they heard. Obviously, they really blew up with Take Me Back to Eden, right? Is that correct? [00:10:06] Speaker B: Mm, yeah, that album for sure. And the song that really blew them up on TikTok was the summoning, which is on Take Me Back to Eden. But, yeah, so, yeah, and that's How. [00:10:15] Speaker D: I was introduced to them personally is through the song of Take Me Back to Eden as well. [00:10:20] Speaker A: Such a great song. [00:10:21] Speaker C: Take Me Back to Eden. Eden was my first album, but Aqua Regia was my first song. And the piano breakdown halfway through just melted my brain and, like, the best way possible. It tickled my little orchestra. Kid heart, this is for you. And I was just hooked after that. [00:10:41] Speaker B: Yeah. Aqua Regia is a beautiful song. That's a fascinating introduction to Sleep Token because it's one of their more unique songs, sound wise. I would say so. If you love Aqua Regia, then you know you're going to love all of it, probably. [00:11:02] Speaker E: Omar. Love is an animal Coal cutting through the darkness Bouncing off the walls between teeth on a broken jaw Following a blood trail Frothing out the mo these days I'm a circuit board integrated hardware you cannot afford the perfect stat to a perfect wall Putting down the. [00:11:32] Speaker B: It was. [00:11:33] Speaker C: It's a so captivating, like, being submerged fully in something that I hadn't had the chance to experience with music in a really long time. Because things just don't really feel like that nowadays, especially with, like, how the pop industry has been and even, like, some metal nowadays feels overly manufactured. So it was just a really pleasant change of pace. And then the more I listened to the album, the more apparent it became that there was something more going on on there. And it was like, okay, now I have to go back to square one, so let's go to Sundowning. [00:12:08] Speaker A: Love that Aqua Regia. Yeah. Yeah. I wanted to say something about it, so I looked up what Aqua Regia is. It's a chemical compound that dissolves gold. [00:12:19] Speaker B: Yes. [00:12:21] Speaker A: Okay. [00:12:22] Speaker D: But I love that it says gold. [00:12:23] Speaker C: Rush, acid flux, like, halfway through the chorus, towards the end. [00:12:29] Speaker B: Mm, yes. [00:12:31] Speaker A: I love when he says, when I am done dancing to alarm bells no wonder my ears are still ringing and I am done fighting off change no wonder my arms are still swinging. [00:12:40] Speaker B: It's just the lyricism. I mean, that part. You know how many times I've been listening to Sleep Token? [00:12:46] Speaker C: I was like, you see me? [00:12:48] Speaker B: Do you know how many times I've been listening to Sleep Token? Like, when I was consuming their music for the first time and still sometimes I do to this day, because it'll still hit me all over again. I would, like, hear a song, I'd be listening to it. I'd hear him say something and I would go, who the fuck writes lyrics like this? Like, how did he do that? How did he manage to, like, evoke such a strong emotion in Such a distilled set of like eight words and just say so much. It's just unbelievable. [00:13:20] Speaker A: Yeah. Now I cried quite a bit when I was doing the analyses of these songs. Aqua Regia actually is kind of similar to Rain. That's a really hard hitting song because they're both songs about how love will. Love can just destroy you completely and sometimes that's what. That's all you want and there's nothing you can really do about that. Human yearning, you know, to just. Just be consumed. And you know that there's a song called Vore where. [00:13:43] Speaker B: Right, Yeah. I mean, vore is like. I would say vore is the all encompassing thesis of what our. [00:13:56] Speaker E: In the throne of God. Will the praise stop if we go deeper? [00:14:20] Speaker B: So let's get all way Vessel has come to experience love as it is. It is. You know, there's a lot of references to vorophilia in all of the discography, the entire discography. And this is where when you go. [00:14:39] Speaker A: All the way back, your teeth are like diamonds. Take a bite out of me. [00:14:43] Speaker B: If you go all the way back to EPS 1 and 2 and then they released a single called Jaws. All of these songs. And you'll see this thread throughout all of their discography. There is something about the way that this man has experienced love that is. It is so all consuming that the passion is very high highs, but then the lows are quite literally as though you are being torn to shreds and digested inside of somebody's insides. And it's pain, it's agony. But then the like highs of like that level of passion of being so. So intertwined with your lover are also very strong and evoke also very strong positive feelings. So, yes, Vorophilia is like. Well, in the song Vore, like it really just is the. The thesis, I would say, of this man's experience with love across the board. [00:15:38] Speaker A: Will we remain stuck in the throat of gods? Will the pain stop if we go deeper? So let's get swallowed whole. I want to go where nobody else will ever go. [00:15:47] Speaker D: Like the thing that I have found to be a trend throughout Sleep Tokens music is when you really start dissecting all of the albums together and putting them in order. It's almost like Vessel is detailing this toxic relationship that he has with sleep, where it's again, like what Ca said. In certain moments it's gut wrenching, but then in others it is entirely, completely. It's what love is, what we expect it to be. And it's a really. See how I got into Sleep Token was through Book Talk. I read a lot of romance, and that is particularly. It's that song of Take Me Back to Eden. And that one lyric. My, my, those eyes of fire. I'm a winged insect. You're a funeral pyre. That's the. [00:16:44] Speaker C: It's so good. [00:16:45] Speaker D: And that's the. That's the one lyric, the sound bite on TikTok that had me hooked in. And it's because they heavily associate it with these dark romance characters of these. It's essentially these characters, you know, in fiction were presented like, if you had to burn the world down to save your lover or kill your lover to save the world, would you. And it's often that that lyric is associated with the characters that would burn the world for the person that they love. And it brings forward. There's so many people that crave that type of love. [00:17:18] Speaker A: Right. [00:17:19] Speaker D: They crave that wanting to be obsessed over. And that's truly what I see Vessel presenting is. He presents obsession in its darkest and most devoted ways. And that's what really got me hooked in with Sleep Token in my research of it. [00:17:38] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I find myself wondering if I go back and forth with this because obviously there's a lot of discourse around it and of course there is some. Some actual hard lore that Cas gonna punch me in the face with, but I was struggling with. With this because, like, you know, songs like Dark Signs, where the line is, you know, there were warning signs, there were alarms in your eyes, and it's like, is. Is. Is that what. Like. Because if there are alarm signs in the other person's eyes, then he's the one who's dangerous. You know what I mean? And he's. [00:18:09] Speaker B: And. [00:18:09] Speaker A: And then he says, I missed the man I used to be. And it's like, oh, he was a up toxic individual himself, you know, 100. That was what I took from that. Yeah. And I was like, I love this. This is about personal growth and like, falling back into that. But. But, like, what I wonder is, like, his. Like, is he begging sleep to. To take him and lift him up and consume him and throw him aside and hurt him again and again? Or is the. The. You know, the. The healing power of sleep's devotion to him, his reward for worshiping sleep? Is it his ability to process these toxic relationships? And is that what the songs are actually about? [00:18:47] Speaker B: So I