In the new issue of Metal Hammer, Skyler Accord recalls hearing Sleep Token for the first time.
As part of our cover feature unpacking Sleep Token's rise from unknown mysteries to the biggest metal band of their generation, the former Issues bassist recalls what it was like taking the British band out for their first US tour in 2019.
"Our booking agent actually introduced us to Sleep Token," he recalls. "He sent us this EP they’d been working on [Two] and I was blown away. It felt like I could see the future – especially looking them up online and seeing what they looked like. Even though they didn’t have the songs they have now, I could tell there was something special there.”
Running through November and December 2019, the tour saw Sleep Token opening a bill which also featured rapper Lil Aaron and prog metallers Polyphia, with Issues headlining.
"It's a hilarious bill to think about now," Skyler says. "If they were opening there was a whole vibe watching the show from beginning to end. Usually, you walk in during the opener and get a beer and talk loud as you can, right? But everyone was engaged.”
Skyler shares some fond memories of the tour.
“It felt great, there was a very close family vibe," he says. "We shared our bus with Aaron and I think Sleep Token were actually in a van. We were really friendly; we’d all hang out in the green room and we even went to Aaron’s parent’s house for Thanksgiving together. They were really stoked to be on the road and playing in the US. It felt like the last hurrah before shutdown.”
But he also says not everybody who caught the tour 'got' it.
“In Seattle, [YouTuber] Finn McKenty came out to see us and we were like, ‘You’ve gotta see this band.’ But he didn’t understand Sleep Token at all," he admits. I was stood next to him just going, ‘Bro, trust me!’ It was like seeing Slipknot in ’99 or something. Except, it was different from the nu metal of yore; a lot of that had this trailer park, trashy ‘I’m insane!’ vibe. Sleep Token is poetic; less malt liquor, more wine.”
Sleep Token are set to return to the US in September after a run of summer events including their first headline slot at this year's Download Festival. The band are currently on track to score their first number one in both the UK and US charts.
Read the full story of the rise of Sleep Token in issue 400 of Metal Hammer, on-sale now. Order it online and have it delivered straight to your door!
