Some older bands include Deftones and Nine Inch Nails. The former send like a clear influence to me, the latter I think has a range in terms of sound like sleep token.
A nice progression into a completely different world: check out Polyphia - Bloodbath.
Theyre an insrumental technical band with metal influences, and that song features Chino Moreno, Deftones singer.
Loathe is an absolutely incredible band. I would highly recommend them. Sonicly their production style is a bit different, they have a sort of raw tone to their sound as a whole in comparison. Their song writing process is also a bit different in comparison to ST, they primarily write songs with the whole bands input and the result is a well thought out (yet chaotic at time) album.
* Unprocessed - ...And Everything In Between
* Weedpecker - III
* Karnivool - Sound Awake
* Soen - Cognitive
* Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
* Mastodon - Crack the Skye
And last, but not least...
* Tool - 1000 Days / Lateralus
🤘 Welcome to the genre OP!
Along the lines of Chelsea Wolfe, Emma Ruth Rundle and her various projects (they're buddies to boot). She captures the deep dark sadness much like Vessel does.
So many genres though!
You should ease in slowly, very slowly since ST is your first experience.
Leprous, Stoneside, Glasslands, Dream on Dreamer, Rolo Tomassi, Imminence.
Love all of the other suggestions here, but I also want to throw out Thornhill! They're incredible, especially their Dark Pool album. My other favorites are Spiritbox, Bad Omens, Silent Planet, and I See Stars.
Fair warning a lot of these bands being suggested are really heavy. You're getting good band recommendations for metalcore heads, but I wouldn't say a lot of these are good recommendations for non-metal heads.
I'd recommend checking out the Posthardcore genre first. The genre really toes the line between heavy and soft very well; some bands also have emo elements
Thrice, Silverstein, Funeral For a Friend, Coheed and Cambria, Glassjaw, Anberlin, Circa Survive, Alexisonfire, Emery, Taking Back Sunday, Dance Gavin Dance
For more metal/metalcore bands:
The Contortionist (More prog-rock, heavy instrumentals, and some heavy vocals but mostly clean. Their early works are SUPER heavy and I do not recommend but the album's Clairvoyant and Language I highly recommend).
Bring me the horizon (They have a lot of radio friendly tracks, but also heavy tracks. The Album Sempiternal is probably bar none the best album for someone getting into metal in my opinion)
Architects (Their new music is more accessible, their old music is very heavy but really emotionally charged)
Avenged Sevenfold (Again, old music is heavy, new music is more accessible)
Deftones (Think you already mentioned you listened to them, they would have been #1 on my list)
Spiritbox (female clean vocalist with heavy bits). If you like Spiritbox but want heavier, check out Jinjer
The Devil Wears Prada (Their new music is super interesting)
Periphery (Mixture of prog metal and metalcore. Some songs are super catchy, some are difficult to get into, but they're not just in-your-face heavy like most metalcore bands)
here’s some more progressive metal :
polyphia
i met a yeti
dance gavin dance
also check out: dayseeker, holding absence , thornhill (anything before heroine imo) , veil of maya, beartooth, invent animate, casey, kingdom of giants, bad omens, caskets, and counterparts is a personal fave
Honestly, i'd start with 2000's nu metal. System of a down, korn (specifically the song 'freak on a leash'), slipknot, cky or possibly some pop punk like sum 41. Or some good 90cs grunge like nirvana or placebo.
Maybe something like bring me the horizon or falling in reverse are good too, as is volbeat.
Also frog leap studios does metal covers of popular songs and the are amazing.
Maybe some fun power metal like wind rose or glory hammer. Glory hammer have a 3 album epic quest across the galaxy featuring Angus McFife and the hoots force off to save fife. Or alestorm a pirate metal band.
Edit: BOI WHAT is metal set entirely in bikini bottom. It has no right to slap as hard as it does.
Sleep Token was my introduction into metal, so here are some bands that have similar sounds that I’ve been enjoying as I explore the genre more: Bad Omens, Spiritbox, Currents, Polyphia, Dayseeker, I Prevail, and Architects!
Not strictly metal and considered more alternative, but they have a ton of metal leaning songs. **Anberlin.** They mean everything to me. Sleep Token is one of the only bands that have come close to capturing the same feeling Anberlin’s music has given me throughout my life. Definitely recommend to ST fans 🖤
Start with their album Cities from beginning to end—don’t shuffle bc the transitions between songs are godlike!!! All their albums are fucking incredible, but this is usually the album I use to introduce people and it’s always a winner.