lean more towards that camp personally because, like you said, there's a lot of discourse around Sleep Token's lyrics and they are open to interpretation for A reason. Exactly. I like to take them at their word, which we don't have many words by them because they've hardly ever done any interviews. [00:19:08] Speaker A: Right. [00:19:08] Speaker B: But we can. We can circle back to that Metal Hammer interview. So in that interview, Vessel speaks about how Sleep Token started and how the deity Sleep came to him with that proposition, quite literally. If you be my mouthpiece to the world for the messages that I want to get out there, I will give you fame and glory. Vessel said, let's fucking go. And here we are. They have fame and glory. So it's kind of neat because, you know, if you're, like, super into the lore, you're like, it worked. Oh, my God. He sold his soul to the devil. But the devil goes by sleep in this case. In that interview specifically, sleep is referred to with male pronouns by Vessel. So sleep is male, and I think Sleep is more so like an orchestrator of this art project in and of itself, and pushes Vessel to expose his most, deepest, darkest, wildest, intense human emotions. And the reason why I really, really stand by this interpretation of the lyrics, I do believe that Vessel's lyrics are about his human relationships with real life. Like, real life people that he's been in love with. Not necessarily any one person, but, you know, multiple, like, human relationships. And that Sleep pushes him to expose those deepest, his ugliest parts, his. His most lustful parts, his most intense human emotions, his most absolute, just sheer grief and sorrow that he will pour. I mean, in the end of Bloodsport, he's sobbing into the microphone, and you're listening to this man sob, you know? So I think Sleep pushes him to expose his deepest, darkest, most intense human emotions and push that out into the world. And that is what Sleep's agenda is, really, is to get us as humans to get in touch with that level of, like, raw intensity inside of ourselves. And that's why he uses Vessel in the way that he does, to basically get. If Vessel can say and be and embody and emote these things that we then are listening to and connecting with, then it's getting us to know ourselves better and be really honest with ourselves about our shadows and our darknesses. So that's my take. That's my interpretation again. These things are kind of open to interpretation, and people are welcome to disagree with me, but that's where I'm at with it all. [00:21:44] Speaker A: Good poetry. [00:21:45] Speaker D: Love that interpretation, though, because I feel like that just adds an extra layer as to why the band Remains Anonymous is that it's meant to be emotion, just purely emotion. And emotion has no face, because we are all the faces of emotion. [00:22:01] Speaker B: Which is why he goes by the name vessel. He is a vessel for sleep as well as. And you will experience this. If you ever see them live, you will experience this. Like, you'll feel it, actually. He also becomes a vessel for us to basically project onto him all of these emotions that he then basically, like, evokes out of us. And then we give it back to him. And it's literally like. He's literally like a conductor of energy between, like, sleep has shit to say to us, and then we're like, let me just give it back to you. And then, like, he vessels it up to sleep, basically, so. [00:22:39] Speaker C: How beautiful. [00:22:40] Speaker A: It's interesting, I'll be honest. You know, that's why I gravitate towards bands like this, because I saw Volbeat not too long ago. Yes. You know, it was. It was a metal show. I felt like I was watching Metallica back in the 80s before they really blew up. You know, I'm watching guys in band shirts, band T shirts, play instruments and sing about women and motorcycles and monsters and whatever. [00:23:03] Speaker C: Cookie cutter music. [00:23:05] Speaker A: I'm like, yeah, yeah, it's not bad. It's good stuff. It's just like, okay. And then Ghost came out, and I was like, yes, it's fucking Ghost. [00:23:12] Speaker E: It's Papa. [00:23:13] Speaker A: They brought Papa Zero back from the dead. He's playing the saxophone and they're singing to the devil. And it became this, like, almost like, ritualistic, like, greater spectacle that we were all a part of. We were part of the show. And they. They were larger than just a rock band. It was like being at a WWE show. And, like, you know, again, I saw Amona Marth, and, like, you know, I forget who opened for them, but, like, they're up there doing their thing, and when Loki comes out, the singer stops singing to punch him in the face and goes right back to singing while Jormungandr is above them, streaking. And it's like, we're there. We're flying over the rainbow bridge listening to this. And, like, that's the thing with, like, groups like Sleep Token and what Sleep Token does in particular, where. Yeah, you're. No. They transform the space. It's magic. It's the truest, purest form of magic. You know, you're engaging people's emotions and their spirits, as it were, you know, however you want to take that phrase. And you're having a transcendent experience. I'll tell you what, let me play a little bit of levitate. Because. [00:24:15] Speaker B: Do it. [00:24:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:16] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:24:16] Speaker A: You know, it's just such a gorgeous song. [00:24:20] Speaker E: Your body is mostly blood. [00:24:25] Speaker A: It's like they're afraid to touch the piano keys. They're being so gentle. It's such delicate music. [00:24:30] Speaker B: And, like, the lyrics come now are so beautiful. [00:24:35] Speaker A: Well, yeah. Will you levitate? Will you levitate up where the angels inhabit? Will you levitate where I won't reach you? And it's heartbreaking. And at the end, the guitar comes in like. Like. Like a torrent. Like, Like, Like. Like. Like a waterfall. Like tears. And I cried. I cried listening to it, like, when I look. Because I've listened to it a bunch of times, but I was. I was studying the lyrics, and it all just. It hit me, you know what I mean? Because I've thought about some of the women I've dated and, you know, the. The lowest despair I felt and just like. Yeah, it's. It's not just the lyrics or the music. It's all of it working together. And it's the kind of thing where seeing it live is gonna add something truly special to that. It's not just the Rolling Stones playing Satisfaction for the hundredth time. It's like. It's this transcendent experience that you could really only get from seeing something like that live. And they've gone the extra mile because it's not just. They haven't just crafted this music and put on their costume. You know what I mean? They've crafted an entire mystery around themselves and a mystique. And it's like, yeah, you can be like me, where I see sleep as, you know, mostly fictive and an avatar to explore, you know, human emotions and, you know, the horror of the human condition and the true nature of the. Of the beast we call love. As Bukowski says, it is truly a dog from hell, you know, but by the same token, the same sleep token, perhaps, maybe sleep is real. And who am I to say he's not real? I haven't experienced it. They did, you know. [00:26:02] Speaker D: So, yeah, here's an exciting question. [00:26:05] Speaker A: Go. [00:26:05] Speaker D: Go ahead, Sia. [00:26:06] Speaker B: No, no, no. I'm gonna do your question, and then I'll go. [00:26:09] Speaker D: Why do you guys think the deity is referred to as sleep? [00:26:13] Speaker A: I have thoughts, but go ahead, Siya. Or Erica. [00:26:15] Speaker B: Yeah, Erica. Take it. [00:26:17] Speaker C: Okay. I feel like the simple answer here is that it can be employed as, like, an effective umbrella term or label almost. It's very ambiguous and open to interpretation. So people can choose to address sleep how they see fit as well, based on the information that they're