I’ve been listening to them for like 5-6 years now (wow, went by fast) and always had mixed feelings on the vocals and the more pop-sounding elements, but over time I just decided “Yes, I am a Sleep Token fan” haha. Glad to see them getting a ton of recognition right now

It's awesome seeing someone visibly confused, but then pleasantly surprised listening to them for the first time. I've been a major fan ever since 'The Love You Want' came out, and I've listened to their entire catalog countless times at this point. I'm commenting this before you get to The Summoning, and I'm really looking forward to seeing your reaction to the end (might drop an edit afterwards haha). In the meantime, here's some info about the band, including some more recommendations: Sleep Token is an anonymous band from the UK who doesn't stick to a particular genre (though they're lumped in with prog and alternative metal - however, they'll drop a ballad and make you cry if they damn well please). Their singer goes by Vessel, and their drummer is called II (or Vessel Two). We call their bassist III and the guitarist IV. Their songwriting is largely based on vocals and drums, with Vessel doing the songwriting, singing, and playing piano, and II composing the drum parts. They've recently had IV doing some solos, which is a very welcome addition to their style. III is very well known for being really charismatic and dancing on stage like nobody's business (which Vessel also does). They've only done one interview via email, and in the interview they say explicitly that genre isn't worth focusing on, and neither are their identities - Hell, even the interview wasn't confirmed to be official until a recent merch drop which included a quote from the interview. For recommendations, I'll give you the most common and then a few of my personal favorites: * Alkaline * The Offering * Higher * Blood Sport (There are two versions; do the album version followed by "From the Room Below" for the full effect.) * High Water (This is my personal favorite by them.) * Thread The Needle * Calcutta Edit: I'm very happy to hear your thoughts on both songs! Lots of people unfortunately try pitting the singles "against" each other, but they work extremely well for their own purposes like you said! I'd like to think I called it with "pleasantly surprised," which tends to be the reaction people have with this band.

@OldSkuleNerd

Жыл бұрын

I appreciate your thoughts…. Similar to TOOL, OPETH, and RUSH…. The first time you hear a truly progressive, experimental, artistically open project or group IT SHOULD TAKE YOU A BIT BACK… cause it doesn’t follow the “industry format” but you appreciate the artistry and storytelling so I am looking forward to more from them

@peterlamb3526

Жыл бұрын

High water, my favourite. Well said.

@aj_5339

Жыл бұрын

III and IV are live only which is pretty worth mentioning to a new person to them. Guitar is vessel and in the past their old producer did bass but in these it's vessel. They are a two person band in studio

@_.gray._

Жыл бұрын

@@aj_5339 I actually only learned of this recently, which is really interesting! I heard talk about III becoming a "full member," but a lot of this is outside my knowledge haha.

@HK_8

Жыл бұрын

I love this comment. I agree 💯 with your recommendations. The first few are musts for a newby. High Water and Calcutta are 2 of my personal favs and don’t get reacted to enough. I adore the video for Calcutta. ❤

This new album is going to be unreal. Sleep Token is my favorite band, their discography is a musical journey like no other. You never know what youre going to get with their music, and its all amazing

Honestly, if I could have completely erased my memory of Sleep Token from the last year +, and made these two songs my introduction to them, it would have been as good a first impression as I can imagine to any band. Don't get me wrong, their "older" material still resonates hard and beautiful with me, but The Summoning especially is just such a masterful expression of everything they do. Also their music is evolving right before our ears in just a few years time. It's awesome. You got to Sleep Token at a great freakin time, as it turns out! 😂 Welcome to the worship! 🤘😁🤘

@madeofwax92

Жыл бұрын

Totally agree. I've been into them since Sundowning and The Summoning is just a complete level up to me. They have taken everything they've always done so well and added in other elements in a masterful way. Very exciting time to be a Sleep Token fan.

The summoning is an experience, it's like tool, aerosmith, and rush had a delinquent son filled with hate.

Thanks for showing Sleep Token some love!

@OldSkuleNerd

Жыл бұрын

MY PLEASURE SERIOUSLY!!!

This is your favorite bands favorite band. They're finally getting the mainstream recognition they deserve. UNBELIEVABLE group... You've gotta listen to the "Sundowning" album, it's the epitome of perfect IMHO. 💜🙏 Also! Yes, I'm getting huge A Perfect Circle/Tool type of sound 👍

@Capthowdy098

Жыл бұрын

I got into them right before that album drop.. Jaws hooked and confused me and couldn't get enough. -Worship 🤘

Please check out “The Offering” and “ Bloodsport” by these amazing musicians!!