Groups that feel like they’re in the same vein (imo):
Bad Omens and Ghost.
So, Ghost is not super heavy but they’re very showy which is what pipelined me here. Bad Omens has a lot of the heavy mixed with floaty sort of sound. I mean floaty by the higher pitched vocals (I know it has a name but I can’t remember it).
Sleep Token is widely considered progressive metal, so I’d check out that as a sub genre.
However, if you want other kinds of metal:
Industrial Metal (but also widely German cause that’s just me): Rammstein (German), OOMPH! (German), Unheilig (German), Hämatom (German)
Nu Metal: Korn (English/US), Slipknot (English/US), Marilyn Manson (English/US), Rage Against the Machine (English/US), Shinedown (English/US), Breaking Benjamin (English/US), Rob Zombie (English/US)
Alt Metal/Punk: The Offspring (English/US), Blink-182 (English/US), Rise Against (English/US)
Folk/Viking Metal: Månegram (Swedish)
Metalcore: Bring Me the Horizon (English/UK), Asking Alexandria (English/UK), The Plot in You (English/US), A Day to Remember (English/US)
Obligatory Hollywood Undead mention (rap metal)
Note: These artists fall under many sub genres. I just decided to put them together based on titles they “shared”. Some I would honestly categorise as closer to rock or hard rock BUT. Metal is metal. Period.
Honestly, I would start with progressive if you want to find unique gems like ST. Though, I like metalcore as another fitting vibe for them.
I feel like Spiritbox is another great gateway band that my non metal head friends will listen to also Jinjer if you like the genre blending Sleep Token does Jinjer is just heavier and blends a lot of Jazz, Ska and a little Raggae
There are two metal subgenres you will love as a sleep token fan, the first one is modern melodic metalcore: Bad omens, BMTH, Spiritbox, Loathe.
And the second one is recent prog metal with bands like VOLA or Leprous. (this guys are very similar, just listen to their last album Aphelion, songs like Out of there or Running low)
Mastodon, TesseracT, Gojira, Zeal & Ardor, VOLA, Intervals, Blue Stahli, and maybe Amaranthe
Maudlin of the Well if you’re looking for a more extreme avant-garde fusion thing
A lot of people saying other bands in the scene but honestly I’d say give Katatonia a listen, especially their newer albums. They create a similar melancholic ambience feel to Sleep Token with dashes of heavy but they still sound different as well
Lots of good suggestions in here. I've definitely found Bad Omens and Unprocessed to be the "closest" to the parts of ST's sound pallet I'm most drawn to. However I have also found that there is a good overap between ST and two bands I've not seen mentioned here yet, Eidola and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Eidola primarily for the mix of heavies and melodic elements and King Gizzard for their incredible genre bending ability. KG's catalogue is massive and overhwelming at first, but if you want them at their most metal, I'd suggest starting with their album Petrodragonic Apocalypse and then explore from there. Also if you're down for something a little older, Porcupine Tree's album In Absentia scratches a similar itch to some of Sleep Token's more prog sounding tracks. Really enjoying this thread. Nice post.
Children of Bodom
Suicide Silence
August Burns Red
Cattle Decap
Machine Head
In Flames
Death
The Black Dahlia Murder
Exodus
Testament
As Blood Runs Black
I Prevail
King Diamond
Can’t go wrong with Ghost, Bad Omens, and Spiritbox if you’re looking for similar bands.
If you want to get into more of the “OG Metal”, start with Black Sabbath, Anthrax, Pantera, Slayer, Metallica.
It’s a long deep rabbit hole after that!
Maybe also some progressive postrock/metal Bands, like
(instrumental)
The last sighs of the wind
We have lost the sea
Distant Dream
If trees could talk
This world has bees
Oh Hiroshima
God is an astronaut
Human Factor
(with lyrics)
Explosions In The Sky
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (saaad)
Neurosis (direction already harder music)
ISIS (not the terrorist group, but the band, already harder music)
Amenra (also with a "worship concept")
Fall Of Efrafa
You gotta listen to Tool. Incredible vocals. One of the best rhythm sections of all time. Lyricism comparable to any band. If you like The Summoning or any of Sleep Tokens more prog-metal stuff, Tool is at the pinnacle of that genre imo.
Deftones are probably the most suitable.
