Sleep Token announce 2023 UK tour

Sleep Token/Vessel
(Image credit: Andy Ford)

Mysterious masked metallers Sleep Token have announced a UK headline tour for early 2023.

The much-hyped band, who are fronted by enigmatic leader Vessel and rarely do any press, produced one of last year's most widely acclaimed metal releases in second album in This Place Will Become Your Tomb, and supported Brighton metallers Architects across UK arenas earlier this year.

Now, the band will embark upon a run of their biggest headline shows ever, taking in gigs across Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol and Brixton. Support will come from Aussie tech metal mainstays Northlane.

Check out the full list of tour dates below. At present, it is unknown if the tour will coincide with new Sleep Token music or not.

Sleep Token UK tour 2023 dates

Jan 17 Birmingham O2 Academy
Jan 18 Glasgow Barrowlands
Jan 19 Manchester Albert Hall
Jan 20 Bristol O2 Academy
Jan 21 London O2 Academy Brixton

Sleep Token almost never do any press, and the mystique surrounding the band has led to them becoming one of modern metal's biggest talking points.

“Sleep Token are an expression of where metal is in the 2020s,” black metal legend Ihsahn told us last year.  “From the first time I heard them, I was completely intrigued – the way they mix modern metal elements with very dark moods, but also very clear, modern R&B-style production values.”

“It’s similar to what we had with the black metal scene, with the masks and mystery that helps to raise it all,” he continued. “Emperor wouldn’t be where they were without that theatricality, because we needed to do something to distance ourselves from the spotty teenagers we were!"

“It creates a clear distance and space between the art and the artist,” he continues. “I’ve always appreciated artists who created that distance – going back, you can watch all these interviews with David Bowie but it never feels like you knew him. The art he created was an offering and you just had to try to understand it.”

Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.