Great reaction, brilliant insight, flew by, just like listening to sleep tokens sick new tunes 🤙🏻

This is the first of these reaction videos where I actually stuck around to listen to the commentary. You've got some interesting indights, where a lot of younger metalcore fans have seemed like they have no idea where this song is coming from. Not that it upsets me that people are loving it- That's really exciting! But I hope people go back and discover what they've been missing.

24:02 hahaha I'm watching all reactions and waiting anxiously for this moment. You have certainly a well argued way to react, new sub here! Worship.

@klopf8

Жыл бұрын

25:56 with ST you'll never know what's coming next

I really appreciate your analysis. Well done!

You're the first person I've seen bring up Coheed while reacting to this band. Glad I'm not alone in hearing similarities between their progressive choices! Hope you keep listening to Sleep Token, whether you react to them or not. I recommend just picking one and go. No song is the same and you'll appreciate that.

@macabrerealityshorts

Жыл бұрын

agreed!

I feel like Sleep Token is doing what Imagine Dragons has been attempting but low-key failing to do. not to say Imagine Dragons is BAD, just that they definitely seem to be going for these BIG SOUNDS, but they're kind of trapped within the confines of pop rock and being strictly radio-friendly. Sleep Token's whole discography is so good, they only have 2 songs I'm kinda meh on, but 0 actual "misses" imho. And your comment about how every time Vessel, the vocalist, opened his mouth and blew air through his vocal chords, it MEANT something? literally every song of Sleep Token's is like this which is why they've been elevated to my Favourite band. I adore a band that sings with passion and feeling.

“A goddammed musical lasagna!” Best quote I’ve heard to describe The Summoning so far 🤣

Thank you for the timestamps! I haven't done chokehold yet.

It was the best 30 minutes of the whole day, I hope you can react more, welcome to the cult. Worship

Please do more sleep token. I love your reactions. Thank you for all that you do!!

your and mine favorite reactor 💀ay thats not too far off tho good to see love in the community

@jacob1107

Жыл бұрын

I haven't played D2 for a while....I am still rip/rep'ing cayde-6

Haven't decided what to make of them yet, and I heard my first from them awhile ago. But ...it doesn't make me run screaming and it's really interesting. And I love a challenge. So let's go! Great reaction

@_.gray._

Жыл бұрын

You're in for a wild ride if you check their stuff out; their discography is insanely diverse. My advice: Don't expect anything as you go from song to song, each one is a surprise of its own. Also, if you don't like something right away, give it another shot later and it'll likely grow on you.

@fredbarnes2600

Жыл бұрын

@@_.gray._ To be clear I've heard 2 or 3 other songs and I didn't dislike any of them. With music this complex, I need to be able to figure it out to get the full effect. Very different music, but the same thing happened with Meshuggah. Once I got it, I loved it. I'm sure it will grow on me (and I already like it some)

@madeofwax92

Жыл бұрын

@@fredbarnes2600 To be fair, most of Sleep Token's music isn't nearly as complex as Meshuggah. In fact, a lot of their older stuff is pretty simple, it's just really well-executed and aesthetically unique. I'm glad they're branching out into more progressive song structures and new sounds though.

Thought I would add this little bit of information for you, but there are only 2 active members of this band, the drummer and the vocalist, vocalist does everything, guitar, bass, piano’s synths, production (along side Carl brown for this one) mixing, all on Vessel. They have a fairly big catalog, and I highly advise to dig into it!

freakin enjoyed it so much. epic sonic material. 😍😍😍

I found them right before they started releasing singles from the last album, and I've been able to see them live twice since then, and they've become my favorite band Go into their songs thinking of them as hymns or worship songs and the structure and repetition starts to make more sense, as that's their gimmick

@_.gray._

Жыл бұрын

Oh yeah, this is another important thing I forgot to mention in my own comment lol. The band has lore in which they worship an ancient deity who is only known as Sleep because no human tongue can pronounce it. Good call lol. Their most church-like songs would probably be Jericho, Levitate, and The Way That You Were.

This was a new band for me, and i enjoyed the reaction. The second song was my favorite 👍

I’m a very infrequent commentor on YT. I have been listening to this band for about 5 years. I have seen them live and listened to every song in their catalogue hundreds of times. I have watched a ton of reaction videos in the past few days regarding these two songs. Most of them are people just bobbing the head and saying wow. Or great. Or heavy. No real reaction or analysis. I sincerely appreciated your take on both songs. I though you made some insightful comments as it relates to comparing bands to others and skillfully broke down the songs as you interpret the structure, sonic elements, musicianship, and song writing. Sleep token is not a metal band. Although it’s what so many reactors want them to be. They are not a djent band. They cannot be put into any one classification which is why I love them. In the end. They write great songs. Songs like no one else. Although it was my first visit to your channel. I have subscribed and will come back for your takes.