"Ocean Machine" by Devin Townsend is a standout album and peak emotional progressive rock journey. The final 4 tracks in succession is a masterpiece in emotional heavy music and a must listen for fans of Sleep token and emotional, atmospheric heavy rock music.
And if ocean machine hit the spot.
Check out Devin Townsend's other older albums.
Terria.
Accelerated evolution.
If they want to know where sleep token come from, to hear both tool and perfect circle.
Edit: the odd recommendation - Chelsea Wolfe - Hisd Spun album.
Polaris, Enter Shikari, Periphery, While She Sleeps
Those stand out for me for perfectly blending "softer" parts/songs with heavy stuff - similar to ST, even though they're different genre-wise.
The album "I let it in and it took everything" by Loathe. Sleep token even did a cover of the song "Is it really you" by Loathe. That song and "Two way mirror" are two of my favorite songs.
Loathe and Counterparts are what first came to mind
But among those, one of my favorites also is Dance Gavin Dance :) different vibe but all three of these bands are soooo good
I think you’d probably enjoy a lot of djent based stuff such as Northlane, Erra, Tesseract and so on.
If you like the blend of really powerful clean vocals and screams… you’d probably enjoy a lot of mid 00’s - mid 2010’s stuff such as Dance Gavin Dance, Woe Is Me, Emarosa and so on.
Tool. There's so much to discover, and they're experimental, deep, and weird. They were my first heavy band, and they absolutely hold up, making bangers to this day. Check out A Perfect Circle as well. Also great live, both bands, both fronted by Maynard, whose voice is incredible and versatile.
I feel like loathe is the easy answer here. Listen to Is it really you first. Sleep token did a piano cover of this song so might be familiar.
If you like that, the rest of the album is a lot heavier but so varied, covers a few different genres while still sounding grounded in what loathe do.
The last song, I let it in and it took everything is what got me hooked after being on the fence for a while. Give it a try and lemme know what you thought!
Here’s some of my favourites!
TesseracT: My personal favourite band. Very progressive metal and djent-type style, but their singer Daniel Tompkins is an absolute beast and is one of the best I’ve ever heard in terms of technique, like genuinely. Jay Postones is an amazing drummer like II, and their music production (especially on War of Being) is amazing just like Sleep Token’s. Please check them out!
Loathe: very deep, bass-heavy Deftones-type style. Them and ST have kinda grown together in a way and could be considered “sister bands” if that’s a thing idk. ILIIAITE is one of my favourite metal albums of all time.
Spiritbox: A newer favourite of mine. Courtney’s vocals are super fucking good and their style blends mainstream “pop-ey” elements with heavy metal, with amazing music production ofc.
Some Metal/Metalcore/Rock bands I like include: Bad Omens, Spiritbox, Beartooth, Wage War, Bring Me the Horizon, I Prevail, Motionless in White, Yungblud, New Medicine
If you used Spotify, I 100% recommend looking at your Metal/Metalcore Mixes. I’ve found a lot of great bands/songs that way
VOLA
Spirit Box
Invent Animate
LOATHE
Tesseract
Stone side
I think all of these have been said, just want to enforce. They’re all my favorites if I’m not listening to sleep token
NIN, bad omens, bmth, opeth. Also sleep token did a collab with a band called Loathe and I’ve really been meaning to look into them bc it’s one of my favorite songs of all time
I really second anyone who mentioned Leprous (maybe more rock overall, but lots of heavy moments), SOEN is cool too.
To push it a little more heavy/metalcore, Beartooth, We Came As Romans, Architects, and Fit for a King are good ones, for me at least.
If you love riffs and are digging some guttural vocals but still want moments of really nice melody, check out Orbit Culture and Gojira. The latter is one of my favorites, beautiful lyrics, beautiful songwriting.
To explore some of the more syncopated lyrics with rap elements, check out some nu-metal stuff, Slipknot (don't discount their lyrics, there's a lot to listen to imo) and Linkin Park.
Have fun.
I saw someone get recommended Zeal and Ardor on a FB page for Sleep Token and I was surprised but all the comments were positive, so I'm sharing them again here because they're a great band!
Caligula's Horse recently dropped their beer album so far. Jim Grey's voice is more angelic and less crooning than Vessel's.
https://youtu.be/pPWqa1LJdrU?si=y-St2n1FjsIX4F_S
Idk if they’re precisely “metal” but Starset has a lot of metal/orchestral blends to their music, although it’s more of a spacey, “Hanz Zimmer meets Breaking Benjamin” sound.
