SLEEP TOKEN - Live in Sydney 2023
Taking Sydney in a Chokehold
Written by: Jimmy Wah - Sense Music Media | Saturday 29th April 2023
Photos by: Daniel Farr
An ominous tone, suggestive lyrics, a questionable name and a distinctive gimmick. As we’ve seen time and time again, this is the perfect recipe for any artist to garner obsessive fandom… and Sydney proved it to be true on Saturday night. In case you haven’t heard, the buzz surrounding SLEEP TOKEN is massive, which was made clear by the outrageous line that was stretching from The Metro Theatre, all the way down George Street, to Liverpool Street and beyond. Added to the drama was the torrential rain that blasted the pavement like a hyperbolic fight scene in The Matrix. Like much of what followed, it almost felt scripted.
Once inside the doors, the intensity of anticipation could be cut with a knife, which was built upon by SLEEP TOKEN choosing to play this show alone with no supports. The crowd packed into the main room greeted by an empty stage, a Take Me Back To Eden backdrop and cloaked instruments bathed in blue light until nearly 9pm. The crowd erupted when the sheets were removed and enough smoke filled the stage to warrant an emergency. Silhouettes of hooded figures appeared to take their positions and like clockwork, the opening tones and unmistakable vocals of Vessel were met with cheers and whistles, as he emerged through the smoke to kick off the show with the recent single Chokehold. One thing was clear, SLEEP TOKEN knew how to create an atmosphere. As white light broke through the blue and purple haze to punctuate the crushing drop of the opener, the energy in the room was palpable with heads and arms flailing down the crushing wave of people at The Metro.
As the highly commended single The Summoning blasted through the venue, I would have had trouble discerning the music if I hadn’t already seen the setlist. Loud music usually isn’t a problem from the sound desk where I was standing, but it sounded very heavy at the top and bottom with nothing in the middle, which became more and more obvious throughout the show. If the vocals weren’t largely isolated throughout the first half of most songs, they wouldn’t have been discernible. Fortunately fans who knew the groove of their favourite songs still swooned when they played, which seemed to be just about all of them. Something else that stood out to me was the drummer ‘ii’. He’s like the John Otto of progressive alt-metal, massively understated but absolutely carrying the show.
The music definitely puts an unquestionable stamp of authority on the look and feel of SLEEP TOKEN. Taking us on a journey through songs that fans love, they definitely filled the brief. Songs like Nazareth and Higher had the audience singing loudly. When it could be heard, the distinctive tone of Vessel was incredibly satisfying to listen to. I’m not sure if the 3 backup vocalists were really singing or if their hooded presence was mainly for visual effect but it definitely fit the atmosphere. A bit of Gregorian chant wouldn’t go astray. The masked, hooded figures seemed to command attention of the audience like a religious ceremony. Funnily enough, that’s their gimmick, so hats off to a successful venture. That’s not an easy thing to do with something so edgy.
As the band seemed to leave for what seemed like an interlude, the stage was once again bathed in blue light and audible tones definitive of SLEEP TOKEN filled the air. As they returned to play The Night Does Not Belong To Us and The Offering, then they left the stage to cheers calling for an encore. I checked the time and it was only 10:07 which was nearly 15 minutes before the show was due to end. Minutes passed by and the house lights kept the audience in darkness so it felt like an encore was really going to happen… but most disappointingly, it didn’t.
As the crowd spilled out onto the street after witnessing a highly anticipated, visually stunning, blistering set… one thing was clear — SLEEP TOKEN are to prog-metal what LIMP BIZKIT are to nu-metal. Like it or not, the buzz is real.
All photos by: Daniel Farr - Click below to view the FULL GALLERY
