Sleep Token are a British heavy metal band formed in London in 2016, with members remaining anonymous by wearing masks.

[3] In May 2017, it was announced that Sleep Token had signed with independent label Basick Records and would release their second EP Two in July.

[5] Reviewing Two for Distorted Sound, Matt Corcoran also noted the combination of elements from multiple genres, explaining, "Across these three spellbinding tracks the band fully delivers on their genre-blending promise, moving between light indie atmospherics and dark, Meshuggah-esque heaviness and covering most of the spectrum in between.

In October, they released "The Way That You Were" and played their first headline (and eleventh overall) show at St Pancras Old Church, tickets for which reportedly sold out in 30 seconds.

columnist Tom Shepherd gave the album a rating of four out of five, writing that it contains "moments here to truly savour, and ideas and experiences that feel unique", but noting that "the continuous nature of this dark mood entwined with the group's slow-burning, listless pace does begin to drag across [its] 50-minute runtime".

These included planned appearances at Knotfest Japan in March,[18] Download Festival in June,[19] and Madrid's Mad Cool in July.

[30] More shows followed in the spring and summer – in April, frontman Vessel performed an "intimate" solo show (joined by only three backing vocalists) dubbed A Ritual from the Room Below;[31] in May, the group supported Architects alongside Malevolence on a short UK tour;[32] and in the summer, they played several festivals including Download,[33] as well as touring Australia with Northlane.

[42][43] Take Me Back To Eden marked a significant change in the band's creative process, as they stopped working with their long-time producer George Lever in favour of Carl Bown.

[47] The band attracted significant international attention when video footage of their 29 April 2023 performance of "Atlantic" in Sydney, Australia went viral due to an audience member’s audible fart which was described in the media as "absolutely sinister" and "ferocious".

Metal Hammer readers voted Take Me Back to Eden as the best album of the year,[54] while the magazine's writers ranked it fourth.

Rich Hobson of Metal Hammer explains that the members, who all wear masks and cloaks, "obscure their faces, they don't talk onstage, and they have only ever done one interview", with that very publication.

[71] In 2017, Sleep Token's then-new label Basick Records published a description of the band which read, "A band that goes above and beyond simply writing and playing music, Sleep Token are said to be "the mortal representatives of the ancient deity known only as 'Sleep', led by the masked and cloaked figure appointed 'Vessel' ... the master creator behind the music.

The first, with Metal Hammer at the time of their signing with Basick, frontman Vessel expanded on the lore of the band, stating that "We are here to serve Sleep and project His message."

"[78] Hobson has suggested that the band has a "fluid approach to genre", claiming that they incorporate "elements of everything from tech metal and alternative to pop and R&B".

[65] Similarly, John D. Buchanan of the website AllMusic has written that Sleep Token "combine post-rock, post-classical, and post-metal tropes with soulful indie pop vocals into a blend that sounds like nothing else".

[79] The band's label Spinefarm Records has simply stated that "in a world of form and genre, Sleep Token cannot be confined".