Masked UK rock band Sleep Token makes Tampa debut this summer

Modern rock celebrates the theatrics of masked performers like Slipknot and Ghost, but perhaps most mysterious of all is Sleep Token. The masked London rock band is notorious for not speaking to the press, having only agreed to two interviews since the band’s 2016 inception.

But the band—whose only named members remain anonymous under the pseudonyms Vessel and II—at least wants to get to know Tampa Bay better by making a local debut this summer.

Tickets to Sleep Token play Tampa’s Yuengling Center on Monday, May 6 go on sale Friday, Jan. 26 and start at $45.75. Empire State Bastard, which recently released its first studio album Rivers of Heresy more than a decade after the band’s initial formation, opens the show, which is Sleep Token’s only Florida stop.

Sleep Token is known for a synthesis of various genres from atmospheric indie to progressive metal, and has also released cover versions of songs by OutKast and Billie Eilish. The band made the move from Basick Records to the Universal subsidiary Spinefarm Records in 2019, and released its third album Take Me Back To Eden last summer ahead of a sold-out North American tour.

The rock band has developed somewhat of a lore to accompany their mysterious theatrics. In the only interview he’s ever done, Vessel explained that the band members are the mortal representatives of the ancient deity called ‘Sleep.’ Vessel is their leader, the master and creator behind the music, though II has received songwriting credits as well. In II’s only interview he discusses musical influences like Slipknot and Deftones. Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.

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