given about him and just how they might see him. Right. If there's a more definitive moniker in that stead, then it strips some of that illusion, right. And then you might have people up in arms about what the music means and what the messages are being, what they might be trying to say. And that takes away from all the lore and all the fun. [00:27:08] Speaker A: Sure. Yeah. I. I mean, personally, like, while I was listening to the Offering, I was thinking, I was listening to that heavy fucking bass and all I could think was, this motherfucker is begging sleep to come for him, you know? Your teeth are like diamonds. Take. Take a bite out of me, please. You know? And it's like he was. He literally wanted to sleep, to leave the reality of his life and transcend and become reborn. And I feel like sleep in itself is this mysterious thing. We have to do it. Like, we can't just. We can't just lay down and we. We shut the fuck down, you know? [00:27:43] Speaker B: So I have so many thoughts on why the deity is sleep. And it's referred to again, he refers to it as like, this is, you know, a deity so ancient, it predates name and language itself. This is just the best we can come up with to describe it is the word sleep. What hap. Think about sleep, right? Think about all the associations. Where does your brain go? Nighttime, darkness, subconscious, unconscious, shadow. All of these things are heavy, heavy themes in Sleep Token's work. And it's about exploring what is unconscious inside of us, what is subconsciously inside of us, what happens in the shadows, what happens at night. [00:28:24] Speaker C: Shrouding the mystery of it all. [00:28:27] Speaker B: The. Shrouding the mystery of it all. And then in addition to that, I think one of the other huge reasons why we're using the term sleep and sleep Token because again, so just to finish up the lore here, the reason why it's Sleep Token is because he says that every song that he makes is an offering to this deity, hence the token, right? So it's like giving a token, right? Like a coin to this deity. And not just in a one and done scenario, by the way. I really want to make sure you understand this. It doesn't mean vessel wrote this song and now this song on this album is the token to sleep. And there we go. It did my work. There is a reason why this band is a live setting band and why their shows are not called concerts, they're called rituals. It is because in the live setting in particular, with a congregation of worshippers gathered, we as a congregation, every single time they perform One of these songs live any of these, every single individualized song is a token up to sleep. Now, when you go see them live, to this day, Vessel still does this after the song offering. When they first started touring, he would do this after every single song. Now, he typically only does it after. He always does it after the offering. But sometimes you will still see him do it after some of the songs. I don't think he does it after every single one anymore. But if you watch, it's really obvious after the offering because he always does it for that song. He'll sing the song, perform da da, da. Song is over. He turns his body around, puts his arms up to the symbol of sleep token behind them, and like, boom, like, goes like this. Sometimes he'll get down on his knees and do it. And it's literally like this symbology of. There's the offering. Here it is. And it's like he's literally lifting up our worship to this deity. It's kind of crazy, which is. It's beautiful, though. It's very powerful. It's very theatrical. So it's like, you know, people have all sorts of opinions. There are people probably who out there who do think that sleep is a real deity. People who practice various forms of paganism and things like that. There are people who think it's all theatrics and just, you know, fun and games. There are people who think it's demonic and it's actually all Satanism and whatever and. And blah, blah, blah. And, you know, won't. That won't let their kids listen to Sleep Token because it's the devil, right? I mean, like, where I was going with all of that, the mystery around, like, who they are, it is to protect that experience for the listeners. It really is to make this event this experience. This is about what we're experiencing as human beings together. Hence why it all goes back to sleep. The reason why I think they use the terminology sleep is because sleep is also something that connects every single one of us as a human being. You said it earlier, Daniel. We have to. To sleep. There are very few things in this world that we could say are a universal human experience. Sleep is one of them. Sleep connects every single human being on this entire planet. Every single one of us sleeps. [00:31:55] Speaker D: Add something into that as well. No, no, not at all. Shut up, Brittany. [00:32:01] Speaker A: Get out. [00:32:02] Speaker D: No, so something else that's really, really interesting. I can't remember. [00:32:06] Speaker C: Okay. [00:32:07] Speaker D: I don't want to just say. Scientists theorize, because I don't know what the actual term I. I think it's philanthropists, whatever. There's a theory that in the development of religion, how humans develop religion is that we develop religion evolutionarily through sleep. Because when you think about it, think of it this way. Imagine that you are a cave person and you are going to sleep. You're doing the thing that everybody needs to do to survive. And then you have visions of a past loved one. You have visions of you killing the animal that's going to feed your village and feed your tribe. And then you wake up and it didn't happen. So at that point, that's how we developed ritual. That's how we developed, hey, let's pretend that we're killing this animal so that we can actually accomplish it. Hey, let me tell you what our past elder told me as I was sleeping. So it's really interesting that it kind of comes back around in that way of. Again, not only is it the thing that connects all of us, but it's the beginning of religion. [00:33:13] Speaker A: Sure. [00:33:14] Speaker D: Just wanted to throw that out there. [00:33:15] Speaker B: Yeah. Dig it. [00:33:17] Speaker C: It all comes full circle. [00:33:19] Speaker A: Compelling point. Yeah, I hadn't thought about that. You know, I've. I've always been partial to the entheogen like idea. Also just the fact that humans are very superstitious and, you know. Yeah. I mean, we're always looking up to. [00:33:33] Speaker C: So, you know, little creatures that like patterns. [00:33:39] Speaker A: But what did I actually want to say? Gosh, there was so much there. Yeah. So I wanted to say that them keeping their faces hidden does a lot of things. One of the biggest one though is like, you know, I talk about Gwar a lot. Right. We know who Gwar are though. We know Dave Brocky, we know Mike Dirks. We know Mike Bishop, their current front man. Right. So, like, you know, when they're up there in their masks and they're doing their thing and they're doing their kayfabe and their characters, it's like, oh, what a great show, man. Mike Bishop is a hell of a singer. You know, one of the biggest losses that Ghost suffered was Tobias Forges. You know, papa, Papa emeritus being. Isn't his identity being leaked? Because now we have a face. We know who is the front man who's writing these songs. And it's like with Sleep Token, we don't know who they are. So it's this collective. It's, it's, it's. It's Sleep Token. And like, when we're listening to the music, I'm gonna play a little love offering. It's amazing. It's Badass. Listen to this. That intro and then what it does. That baseline is sav. Right there. [00:34:54] Speaker B: And then the drums. Yes, Here it goes. [00:34:56] Speaker A: Bam. Fuck. Yeah. It's fucking brutal. And then you see, he's like, you are a garden. It's like, but what I'm. [00:35:04] Speaker B: Yeah. And then all that sound drops out and it's just his fucking voice. [00:35:08] Speaker A: So it's. [00:35:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:35:11] Speaker A: Such an intense fucking trick. