When Sleep Token released The Summoning in January, it broke the internet. They were already one of our world’s most talked-about, divisive bands, splitting listeners between those who viewed the masked, anonymous collective as a pretentious gimmick and those enthralled by their blend of ambience, thunderous tech-metal and mournful pop melodies – all elevated by their ritualistic live shows and singer Vessel’s soulful, cursive vocals.
The Summoning, the second single from third album Take Me Back To Eden, stunned fans and earned them a legion of new ones. Taking every idiosyncrasy of the Sleep Token experience to the next level, it veered between a cathedral-sized hymnal chorus and the heaviest breakdown and vocals they’d ever recorded – and with it, the kind of baby-making, jazz fusion volte-face you’d expect from funk/soul producer Thundercat. It blew raspberries at anyone who had accused their ambient/heavy switch-ups of becoming formulaic. Since then, it’s been streamed 25 million times on Spotify, topping online charts and trending on TikTok. Suddenly, the band many initially dismissed as a spurious oddity had become one of the biggest deals in modern metal.