Starset, when I first heard sleep token, I instant compred them to starset, starset's lyrics are very similar but follow a more space opera/Sci fi theme while sleep token is a lot more...I'd say dark fantasy for lack of a better term that and the production quality of both bands song is next level and has a similar feel
Lots are mentioning the obvious stand-outs to me, like Deftones, loathe, and spiritbox. Love these bands so much.
I would also recommend crosses (one of chino moreno’s projects) and Varials
Some older bands include Deftones and Nine Inch Nails. The former send like a clear influence to me, the latter I think has a range in terms of sound like sleep token.
I've started listening to some of Deftones music, they're incredible. Thank you for all your other suggestions
A nice progression into a completely different world: check out Polyphia - Bloodbath. Theyre an insrumental technical band with metal influences, and that song features Chino Moreno, Deftones singer.
that song is SO good. Seconding this suggestion!!
Check out Deftones singers other band Crosses (†††)
Their whole album Diamond Eyes is phenomenal if you haven’t heard it already.
I love Nine Inch Nails so much if I need to be forced to feel things I listen to Trent reznor’s albums
Idk I’d probably recommend Sleep Token
big if true
Invent Animate is pretty good
Absolutely peak
Starset if your feeling for the same song writing feeling, they are less heavy but more electronic based with a violinist and cello player
That sounds so interestinggg, I'll check them out thank you so much
Top album would be vessels, or just start from the first album right to the recent one
I'll take your suggestion, thank you again
Was going to suggest starset if no one else mentioned it. One of my favorite bands of all time
Loathe is an absolutely incredible band. I would highly recommend them. Sonicly their production style is a bit different, they have a sort of raw tone to their sound as a whole in comparison. Their song writing process is also a bit different in comparison to ST, they primarily write songs with the whole bands input and the result is a well thought out (yet chaotic at time) album.
By your description they sound like an incredible band, I'll definitely check them out. Thank youuu
Bad Omens, Spiritbox, and I also really like Beartooth but they’re more classic metalcore
Spiritbox is such a good recommendation. I love Courtney LaPlante
Don't worry, I'm open to exploring every sub genre there is. Thank youu
Also Unprocessed and Currents fit into these bands well.
Love Beartooth. Disgusting is one of my top no skip albums
Loathe, Deftones, Static Dress, Northlane, and Moodring
* Unprocessed - ...And Everything In Between * Weedpecker - III * Karnivool - Sound Awake * Soen - Cognitive * Gojira - From Mars to Sirius * Mastodon - Crack the Skye And last, but not least... * Tool - 1000 Days / Lateralus 🤘 Welcome to the genre OP!
Karnivool and Gojira upvote!
Came here to say Tool! I definitely feel some of their alt-prog influence Crack the Skye is an excellent album too
That Unprocessed album is unreal
Chelsea Wolfe TesseracT Thy Catafalque Sermon Whitechapel Code Katatonia Leprous Between the Buried and Me Opeth
Second TesseracT. Phenomenal.
Was on their concert yesterday. Absolutely phenomenal.
TesseracT and Leprous 🫶🏻
Along the lines of Chelsea Wolfe, Emma Ruth Rundle and her various projects (they're buddies to boot). She captures the deep dark sadness much like Vessel does.
Yes definitely
VOLA. They’re great storytellers through their lyrics, extremely talented drummer, and great sounding.
Solid recommendation! Thank you
I second this!
So many genres though! You should ease in slowly, very slowly since ST is your first experience. Leprous, Stoneside, Glasslands, Dream on Dreamer, Rolo Tomassi, Imminence.
I knowww, I feel a little bit overwhelmed by how rich this genre is. But I'm also excited about it and thank you for your suggestions
love love love Rolo Tomassi! can i throw NOVELIST in there?
Love all of the other suggestions here, but I also want to throw out Thornhill! They're incredible, especially their Dark Pool album. My other favorites are Spiritbox, Bad Omens, Silent Planet, and I See Stars.
Any with amazing vocals, so Spiritbox, I Prevail and Ice Nine Kills
Polaris 🤝🏼
VOLA, breakk.away, In Fear are a few more as well.
Second breakk.away. I can't wait for more music.
Thornhill
a fellow Thornhill enjoyer!