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like when I was a teenager I found Cradle of Filth and I had the same experience. I was a dumb teenager, so that was pretty amazing to me. But like, you know, that's the thing. It's like I'm not thinking like such and such is drumming whatever is legendary. Or I'm thinking, man, Sleep Token is phenomenal. Like, you know, and it's. It's got you fixated on what they're doing with their mythology about sleep and. Yeah. What they're, you know, the feelings are. Go ahead. [00:35:42] Speaker B: This. This brings me to the next thing I wanted to chat about. So I was talking about this, I think off air beforehand at their rituals, they'll have interludes. So they'll play several songs. First of all, if you ever go, they do not speak ever. It's part of. Right, obviously, because they're anonymous, so you will never hear a single word come out of any of their mouth. They just literally come on stage and they just start playing music and then they'll walk off stage and there's an interlude and then they'll come back out, play some more music. Anyway, during the interludes they have these pre recorded messages that will play and there's usually some sort of like fog machine going or a little bit of lights or something. And you'll be listening. Sometimes there's not. Sometimes it's just black and you're just listening to this pre recorded message. [00:36:33] Speaker A: I could dig it. [00:36:35] Speaker B: Yep. And the conversations are between sleep and vessel. Obviously they are using some sort of like voice, you know, A.I. generator thing. And I don't know if it's A.I. but you know, voice generator type of technique. It's not, it's not vessel's voice, in case anybody's wondering. Because like you don't ever hear his actual voice. [00:36:56] Speaker A: They probably. Yeah, they probably use a modulator. Exactly. [00:36:59] Speaker B: Something along those lines. And so I wanted to read a little bit of. I don't want to give it all away because I don't want to do spoilers. If you ever go to one of these, like, this is a beautiful part of the experience, but I wanted to read at least a little bit of some of what goes on during one of the interludes. So Sleep is not a very nice deity. Sleep sort of bullies Vessel, which is a huge reason why I have my stance that I elaborated on earlier. Sleep's not a real nice guy. He's kind of a bully to Vessel. And so at one point, he says. He. He asks Vessel, he's talking to him about, like, the audience, basically, like Vessel's relationship to the audience. And he says, have you ever seen them cry? And Vessel says, no, I can only ever see them smiling, and that's good. I want them to smile. And then Sleep says, do you think they want you to cry? Do you think they like it? And the thing is, Vessel almost always cries on stage when he performs. There's a couple of songs in particular that will bring that out of him, but he almost cries, and it's very sincere. It's not a game. It's not a gimmick. Like, it's very real to him. He really pours his heart out every single ritual. So he says. Vessel responds, not as such. I think they just want to know that I am feeling something. Feeling what they are feeling, perhaps. And Sleep says, do you think that this amount of crying is healthy for you? Vessel says, I don't know, but at least I feel something. If I don't feel anything, then why would I even do this? So in that. And there's so many more messages that go on between the two of them. Like I said, I don't want to do too many spoilers or get too much away. But there's another part where Sleep gets kind of mean and says, like, you're just, like, faking it. And, you know, he responds, I'm not. And then he says something to him at one point about him being a. You know, why this mask? And, oh, it's a gimmick. And you say it's to, you know, protect your ego, but really, it's. It's a gimmick, and it boosts your ego. And he's, you know, he's kind of a bully to him, you know. [00:39:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:39:16] Speaker B: And Vessel does at one point basically say that he is afraid. He's very afraid of the level of vulnerability that he puts out there during. Well, I mean, in the music itself, but especially during a live setting. And people will say to him, you know, people show up with signs, you saved my life. You saved me. And this part gets me emotional because he. In this conversation, in one of these interludes, he speaks Directly to that and says, like, I'm not doing anything. In fact, I'm a coward because I won't even show my face, right. You guys show up here and you show your faces and you show your real emotion and you cry and you sing and you emote like you guys are the real ones. I'm the coward and you're saving me. And it's a huge, huge moment that, like, happens in the Sleep Token fandom. Because it's like. Like, we all feel that, you know, in those moments, it's just like, damn. Like, that's. That's so real, you know, but awesome. I have always found that, you know, I believe in his honesty. Again, like I said, when it comes to Sleep Token, I always take them at their word, their handfuls of interviews, these interludes. And so when he's saying, I'm too scared to show my face, I straight up believe him. I do. Because the stuff that he talks about is really intense and really vulnerable and really scary. So, of course, there is safety in putting on that Persona and becoming the mask and becoming the vessel and the avatar and the. The thing that we can all project ourselves onto for the sake of being able to experience these parts of ourselves and these emotions that we have, whether it's lust or anger, wrath, rage, you know, sadness, fear, all of it. Which is why I think, in choosing his costume. [00:41:20] Speaker A: Hmm. [00:41:21] Speaker B: If you look at it closely, you know, we've got the covering of basically from the nose up, the whole entire face is covered. And he wears this, like, robe and pants, obviously. But what is wide open is from his mouth all the way down to his torso. So what is actually showing on him is the most vulnerable parts of the human body, where all fatal injuries, basically the throat, the mouth, you know, our words are so vulnerable. The throat, the neck, neck, the heart, the guts. Like, the parts of us that are quite literally the most vulnerable parts of the human body he has fully exposed. People are like, he does it because he wants to show off his abs. No, actually, it's an artistic choice. Yes, there is something about that. You know, there is. You know, people do lust over him, but again, that is part of the projection of being able to give us a space to be able to project lust and things like that. However I see it, and I've seen them live and I've watched a lot of footage as well. It's an artistic choice. Everything this man does is an artistic choice. This project, this band is so thoughtful. And the choosing of exposing that portion of the body he could he didn't have to do that. He could have just had like a fully covered up robe, whatever, and just a little mouthpiece or whatever. There was an artistic choice there to be like, I'm gonna show you. I'm going to expose quite literally the most vulnerable part of my flesh out there to the world. And yes, it's all painted black, so you can't really, like see his real body or whatever. But like, that's just. And I've never heard anybody else talk about that. That's a CA Original trademark. I came up with that. It's just a theory of mine. [00:43:03] Speaker A: You're. [00:43:04] Speaker C: You're too cool theory. A CA Theory. Theory. [00:43:10] Speaker A: So, yeah, I. You know, speaking about that, I do feel like Fall For Me is a bit of a spiritual intercourse. I feel like sleep is talking for at least part of it. Hang on. Because I was looking for sleep's words throughout this because I was like, to me, I was like, okay, this is the message of the great God