Now Is The Time: Sleep Token's Rise To Download Headliners
Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Written by Jon Stickler
For decades, rock and metal festival line ups around the world have leaned heavily on legacy. Colossal acts forged during Monsters of Rock’s golden years have endured, reliably drawing massive crowds, but their days of anchoring major events appear to be numbered. As we anticipate the retirement of the old guard, the passing of the torch is not only inevitable — it’s already happening.
A long-time staple in the UK’s rock and metal scene, Download Festival is leading the way in reshaping what a heavy music bill looks like. The spectacle will shortly return to the iconic Donington Park, bringing with it a trio of first-time headliners, Green Day, Sleep Token, and Korn, who top the bill on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Noticeably, the range of acts confirmed this year shifts away from bullet belts and denim patches, with the inclusion of alternative artists across the fest’s multiple stages, showcasing a range of styles from pop-punk to metalcore. These include Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Palaye Royal, Sex Pistols, with Frank Carter, Poppy, and even pop-rockers McFly.
The eclectic line-up has certainly raised a few eyebrows among traditionalists, but it marks a significant milestone in the evolution of the festival, which has realised that headlining means more than just drawing a crowd. It means representing a cultural moment. Let’s face it, the elder statesmen of rock and metal — your Metallicas, Iron Maidens, AC/DCs, and Black Sabbaths — are well into their 60s, 70s, and even 80s while producing waning output. Gen Z are looking for fresher voices. That’s where Sleep Token start to make a whole lot of sense.
Sandwiched between a couple of bands now safely tucked into their late middle age, they are one of the most talked about acts on Download’s 2025 poster. But the main question (outside of the usual cynical comments that come with any line up announcement) is simply: are the masked metallers ready for such a prominent role?
Download’s higher ups certainly think so. The bold move has been likened to past calls on bands such as Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Biffy Clyro, Bring Me The Horizon, and Fall Out Boy, all of whom are internationally set up as festival headliners. Chief festival booker Andy Copping previously spoke about the importance of introducing new bands to the main stage. Speaking to Kerrang!, he said: “We, as a festival, have to be bringing bands through and believe in what we’re doing, but we don’t do it in a haphazard way. It’s very measured, it’s calculated, and I think it’s Sleep Token’s time.”
The landmark occasion seems quite fitting for heavy music’s freshest creative force, who just seven years ago played in the middle of the afternoon on the smallest stage at the festival. A lot has changed since then. The anonymous act now draws in almost 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with their complex, multi-genre sound being key to their growing global popularity.
Formed in 2016, Sleep Token descended on the scene with a look rooted in theatrics, borrowing from black metal corpse paint to accentuate their cryptic look. They self-released the ‘One’ EP that same year, followed by the ‘Two’ EP a year later, but their 2019 debut full-length, ‘Sundowning’, marked a significant evolution in their sound, leaving a lot to individual interpretation by incorporating elements of alternative metal, post-metal, djent, and indie-pop. It’s something of a curveball to those ready to embrace the dark, menacing imagery of the band.
Having just dropped their fourth album, ‘Even In Arcadia’, which hit the top spot on the UK album chart, the band have also made history in the US by topping the Billboard album chart, smashing streaming records left, right and centre in the process. Such an achievement is even more astonishing when you consider that the band has a strict no press policy, allowing their music and creativity to speak for itself. And indeed it does, the first three singles, sorry “offerings”, from ‘Even In Arcadia’ all peaked within the UK Top 20, with the second of the three, Caramel, even making the Top 10, a rarity for a rock act.
Sleep Token prefaced Download with a headlining slot at Germany’s Rock Im Park and there will soon be a run of US arena shows, sorry “rituals”, in the autumn, all of which sold out pretty much instantly, and will no doubt serve up more major threshold moments. They previously broke merchandise sales records at their performance at London’s OVO Arena Wembley two years ago.
After so many years of outdated assumptions about heavier music, the burgeoning new chapter is really starting to make an impact on the mainstream. From rising acts such as Bad Omens and Spiritbox, to bands like Knocked Loose and Turnstile, who have been building for years, the changing landscape of heavy music festival line-ups is poised for continued expansion, with an emphasis on innovation as the genre evolves.
We’ve recently seen the return of Linkin Park, the ongoing success of Bring Me The Horizon, and a UK number one album from Those Damn Crows, whose LP ‘God Shaped Hole’ hit top spot in the spring. Brighton metalcore giants Architects also reached number two in the UK charts in March with ‘The Sky, the Earth & All Between’.
In addition to Sleep Token, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Gojira, Swedish juggernaut Ghost, kawaii metal pioneers Babymetal, or Parkway Drive at the very summit during festival season. Who knows what Download have up their sleeves for 2026, but one thing is certain, the future of its headliners won’t be dictated by who’s been around the longest, but by who speaks most powerfully to the here and now.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
