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In the beginning was the idea, and the idea was God. Or a god, at least. Sleep Token’s rich mythology has provided a fertile breeding ground for fascination and speculation as fans engage with the lore of Sleep and offer their own interpretations and understandings to turn each new release into a metal choose-your-own-adventure.
And now they’re here, seven years on from their first headline gig, headlining the biggest rock and metal festival in the UK, cementing themselves as the fastest-rising band in metal since Linkin Park. The sea of Sleep Token merch is to be expected by this point, as are special little mysteries like the Sleep Token-branded bar code that popped up around the site early on today (it was a competition, basically).
All building up to this. And what a build up it is. The sounds of wind howling as a black curtain is raised agonisingly slowly, the notes of Look To Windward giving way to a crushing riff and howls of ecstasy as the band appear atop an ornate stage. It’s nothing compared to the shrieks when Vessel strides out of a stone doorway, signalling the start of the set proper (after a minor snafu with half the stage curtain).
Pink petals fall like snow from overhead and Sleep Token have officially arrived at Download, earning big singalongs early on. But for all the focus sometimes placed on Vessel’s melodic intonations, it’s his howls that feel most astounding as the band lead a roaring, visceral Vore. Vessel is no mere static figurehead, either. Be it stalking across the stage as he raps or bursting into a full dance for Emergence, which ends in an epic sax solo performed atop a raised platform, the mysterious vocalist exudes charisma even without saying anything, some of the set’s most moving parts occurring when Vessel simply steps back to play piano.
A gorgeous, atmospheric encore of Thread The Needle highlights an emotional candor and intimacy that has always prevailed in their music, even as lights bathe the stage in technicolour hues and everything from descending cages to waterfalls betrays the sheer scope of where the band operate now. The first song they ever released, it also perfectly tees up the soaring Take Me Back To Eden. By whatever metric you could judge Sleep Token as a headliner, they meet it. The devoted passionately sing along to just about every song, but the wider congregation can still join in with the likes of Alkaline, Caramel and The Summoning, the latter’s viral bass breakdown precipitated by a massive drum solo.
Set atop a set design worthy of early 80s Iron Maiden and with a dazzling lightshow and a backing choir to heighten the melodies, there’s no skimping on production; everything about their Donington headline debut feeling monumental. Sleep Token’s rise to headlining Download has been well documented, but is no less astounding. From playing the Dogtooth tent in 2018, to headlining a tent at the Download Pilot in 2021, the step up as headliner feels richly deserved.
Even against Green Day, whose Donington debut feels long overdue and Korn, who have their own illustrious past at the festival, Sleep Token headlining Download Festival 2025 feels truly momentous, a legendary event in the making. And their story is still not finished. Number one album, sold out tours, they are the metal sensation of the decade, if not century, and this set draws a line in the sand for doubters. Like it or not, they’re top of the world right now.
Sleep Token Download 2025 setlist
Look to Windward
The Offering
Vore
Emergence
Alkaline
Hypnosis
Rain
Caramel
The Summoning
Granite
The Love You Want
Higher
Damocles
Thread the Needle
Take Me Back to Eden