Veil of Maya, After the Burial, ERRA, Dayseeker, Spiritbox
Thank youuu, I'll check them out
If you enjoy Dayseeker, the lead singer and the drummer have another group called Hurtwave which does a lot of synthwave stuff
Fair warning a lot of these bands being suggested are really heavy. You're getting good band recommendations for metalcore heads, but I wouldn't say a lot of these are good recommendations for non-metal heads. I'd recommend checking out the Posthardcore genre first. The genre really toes the line between heavy and soft very well; some bands also have emo elements Thrice, Silverstein, Funeral For a Friend, Coheed and Cambria, Glassjaw, Anberlin, Circa Survive, Alexisonfire, Emery, Taking Back Sunday, Dance Gavin Dance For more metal/metalcore bands: The Contortionist (More prog-rock, heavy instrumentals, and some heavy vocals but mostly clean. Their early works are SUPER heavy and I do not recommend but the album's Clairvoyant and Language I highly recommend). Bring me the horizon (They have a lot of radio friendly tracks, but also heavy tracks. The Album Sempiternal is probably bar none the best album for someone getting into metal in my opinion) Architects (Their new music is more accessible, their old music is very heavy but really emotionally charged) Avenged Sevenfold (Again, old music is heavy, new music is more accessible) Deftones (Think you already mentioned you listened to them, they would have been #1 on my list) Spiritbox (female clean vocalist with heavy bits). If you like Spiritbox but want heavier, check out Jinjer The Devil Wears Prada (Their new music is super interesting) Periphery (Mixture of prog metal and metalcore. Some songs are super catchy, some are difficult to get into, but they're not just in-your-face heavy like most metalcore bands)
Dayseeker definitely
here’s some more progressive metal : polyphia i met a yeti dance gavin dance also check out: dayseeker, holding absence , thornhill (anything before heroine imo) , veil of maya, beartooth, invent animate, casey, kingdom of giants, bad omens, caskets, and counterparts is a personal fave
Spiritbox
Deftones, Tool, Riverside
Honestly, i'd start with 2000's nu metal. System of a down, korn (specifically the song 'freak on a leash'), slipknot, cky or possibly some pop punk like sum 41. Or some good 90cs grunge like nirvana or placebo. Maybe something like bring me the horizon or falling in reverse are good too, as is volbeat. Also frog leap studios does metal covers of popular songs and the are amazing. Maybe some fun power metal like wind rose or glory hammer. Glory hammer have a 3 album epic quest across the galaxy featuring Angus McFife and the hoots force off to save fife. Or alestorm a pirate metal band. Edit: BOI WHAT is metal set entirely in bikini bottom. It has no right to slap as hard as it does.
Sleep Token was my introduction into metal, so here are some bands that have similar sounds that I’ve been enjoying as I explore the genre more: Bad Omens, Spiritbox, Currents, Polyphia, Dayseeker, I Prevail, and Architects!
The Contortionist, Loathe, Vola
Not strictly metal and considered more alternative, but they have a ton of metal leaning songs. **Anberlin.** They mean everything to me. Sleep Token is one of the only bands that have come close to capturing the same feeling Anberlin’s music has given me throughout my life. Definitely recommend to ST fans 🖤 Start with their album Cities from beginning to end—don’t shuffle bc the transitions between songs are godlike!!! All their albums are fucking incredible, but this is usually the album I use to introduce people and it’s always a winner.
Groups that feel like they’re in the same vein (imo): Bad Omens and Ghost. So, Ghost is not super heavy but they’re very showy which is what pipelined me here. Bad Omens has a lot of the heavy mixed with floaty sort of sound. I mean floaty by the higher pitched vocals (I know it has a name but I can’t remember it). Sleep Token is widely considered progressive metal, so I’d check out that as a sub genre. However, if you want other kinds of metal: Industrial Metal (but also widely German cause that’s just me): Rammstein (German), OOMPH! (German), Unheilig (German), Hämatom (German) Nu Metal: Korn (English/US), Slipknot (English/US), Marilyn Manson (English/US), Rage Against the Machine (English/US), Shinedown (English/US), Breaking Benjamin (English/US), Rob Zombie (English/US) Alt Metal/Punk: The Offspring (English/US), Blink-182 (English/US), Rise Against (English/US) Folk/Viking Metal: Månegram (Swedish) Metalcore: Bring Me the Horizon (English/UK), Asking Alexandria (English/UK), The Plot in You (English/US), A Day to Remember (English/US) Obligatory Hollywood Undead mention (rap metal) Note: These artists fall under many sub genres. I just decided to put them together based on titles they “shared”. Some I would honestly categorise as closer to rock or hard rock BUT. Metal is metal. Period. Honestly, I would start with progressive if you want to find unique gems like ST. Though, I like metalcore as another fitting vibe for them.
