[DID NOT ATTEND: May 20, 2024] Sleep Token / Empire State Bastard
I had not heard of Sleep Token when this show was announced. I soon found out that they are huge and sold this show out in like a second.
Sleep Token are a masked, anonymous band (which I love). So it immediately intrigued me when I heard they were coming.
Their music is heavy, but the verses and singing sound very soft alt rock. It’s kind of a weird mishmash of styles.
And while they have a huge following, there are also plenty of haters, saying things like
- They’re gothic-flavored pop music with heavy music dispersed throughout. Very generic production that rides all the current trends.
- “wow, this is like Katatonia but bad”
- I literally physically cringed listening to one of their songs because of how processed the vocals were. Sounded so overproduced and synthetic. They seem like a band that will succeed with their merchandise and image of something alternative for those unexposed to metal.
- Admittedly I’ve only listened to their cover of Hey Ya, but it’s the kinda song that makes you never want to hear another song from the artist ever again. — I Just listened to it and it is terrible.
- They are quite unique in all the different genres they blend into their songs but each different style they attempt just sounds very generic and not done well in my opinion. There is also a weird effect on the singers voice which gets annoying very quickly for me.
Of course, that’s just a few naysayers but I tend to agree with that vibe. I asked my son about them and he dismissed them.
The whole reason I was interested in this show was for Empire State Bastard.
Empire State Bastard are a Biffy Clyro’s singer guitarist Simon Neil and touring guitarist Mike Vennart (of Cardiacs and formerly of Oceansize). The album and tour featured Dave fucking Lombardo on drums. Simon Neil is a lunatic and while he has a great voice, he also loves to shred his vocal chords. And this whole album is him shredding his vocal chords. This is heavy heavy metal.
And this was the only Philly date for this band. I’m annoyed that people who didn’t care about them got to see them and I didn’t. Maybe I could have asked The Met for a ticket just for the openers.
