What Does Your Cat (Dog) Think About Sleep Token?

I don’t know what to make of Sleep Token. The band’s newest album, Even In Arcadia, is now the number one record on Billboard.

Even In Arcadia also just had the biggest streaming week ever for a hard rock album.

The band is played on satellite radio station Octane. And Turbo. And Liquid Metal. And probably Hits 1 or something because they don’t seem to fit any one genre. I suppose if I had to peg them, I would call them progressive metal… maybe. There’s elements of the Deftones for sure. And trap. And modern metalcore and I swear you can hear 80s glam guitar solos here and there too. Plus, crazy piano and horn sections that would fit right in on a classic Steely Dan album.

The most interesting thing about Sleep Token is their anonymity. The band came out in 2016 and have only done two interviews in all that time. The British act stays fully costumed (because that’s the hot thing now) and they never talk on stage. There’s an entire subreddit dedicated to figuring out the members of Sleep Token and all the puzzles and Easter eggs they drop. (It’s called r/SleepTokenTheory obviously). People on that sub think the singer is Leo Faulkner. Sleep Token says the singer is simply called Vessel. He’s the messenger to the ancient deity Sleep. Or something like that.

I literally always changed the channel when Octane played Sleep Token because I felt like the station was shoving the band down the throats of listeners. Like, Octane is for bands like Beartooth and Halestorm but eventually I relented and listened to “Emergence” when it came on one day. Then, with a heavy sigh I added Even In Arcadia to my Amazon music and I listened to the entire thing all the way through. I mean, if Sleep Token is going to be the biggest band in metal (or rock, or trap, or whatever), I decided I better know something about them. Turns out, I love the track “Emergence,” especially for those piano and sax solos.

Look, some of the lyrics on Even In Arcadia are straight cringe. I read someone else online describe them as “50 Shades of Grey meets a mosh pit” and that seems pretty accurate to me.

Even in Arcadia seems to be more evolved than Sleep Token’s earlier release. Some of their songs really are straight heavy so then I was like, “Oh, this is why all those different SiriusXM stations are playing the band.” No one knows who to claim them… so they all will. Maybe that’s the point: the political message of Sleep Token is that music (humanity?) shouldn’t be locked into one or two genres.

I will say that Roosevelt the cat seems to enjoy Arcadia well enough. He’s still definitely more into Steely Dan because that is his whole vibe. I put on classic Dan, especially something like “Chain Lightning” and the cat comes right into the room and sprawls out. When Sleep Token gets too heavy – or weird – he’s out, ears back. He’s uppity like that.

Here’s an older, heavier Sleep Token track called "The Summoning" from the album Take Me Back To Eden. The guitar solos and riffs here really are glam!

And “Emergence” from the latest album:

Be sure to let me know what your cat... or dog... or you think of Sleep Token.

John 5 Really Is Amazing

John 5 released a new song the other day called "Fiend." The instrumental track features Kenny Aronoff on drums. The song is on John 5's upcoming solo album Ghost.

I especially like the dog's side eye at the end of the video.

Some folks in the YouTube comments note that "John 5 is underrated." I'm not exactly sure this is true. I think he's held in pretty high esteem among folks that know anything about the guitar world. Dude can shred, that's for sure.

Rumor RoundUp: Motley Crue Edition

I don't usually do posts like this because I think it is tacky but... the fact that two separate Motley Crue members have relationship issues spread across the internet today is wild to me. First, I am shocked that Sixx Sense (the radio station) founded by Motley bassist Nikki Sixx is sharing the story - but apparently Vince Neil and his longtime girlfriend have split.

Then, news that Motley drummer Tommy Lee and his wife of six years Brittany Furlan are on the outs. Apparently, the couple have been fighting over Tommy's drinking. Motley has shows coming up, so I hope Tommy can get it together for his own health and the band.

But wait, there's a twist here! Apparently Brittany was being catfished by someone impersonating Ronnie Radke, the singer of Falling In Reverse. Like this is all insane. Social media sucks.

Faster Pussycat, 'Motorbike' -- New Track

First off, let me say it is great that we have new Faster Pussycat music. The band released the track "Motorbike" today that singer Taime Downe says took him a decade to write. At any rate, the recording is below and it sounds muffled to me. I am not sure if the wrong version was uploaded or what, but Taime's voice sounds buried. In some places, it is even hard for me to make out the words.

The single is available on a limited-edition vinyl that you can purchase on the band's website. I am going to believe it sounds clearer than what is below.

Close Enemies Adds More Tour Dates - I'm There!

Close Enemies is the new side project of Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton. The band announced a tiny handful of tour dates about a month ago. This morning the band dropped more out of the blue, including a stop at Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati next month! I cannot tell you how fast I logged in to Ticketmaster to grab two seats.

The chance to see Tom with a side project is rare enough - but to see him do some Aerosmith tunes in a tiny venue? Golden.

Buckcherry - 'Set It Free' - Official Video

Buckcherry is working on a new album right now to be called Roar Like Thunder. The band just released the song and video for "Set It Free" from the upcoming release. The album will be a day one acquisition for me.

Buckcherry is always good for a fun time and their shows are awesome too.

Alice Cooper @ Sonic Temple Festival - Full Set

If you would like to see Alice Cooper's full set from the Sonic Temple festival on Friday, you're in luck. A pretty good quality, up-close video of the show is below. Most of the comments on the video are complaining about the cell phones in some of the shots... not recognizing the irony that the video being watched was literally made on a phone. But whatever. Enjoy!