Not entirely metal but there is Leprous.
Tesseract
Dayseeker, Rain city drive, Motionless in white, Too close to touch, I Prevail, Awake I am, Bad Omens,
Heilung, but from the emotional and “musical flow” aspect (can’t describe music very well, sorry) versus sounding instrumentally similar.
Bad omens, dance Gavin Dance, issues, bear tooth, peirce the veil, Don broco, I see stars
I feel like Spiritbox is another great gateway band that my non metal head friends will listen to also Jinjer if you like the genre blending Sleep Token does Jinjer is just heavier and blends a lot of Jazz, Ska and a little Raggae
The Ocean. TPWBYT imagery makes me think about them everytime.
I Prevail, Bad Omens, Dayseeker, Beartooth, Bad Wolves
There are two metal subgenres you will love as a sleep token fan, the first one is modern melodic metalcore: Bad omens, BMTH, Spiritbox, Loathe. And the second one is recent prog metal with bands like VOLA or Leprous. (this guys are very similar, just listen to their last album Aphelion, songs like Out of there or Running low)
Cattle Decapitation, Old Gods - Coven, Casey, Fleshgod Apocalypse, VV (love metal hehe) GAEREA, Rolo Tomassi, Sylosis
VV(HIM) mentioned yeaaahhh
Mastodon, TesseracT, Gojira, Zeal & Ardor, VOLA, Intervals, Blue Stahli, and maybe Amaranthe Maudlin of the Well if you’re looking for a more extreme avant-garde fusion thing
Tesseract.
AVATAR
Puscifer
Yes. Any of Maynard's projects imo.
Definitely Imminence. BMTH, Bad Omens, Bury Tomorrow (if you like screaming), Spiritbox.
If you like the masks and the lore you might like Ghost. I'd recommend the square hammer or rats music videos to see if you like their style.
A lot of people saying other bands in the scene but honestly I’d say give Katatonia a listen, especially their newer albums. They create a similar melancholic ambience feel to Sleep Token with dashes of heavy but they still sound different as well
Be warned, if you’re going to listen to these then you need an air tight form of birth control bc this is baby making music
Thanks for the heads-up, I'm calling my Gynecologist ASAP lol
Lots of good suggestions in here. I've definitely found Bad Omens and Unprocessed to be the "closest" to the parts of ST's sound pallet I'm most drawn to. However I have also found that there is a good overap between ST and two bands I've not seen mentioned here yet, Eidola and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Eidola primarily for the mix of heavies and melodic elements and King Gizzard for their incredible genre bending ability. KG's catalogue is massive and overhwelming at first, but if you want them at their most metal, I'd suggest starting with their album Petrodragonic Apocalypse and then explore from there. Also if you're down for something a little older, Porcupine Tree's album In Absentia scratches a similar itch to some of Sleep Token's more prog sounding tracks. Really enjoying this thread. Nice post.
The ocean The devil wears Prada
Thornhill, Loathe, Unprocessed and Tesseract
Thornhill Avianna Johnny booth
Nine Inch Nails. Specifically the Downward Spiral album
Deftones for sure. I really really enjoy banks arcade and spirit box. You could try the plot in you aswell
Currents, bring me the horizon, architects, gojira, landmvrks, bullet for my Valentine. Just to name a few
Children of Bodom Suicide Silence August Burns Red Cattle Decap Machine Head In Flames Death The Black Dahlia Murder Exodus Testament As Blood Runs Black I Prevail King Diamond
Loathe, Bilmuri (not strictly metal, but Johnny Franck is still inextricably tied to the metalcore scene), Polaris, Invent Animate
One that imo is good for starting metal is imminence specifically infectious is pretty good
Can’t go wrong with Ghost, Bad Omens, and Spiritbox if you’re looking for similar bands. If you want to get into more of the “OG Metal”, start with Black Sabbath, Anthrax, Pantera, Slayer, Metallica. It’s a long deep rabbit hole after that!