sleep. And it turns out it's a lot of, you know, very human emotions, but here it is. So. Won't you fall for me? Won't you fall for me? Through a fractured existence Won't you fall for me? Won't you fall for me? From reality to the rhythm of eternity Won't you fall for me? That's not a human talking. And then we have, you know, Vessel. My insecurities surround me like lions in the den. And I feel like I'm losing touch with what I am again. Slowly remember I remember why I cannot pretend that I never think of you in all this screaming silence. And then he cries, oh, God, I wish you were here. And then, you know, sleep comes back with, so Won't you fall for me? Won't you. Not quite as savage as Yahweh, but just very insistent, very pushing, you know, through a fractured existence. You know, Vessel talks about his own humanity. Whereas, like, I feel like whenever. Whenever we're hearing sleep, you know, we get these greater ideas, you know, reality, eternity. Right. You know, I don't know. [00:44:31] Speaker B: Have you seen the music video for Fall for Me? [00:44:33] Speaker A: Yeah, it's very. [00:44:34] Speaker B: The music video. [00:44:35] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, I'll play a clip. [00:44:36] Speaker B: This video will break you. [00:44:38] Speaker A: Yeah, I'll play. God. [00:44:39] Speaker C: Yes. [00:44:40] Speaker B: So in this music video are Seeing, because this is their most stripped back song. It's just vocals. There's literally nothing else. It's literally. I mean, he uses like a vocoder, so there's like multiple, like chords going on and stuff like that with his voice. [00:44:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:54] Speaker B: It is stripped back. It is literally just this dude singing. And in the music video, it's him out on this beach walking barefoot. You know, he's got, you know, jeans and like a hoodie on. You never see his face. His backs to the camera the entire time. And you're watching this man, like, stumble along through the sand, out into the water, falling face down, like the most vulnerable looking thing you've ever seen. Like, he's dying out here. He is struggling. And also throughout that entire music video. So you've got the lyrics going on that are giving a message, but there's words on the screen that's like this whole other, like, overlaid message that goes on throughout the course of the song or the video. [00:45:43] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:45:44] Speaker B: And it is crazy. And it's. [00:45:47] Speaker D: It's. [00:45:48] Speaker B: It's heart wrenching. It's a heart wrenching, vulnerable confession of this man's will to live against all depressive, suicidal, otherwise desires. And it's very, very moving. I don't know how else to describe it. It will break you. It's. It's incredibly moving. If you can get through that without a dry eye. I don't know if you've got a heart. [00:46:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Speaking of suicide, we have Atlantic. Hang on, what was the line? It a possible suicide attempt? Maybe. Maybe a. An overdose. [00:46:27] Speaker B: Theories. There's theories about what the lyrics are. [00:46:30] Speaker A: It's just this song about listlessness and just powerlessness. And there's a part where he says that he's surrounded by eyes like frozen planets orbiting his emptiness. And. [00:46:42] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, he says the lyrics that you're. I woke up surrounded eyes like frozen planets just orbiting the vacuum I am Vacuum I am. [00:46:52] Speaker A: Yeah, that's it. [00:46:53] Speaker B: They talk me through the damage consequence and how it's a pain they know they don't understand. So that's why many people do describe, interpret this song as waking up in the hospital after a suicide attempt. Some people say, yeah, maybe it was an overdose. Maybe it was just a really bad, like, car wreck. There are some other songs that have lyrics that support the car wreck theory that this is. Yeah, actually part of this person's, you know, his personal history. [00:47:22] Speaker A: I think it was Dark Signs. Yeah, Dark Signs has a bit about very strange lyrics. [00:47:26] Speaker B: Something about granite. Granite has references to it. Yeah, there's. There's definitely a lot of lyrics that could reference that there was some sort of fatal car crash. So some people theorize that he was like a survivor in a car crash and the other person died. [00:47:40] Speaker A: If you saw the marks on my dashboard. Yeah. [00:47:44] Speaker B: So, yeah, I mean, it's a lot. And I mean, so Atlantic is the opening song for their second album. [00:47:51] Speaker A: Right. [00:47:52] Speaker B: So that sets the tone for that entire album. And it ends with him just over and over going, saying, don't wake me up. [00:48:00] Speaker A: Don't wake me up. [00:48:01] Speaker B: Yeah, don't wake me up. And that becomes the setting for album number two. And so there's also, like, this overarching theory that, like, the Sundowning album is falling asleep. This place will become your tomb, is being asleep and sleeping back to Eden is waking back up. [00:48:16] Speaker A: Waking back up, Return, returning to Eden. [00:48:18] Speaker B: General themology there or whatever. Yeah, that's. I mean, that's. It's an interesting take. Yeah, I kind of like that. [00:48:24] Speaker A: I saw one that Eden. When he's in the song Take Me Back to Eden, he's literally referring to sobriety. I don't know. That seems a little trite to me. But again, that's. That's a very realistic thing also, just escaping this, this. This. This toxic relationship that never ends. You know, I mean, if you've ever been in a relationship that's just recursive, you leave, you get the call, you come back, and you just ride that. That horrifying, dark carousel over and over again. And it'll work this time. [00:48:52] Speaker B: And I think one of the things that's so dark about this particular relationship or relationships that are. That gets explored with Vessel, we referred to it earlier, is that, like, I think this relationship, not only is he experiencing pain on the receiving end, but I think this relationship brings out parts of himself that turn him into a toxic person that he doesn't like being. Exactly. We see that show up in a lot of the lyrics as well. And this. So going all the way back to the EPs, like in EP2, there's this song called Nazareth that is so dark that you would be surprised it's written by this same band. Because one of the lyrics in there is, let's load the gun, make her eat the tape in the bathroom mirror. See if she can guess what a hollow point does to a naked body. Let's fuck her up. Fuck, it's dark. And that's what I mean when I say if you go all the way back to the eps, you will see that, like, this stuff was just bubbling at that point. And then it goes on to be explored in much greater depth throughout the course of the rest of the discography. But like I said, I think that this relationship or relationships, whatever these toxic dynamics are, that Vessel is in bring outsides of himself that he does not want to be this person anymore. He doesn't like who he is in these dynamics. [00:50:13] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think. I think that keeping it. Keeping it vague is the way to go. I mean, like, you know, my go to used to be, you know, before. Well, my go to used to be Kanye West's. You know, one song. I think it's Runaway. Let's have a toast for the assholes. Toast for the douchebags. Toast for the jerk offs. Never miss. Never take a day off, baby, I got a plan. Run away as fast as you can, you know? And like, you know, I'd cry listening to that because I'd remember, like, you know, like, being that. That person that enabled these types of relationships, you know? [00:50:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:50:44] Speaker A: And like, yeah, Kanye west is a toxic piece of shit, and I don't listen to his music anymore. But, like, you know, dark Signs has an echo of