They're skyrocketing in popularity it's insane

"this one is as wonderful, progressively, as the first one was, minimalistically",... My favorite sentence thus far...have to edit... Layered like a G** d*** musical lasagne..... Top tier!!

Summoning - we have song of the year 2023.

Coheed shoutout, hells yes

Sleep token are one of the most talented group of musicians out there today imo. Been a fan for a while and they never disappoint. They r very fluid and atmospheric with their music. And vessels voice is just mind blowing!! Check out: Atlantic Hypnosis Higher Alkaline Telomeres The offering And my bf would kill me if I don't suggest bloodsport and the love you want lol but u really can't go wrong with any of their art!

Commenting at the start. Cant believe you havent listened to Sleep Token after their last album! 😭 you really missed out. That last album was my album of the year in 2021, pretty sure thats gonna be the case this year too.

Anyone else laughing to themselves when he says guitar player or bassist bc there isn't either of those in studio and it's just vessel? But fr tho, for only having a first and second impression you get what makes them so special. Your thoughts after chokehold especially are perfect

There needs to be a SoulsBourne in the Sleep Token mythos. I'd pay AND play it.

The summoning character reminds me of a chaos space marine from Warhammer 40K

My exact reaction first time hearing The Summoning was this sounds like progressive Tool and I’ve definitely fought this boss in Destiny 2 🤣 My new favorite band!

I love the reaction people have to the second part of this song. Listen to all the sleep token. If you like them you might like Dir en Grey and Chelsea Wolfe. Vessel1 is like a one man Die, Kaoru, and Toshiya tho he isn't as much of a one man haunted house as Kyo is. He's more like Chelsea Wolfe if she were a British guy

"I'm not gunna stop again unless something crazy happens" all of us who know what's coming like 👀😬🤣

Once this song hits the live shows there gunna be a metal baby boom after that funk section 😂

I heard Alkaline, The Summoning and now Chokehold what I have noticed now is that it's not only horror and sci-fi based but now can say video games added to this which to me is awesome. If you haven't heard Alkaline from Sleep Token you got to and the video for it could be good horror movie.

Damn, I must've watched a hundred reactions to these songs now and you're the first to pick up on the char upgrade between them. But wtf happens to the tank after all those red dots? We must know.

You mentioning Pink Floyd reminded that just a week ago the 50th anniversary of Dark Side of the Moon edition was released which led to many comments from us Boomers that how awesome it would be to go back in time to hear Dark Side for the first time again. I think this is what we have here, in 50 years people will be saying the same thing about this album. This is something very special happening.

The lasers reminds me of other players are targeting your character to shoot at it

"Amped up imagine dragons," fam you mean they sound like a sad and angry Bastille 🤣 Love them though. Worship!

I would consider Sleep Token Progressive Metal. They’re fantastic. Reminds me of Tool but better!!

I honestly said this sounds like imagine dragons if they had talent or some actual spirit to them. Sleep token is currently my favorite band but yeah chokehold had a very imagine dragons sound. Wonder if it will get some radio /mainstream love

i like learning stuff instead of seeing just head bobbing

I was thinking it looks like EldenRing

Has anyone reacted to them both? In one video? Yes, yes you are about 2 days to late 😂

You nailed the character in The Summoning. My first thoughts was us Guardians slapped the shit out of Calus and The Witness realised he needed to beef up and bring his A game. "I'm not going to stop this again, unless something crazy happens". Famous last words haha.

Sleep Token>Lorna Shore

@tracyraines1059

Жыл бұрын

Exactly and thank Will Ramos for introducing alot of us to sleep token cuz I don't know if he hadn't covered hypnosis many of us might not have heard of them

@Joose

Жыл бұрын

Lorna Shore's so good and popular that there doesn't seem to be a single comment section where someone's not trying to claim some other band is better, regardless of genre. It's hilarious, honestly. Both bands are great and nothing alike.

@Xrskppn

Жыл бұрын

Imagine having to compare everything to feel superior 😂 Dude just enjoy stuff. They are both a 10/10 band in COMPLETELY different Genres

@madeofwax92

Жыл бұрын

@@Joose I can't imagine comparing Sleep Token to a deathcore band. Like, what even leads to that thought? lol

@russg9845

Жыл бұрын

@@Xrskppn Imagine getting upset a random person on the internet likes one band more than another... LOL My hog is superior. Never said I disliked them either ya bozo

Also every Lorna shore song sounds like the last, sleep token is unpredictable and breathes life into soo many genres, hence why will is trying to imitate

Lorna shore isn’t comparable, vessel’s range is superior

You really do pause at the worst moments. Try rewinding ten seconds when you pause. it's so disjointed.

All this reads is a failure at the parental level. Ain’t enough love at home so he needs validation from the cheese bus.