that, you know? [00:50:51] Speaker B: Yes, it does. [00:50:52] Speaker C: I agree wholeheartedly. [00:50:53] Speaker A: And it's just. [00:50:54] Speaker B: There's some. [00:50:54] Speaker A: Yeah, go ahead. [00:50:55] Speaker B: There's something really honest about the way that vessel describes the darker parts of himself, too. It's not done in a way that's contrite. Like, you're. You don't want to be with me. [00:51:06] Speaker C: You. [00:51:07] Speaker B: You know, you're better off without me. You know that people do as, like, a cop out to, like, not work on themselves or just, like, can't come up with a better reason to break up with you. So they'll just be like, it's me, not you. Like, you're better off without me. You deserve better. Right? He doesn't talk like that. The honesty with which this man will admit the darkest parts of himself and just straight up be like, this is what I am. This is what I do. [00:51:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:51:33] Speaker B: And then also on the flip side, like I said, he also is on the receiving end of really harmful behaviors, and he'll speak about that just as honestly and vulnerably as well. In general. That's what I would just say is like, a hallmark of his lyricism is honesty. Some of the most raw, honest, vulnerable, real you will ever hear. You know, read if you're reading it or feel if you're feeling it. [00:51:57] Speaker C: I think Dark Signs is one of my favorite songs in particular, like, for that reason, because for me at least, you do really get to see both sides of that relationship going on and, like, the kind of codependency that develops because of it. Because part of you deep down is, like, aware that it's not a healthy situation to be in and that you are actively contributing to it because of your behaviors and because you're still choosing to stay. But at the same time, like, that sunk cost fallacy is kind of mixed itself in. And it's like, but where we've been doing this for so long that, like, it might get better. We'll figure it out. Or, like, even, what's the point? Because things aren't going to change. And we'd be worse off without each other almost. [00:52:46] Speaker A: I think about Higher a lot. Like he says, we just can't resist the violence. And then there's the. [00:52:52] Speaker B: Such a good one. [00:52:53] Speaker A: There's the echo, you won't begin again. And it's. It's the tension of that song. I mean, these incompatible people who just keep fighting each other. Yeah. [00:53:03] Speaker B: Really, really showcases exactly what I'm talking about. Higher showcases. This is a toxic relationship. I'm toxic, you're toxic. Like, this is fucked up. But we can't stop ourselves for some reason. [00:53:13] Speaker C: Like, really trauma bonding. [00:53:16] Speaker A: It's been a long time since I cried listening to music. I'll play a little of it here. I mean, it's. [00:53:21] Speaker E: You say you won't begin again. Capitulate, let me in. Cause I am a fire and you are dry as bone. You are taking your time. [00:53:41] Speaker A: I am a fire and you are dry as bone. It's like Manson's coma Black, but, like, so much more empathetic and gorgeous and without that. [00:53:49] Speaker B: That nasty edge, you know, there's another song from Back. If you listen to Stent or the deluxe version of Sundowning, they added some songs from this live set that they did. [00:54:04] Speaker A: Okay. [00:54:04] Speaker B: This small, tiny venue in Lafayette called the Room Below. And they added some of the songs from that performance to the deluxe version. One of those songs is a Sleep Token original. You cannot hear it anywhere else except on that deluxe album. It's a song called Shelter. That's the only time he's ever played it was at that. And it's now on the album. Yes. And the lyrics in there also really highlight this. So here's some. Here's some of them. As you become part of my waking rituals I can tell you Gather up all of my demons you become starving. Darling, I'm noticing my flaws and I'm matching them with yours. Won't you take me where you're going this time, this. And then the. The choruses. And no matter the cost of rain I will shelter you all the same. Like, come on. [00:54:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:54:54] Speaker B: So, yeah, definitely. Check out those deluxe songs. [00:54:59] Speaker A: It's good. [00:55:01] Speaker B: Like, his voice. So that performance Was just him. Yeah, I think for some of the. Some of the songs he had the, like, backup singers, the three women. Espera with him for some of them. But other than that, that was a fully acoustic set. He came out, he walked on stage, he played a couple of songs at the microphone on his guitar. Then he turned around, he went to his keyboard with his back to the audience, took his mask off and set it here on the piano next to him and played the rest of the set. You know, his hood was still up, and he played a bunch of songs just on a piano, poured his motherfucking heart out. And it is one of the most stunning performances, I think that's probably ever happened in the history of music. If you have a chance to go to YouTube, just type it in, just, you know, sleep Token, the room below, watch the performance. It's unreal. [00:55:52] Speaker A: Shelter. Yeah, absolutely. [00:55:55] Speaker B: Well, what else can we say? I could go on and on. I could wax poetic about this poet of a human being who created this band. Like, it's just unbelievable. No, no, it's. [00:56:05] Speaker A: It's phenomenal stuff. And you, you know, if you haven't listened to them, you really need to. But what I'm wondering about is, you know, are they composing more music? I mean, it's my understanding that. [00:56:15] Speaker B: I'm so glad you asked this question. And the timing couldn't be better. I was so excited to come on here and record this episode because we quite literally just last week, finally, finally, finally, finally got some teasers. Something is happening. Something's happening. So it's. It's been like radio silence for way too long. It's. It's been rough out here in the sleep Token fandom. We've been thirsty and hungry. But, you know, at the last year, they switched record labels, so they were with Spine Farm Records for their three albums. And. And I thought Spine Pharm did a fantastic job with them. They just switched to. They got signed by RCA Records, Same band that signs Tool and among plenty of others. But, yeah, so there were some fears when that happened. There is something known as the RCA curse. A lot of people talk about it, that some these last several years, you get signed to RCA and then your band fucking dies and you're never stopped. So people were worried about it. There was some trepidation. However, I will say that, like the two men that make up this band, truly, because it's just two. It's Vessel, who is the lyricist and multi instrumentalist. He tracks every single one of the vocals. He tracks every single guitar, bass line. Everything himself. And then they have a drummer. He's the other founding member and recording member. When they tour, they bring on a guitar player and a bass player to tour with them. So it's vessel. The drummer is called two. I can't believe it took us this long to talk about this. And then the bassist is called 3 and the guitarist is called 4. But 3 and 4 are not on the records, they're just touring members. So these two men who run this band and run this project, I think they're incredibly smart, competent men. I don't think they would have signed with RCA if they didn't have a plan. And it didn't sound good anyways. We've all been sitting here waiting around. You're not gonna sign to a new record labor and then never make another record. So like obviously new music has to come. Yes, finally. Last week we had. So as the. At the time of this recording, today is February 25th. So I don't know when y'all are listening to this, but at the time of this recording, these events occurred. Last week, Sleep Token randomly decided for the first time ever in its history to join TikTok. They've never been on TikTok. All of a sudden there's a sleep token TikTok account and they just post this like super fckin like ominous like nondescript video of just like some like scene of like cherry blossoms or something. Beautiful looking and like a sound, like there's just like a sound in the background. It's not even really, I would call it music. It's just like, it's just like sound. And then there's just a link. Show me how to dance forever is the address of this website. So you go to this website. [00:59:21] Speaker C: And I love it. [00:59:22] Speaker B: This is so on par for them. You have no idea. They're so fucking weird. So you go, you go to this website. Show me how to dance forever. And it's just, it's that similar looking scene from that TikTok and it's, you know, it's dreamy looking. It's like light pinks and greens and whites and like it's very dreamy looking. It's kind of looks like, looks like a botanical type of looking scene. Very, very beautiful, very delicate looking. And then there's these floating letters. That's it. You go and there's just these random ass floating letters. You can interact with the letters. So you start clicking on the letters and when you click on one of them it just kind of like lifts it up. Like it's about to, like, start making a word or putting it in order. And so then you start clicking on all the letters and then they start lining up and you're like, okay, is this like an unscrambling puzzle we have to figure out? So you're sitting there and you're trying to unscramble the letters. You're like, what the hell? And there's like two vowels. The rest of them are all consonants. It's like so hard to figure out. You're like, what the hell? It's like a bunch of D's and V's and S's. And you're like, what's going on? So you're trying to figure this out and just keep clicking letters. Eventually you give up on like, me and you go to Reddit because you're like, Reddit, fucking. [01:00:38] Speaker A: I was waiting for that. [01:00:40] Speaker B: Oh, a hundred percent. I'm not gonna sit there and try to decipher this for the rest of my life. I have four kids and two jobs. I got life. I got a life. So Reddit. [01:00:50] Speaker A: Don't you just love other people's time? That's the best thing about the Internet. [01:00:53] Speaker B: That other people have time to waste. [01:00:56] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. [01:00:58] Speaker B: So I'm like, Reddit, what's up? So mind you, if you go to Reddit, I do want to just put this out there. There are two main Sleep Token subreddits. One of them is just like Sleep Token. The other one is Sleep Token Theory. In the Sleep Token theory subreddit, they do. They have identified the actual identify identities of the band members and they openly, openly talk about it. So if you don't want that spoiler, don't ever go to Sleep Token Theory subreddit. Just stay on the Sleep Token subreddit. That's. I'm just gonna say that. [01:01:33] Speaker A: Why do they ruin everything? [01:01:34] Speaker B: Because humans are humans. Okay? So I'll never. [01:01:37] Speaker A: That's almost as sad as the. As the day I read the. The, you know, the Theory of How Game of Thrones ends. And I was like, the Song of Ice and Fire, Jon Snow in the Now I don't even want to read the books anymore. God, that's almost as bad as that going back. [01:01:54] Speaker B: So then you go to Reddit and you're like, help me. What is this code? So they tell you what it is. And it was like, again, some random. Just a combination. You get them in order and then it will send you another email. [01:02:11] Speaker A: Can't believe we're still doing this. [01:02:13] Speaker B: We're still doing this. Then you get Another email. You open up the email and all it says is, it's from Sleep Token. Let me pull, let me pull it up. [01:02:21] Speaker A: You got a mail from Sleep Token. [01:02:23] Speaker B: Do you get mail from Sleep Token? And it's, it says, behold a divide. Behold a dividend. Two images that you have to choose from. Hang on one second, I'm going to show you. Here it is. We'll put this up when, you know, post or whatever. But it looks like this. Behold the divide. And it shows you these two images. One of them is. There are two hexagons. One of them is green with, you know, it looks like it's got some. It kind of. It's like a circle maybe looks like a clock. And then in the middle of it, it has two crossed swords. And then on the other inside, also a hexagon, but it's like white background. And it has a feather. So you go, all right, am I picking swords or am I picking feather? And so you just click on one of them. You have no idea what the fuck you're choosing. It just says, behold a divide. And you're like, okay. So you click on something. And those who chose the feather received another follow up email. [01:03:30] Speaker A: Did you get both? [01:03:31] Speaker B: It comes from Feathered Host. And it says, oh, God, what did it say? [01:03:39] Speaker A: Are we doing like, like, like elevated kayfabe or is there going to be like another God now? [01:03:43] Speaker B: Like, I don't know. And that's what a lot of people are theorizing is, is this more. Are we expanding the the pantheon? So it comes from the address Feathered Host. And all it does is say the cycle must end. If you clicked on swords, you're gonna get an email from something called House Viridian. And you open that one up and it says, what did, what did House Viridian say? It said, I'm gonna have to get this right, because otherwise Sleep Token people will kill if we, if they hear this. So it comes from House Viridian. And it said something like, I think it said the house must stand or must remain or something intense like that. Again, I picked feathered host. The cycle must end. I don't know. I'm a more, you know, I'm a more peaceful approach to life. So when I saw a choice between swords and feathers, I picked the feather. So, okay, people go, it's fun. You can theorize all you want. Here's my theory. My theory is that we are going to be getting a double ep. And I'll tell you right now why that's my theory. Number one. Before these three albums happened, what did we have? We had two EPs. Each EP had exactly three songs on it and that is what preceded a three album cycle. When this end of this three album cycle was over, they very much said, this is the end of a project. Like, it's completed, the story is done, it stands, it's a work of its own. Boom, we're done. So we are now entering into a new chapter. To me, I believe that they will open this next chapter also with two eps and I think that they're going to co release them at the same exact time and we are going to get basically two different sort of storylines or approaches to how do we move forward after surviving all of this fucking trauma that we just processed. [01:05:35] Speaker A: So do you. So was. So is this kind of like when the ICP released the. Released the Wraith and they were like, all right, those are the six Joker. Joker's cards. The Dark carnival was God the whole time and everyone hated it. And then they were like, there's more Joker's cards, guys. Is it. I'm just kidding. No. I don't know what to say. You need to start one of those channels where you wear a mask and you. You talk about like, yes, the rumor mill is a fire this week. You know, like time. [01:06:04] Speaker B: These people on Reddit need to do that, honestly, because they're the ones who deciphered the code. And that reminds me, I have to tell you what the code actually is. It takes, is it is the lettering to this monument in. In the uk and it's the monument that is referenced to have the instructions on how to find the Holy Grail. [01:06:29] Speaker D: Oh, that's deep. [01:06:30] Speaker A: Okay. [01:06:31] Speaker B: How fascinating lettering that goes above the top of this and it stands for something. Oh, God, you guys, I should have prepared better for this, but. [01:06:40] Speaker A: Oh my God. Talking about, bro, you fucking. [01:06:43] Speaker B: It's this whole Latin phrase, you know, about something, something, something. We can add this in later if we want to, but it's this whole. Each letter, you know, stands for a word. [01:06:54] Speaker A: I'll flash it up here. It's all good. [01:06:56] Speaker B: There we go. Yeah, so it stands for this and it's, you know, this monument that. And so of course, then the Sleep Token fans who live over there, they were like, hold my beer and go drive over there immediately, because they have to see it in person. You know, it's just, it's just, it stands as it is. There's nothing special. There's no other hidden Sleep Token didn't leave signed albums over there or anything for us. To find or feathers or swords. It's just, it's just this monument and it has this phrase about something about God and man, something, something. [01:07:31] Speaker A: And then is it, is it Neolithic? I mean, that's, you know, the Holy Grail is a little Christy for my taste. And Sleep Token seems a little more interesting than that, man. [01:07:39] Speaker B: You know, I agree, personally, I do agree with that. [01:07:42] Speaker A: Like, like, like all their iconography, all the sigils they use to make up their, their masks and their, their, their settings and so on. They're all pre Christian. You know, there's, there's Norse, there's runes, there's Hindu stuff. I mean, you know, seriously man, it's. It's really intricate and complex and for them to reference the Holy Grail of all things. I don't know, man. [01:08:01] Speaker B: Sugar burrow. Have you heard of that? Noboro. That's what the stat. That's what the monument is. [01:08:07] Speaker A: We're very far down the rabbit hole. [01:08:09] Speaker B: We are so far down the rabbit hole. But that's what Sleep Token does to you. But anyway, this is what they've put out to tease us all with is some creepy ass website, some cryptic ass email. You have no idea what the fuck is happening. We're all just theorizing. They're just getting a buzz going because that's fun for them. New music is on the way. There's no way they're gonna do all this weird hype and buzz and not be producing new music. Also, we have it on very, very good authority the person who booked, booked them to headline Download Festival in the UK this June was in an interview, like a podcast interview. I don't know if he was allowed to say this, but you know, he got a lot of shit for booking them as the headliner because they're such a young band, they've only been around for a couple of years. And so they were like, oh my God, I can't believe you're booking Sleep Token. And they were like, first of all, this band sells out arenas. They are headliner worthy. Second of all, he said in this interview, again, I don't know if he was allowed to say this, but the interview still is up. So if I feel like if he wasn't allowed to, they would have taken it down. He literally said, well, they'll have a new album out by the time download happens. [01:09:16] Speaker A: Oh my gosh. Yeah. [01:09:20] Speaker C: If he wasn't allowed to, he did it for the homies and I can respect it. [01:09:24] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly, exactly. So that's where I think we can leave it is that we. We don't know for sure. We don't know what. We don't know when. But something is on the way, thankfully. Because band is way too good to not make more music. [01:09:37] Speaker A: So, yeah, I mean, if they. If they want to. If they want to transition into just covering ABBA songs, that's cool, too. I mean, you know. [01:09:50] Speaker D: Outcast cover. [01:09:54] Speaker B: They have a cover of Haya. They have a cover of a song by Loathe, which is, like, a favorite band of theirs. Like, they're fans of each other. It's really adorable. How cute. Beautiful, beautiful song. And they have a cover of a Billie Eilish song. That's, like, one of my. It's actually my favorite Billie Eilish song. And then Sleep Token covered it, and I was like, I can't believe it. It's for the song when the party's over. [01:10:17] Speaker A: So I don't. Okay. [01:10:18] Speaker B: And they have a cover of Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston. [01:10:21] Speaker C: That's my favorite. [01:10:22] Speaker B: I love it. [01:10:23] Speaker A: That's awesome. I was just on the. I was watching the Muppets last night, and they were playing that. I was like, hey, it's Whitney Houston. [01:10:28] Speaker B: And they always play the Whitney Houston song when their show is over and everybody's gone and the lights are done, the house lights come up, and that's the song that they play. [01:10:36] Speaker A: That's awesome. [01:10:37] Speaker B: And you're sitting there, you're crying, and you're like. You just, like, went through, like, the most amazing, like, religious experience of your life. And then I want to dance with somebody. And then it just, like, pulls you back up and, like, gets you happy again. It's so genius. I just love this band. [01:10:54] Speaker A: I just love that, like, bands like this are popular. Like, again, like, you know, like, people talk about, like, bullshit, like, Kiss. Like, fuck, Kiss, Kiss sucks. But I'm happy that, like, like, groups like this are commercially successful. It's not just weird stuff that I like anymore, you know, Like, I feel. [01:11:10] Speaker C: Like this is the epitome of we made the right people famous. [01:11:14] Speaker D: Yes. [01:11:15] Speaker B: Yes. [01:11:15] Speaker D: A hundred percent. [01:11:17] Speaker B: Literally. Oh, my God. [01:11:18] Speaker C: That is one of my favorite TikTok phrases right now. And I feel like it's very fitting here. [01:11:24] Speaker B: It so is. [01:11:25] Speaker A: Let's hope that's all. That's all. That's all I have to say. [01:11:31] Speaker B: Worship episode. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. [01:11:35] Speaker A: Let's hope. Yeah, let's. [01:11:37] Speaker B: Yeah, let's worship the music. And it's good that we don't have, you know, human beings to put on a pedestal, because precisely. We know where that Gets us. [01:11:47] Speaker A: Yeah. Do we want to do a toast to Sleep Token and the joys of shock rock and theatrical rock? [01:11:53] Speaker B: Yes. Yes. Theatrical rock music. [01:11:59] Speaker A: To Sleep Token. [01:12:00] Speaker B: To Sleep Token. [01:12:01] Speaker A: We love you. On that note, write. Write poems. Make art. Love your demons. Ave Satanas. Yeah. Hey there. So if you want to keep up with us, you know, I'm obviously King Loki. Follow me on Instagram @lokiwolfather. Check out our YouTube channel, too. I mean, you're probably on it, but regardless, if you're listening to this on Spotify, we do post things to YouTube. So death wish Poetry Official is where we post all of our stuff. Follow our patreon too. I mean, you know, we have exclusive content there. You could follow us for. You could support us for as little as a dollar. Support Death Wish, you know, our independent poetry magazine. And Please check out CA's Super Cool podcast, Unlearned. It's a podcast about basically unlearning all the dross and drivel that modern society helps you with and learning how better to live your best life. It's a really great podcast. Erica does is a professional, you know, fortune teller, mystic, seer. Do check her out. Her Instagram is at Cunningfolk, Tarot. And of course, Erica, follow her arrows, Fatalis. The link will be below. Of course, that's her Instagram. And finally, finally, finally, you know, there's of course my, my fantasy books, my Demonland books. Check those out. Demonlandbooks.com and most importantly of all, our social media sorceress, you know, at Tucson Media, Ashley is fantastic if you need someone to do graphics for, you know, any venture you're doing, whether it's, you know, artistic or business. She's very creative, she's very intuitive, and she does the bulk. Pretty much all of our social media work here. And Death Wish wouldn't be where it is without her. So check out at Tucson Media on Instagram. [01:16:10] Speaker B: It.