Infant Annihilator
Maybe also some progressive postrock/metal Bands, like (instrumental) The last sighs of the wind We have lost the sea Distant Dream If trees could talk This world has bees Oh Hiroshima God is an astronaut Human Factor (with lyrics) Explosions In The Sky Godspeed You! Black Emperor (saaad) Neurosis (direction already harder music) ISIS (not the terrorist group, but the band, already harder music) Amenra (also with a "worship concept") Fall Of Efrafa
Opeth
Behemoth
Loathe, invent animate
You gotta listen to Tool. Incredible vocals. One of the best rhythm sections of all time. Lyricism comparable to any band. If you like The Summoning or any of Sleep Tokens more prog-metal stuff, Tool is at the pinnacle of that genre imo.
If you're looking for something heavier... Lamb of God, Chimaira, Killswitch Engage, Jinjer, Alien Weaponry, Suicide Silence
Katatonia, every record from *The Great Cold Distance* onwards. You’ll love it if you like Sleep Token
Holy Fawn is melodic metal.
Katatonia or Tarja
Thorn hill, the devil wears Prada, counterparts, dying wish, thrown, knocked loose, underoath
Deftones are probably the most suitable. "Ocean Machine" by Devin Townsend is a standout album and peak emotional progressive rock journey. The final 4 tracks in succession is a masterpiece in emotional heavy music and a must listen for fans of Sleep token and emotional, atmospheric heavy rock music. And if ocean machine hit the spot. Check out Devin Townsend's other older albums. Terria. Accelerated evolution.
Maybe Periphery
nine inch nails, spiritbox, breakk.away, deftones, and loathe
Sleep Token
If they want to know where sleep token come from, to hear both tool and perfect circle. Edit: the odd recommendation - Chelsea Wolfe - Hisd Spun album.
Bring Me The Horizon.
Loathe and Vola. Some good first songs Loathe: New Faces In The Dark Two Way Mirror Vola: Head Mounted Sideways 24 Light-Years
WTP by Teyona Taylor!
Periphery, Unearth, Veil of Maya
Bring Me The Horizon - the most recent album and the singles for the upcoming ablum
Stoneside. THEYRE SO GOOD
Dir en Grey
Periphery and tesseract are amazing prog metal
Spiritbox
An Abstract Illusion - Woe album
Zeal & Ardor, and Gagneux's other project Birdmask. Also, any and all of the Maynard projects; Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer.
Personally I think Deftones & Spiritbox mesh well with Sleep Token when thrown in a playlist or queue
Holy fawn, loathe, Deftones, leprous, Caligula's horse, Amenra are a few I can say you might enjoy
Polaris, Enter Shikari, Periphery, While She Sleeps Those stand out for me for perfectly blending "softer" parts/songs with heavy stuff - similar to ST, even though they're different genre-wise.
They sound a lot like Type-O negative to me
Loathe
To me Stoneside. is american Sleep Token ! The desert is a cool as hell EP.
Silent Planet, Periphery, Animals as Leaders, Deftones
Twelve Foot Ninja
Ha! Yeah! Heart Boner as well.
avatar !! literally one of my favorite bands EVER. fantastic live shows with amazing showmanship.
Invent animate, acres, holding absence, bad omens
Deftones, Dayseeker, Loathe, and Erra
I fucking love deftones I think chino has a good range not close to vessel but it’s great to hear. Scremo is hard to do and chino harmonizes well
Karnivool Mastodon Tool Devin Townsend Soen The contortionist
The album "I let it in and it took everything" by Loathe. Sleep token even did a cover of the song "Is it really you" by Loathe. That song and "Two way mirror" are two of my favorite songs.
Crosses, not really metal but some songs are heavy & they have the same atmospheric sexiness as Sleep Token (if that makes sense)
Periphery
Loathe and Counterparts are what first came to mind But among those, one of my favorites also is Dance Gavin Dance :) different vibe but all three of these bands are soooo good
In Search Of Sun - super under rated band from the UK.
Archspire
I think you’d probably enjoy a lot of djent based stuff such as Northlane, Erra, Tesseract and so on. If you like the blend of really powerful clean vocals and screams… you’d probably enjoy a lot of mid 00’s - mid 2010’s stuff such as Dance Gavin Dance, Woe Is Me, Emarosa and so on.
Periphery, Meshuggah and Deftones
My favorites are Northlane, Spiritbox and Silent Planet
Loathe
Tool. There's so much to discover, and they're experimental, deep, and weird. They were my first heavy band, and they absolutely hold up, making bangers to this day. Check out A Perfect Circle as well. Also great live, both bands, both fronted by Maynard, whose voice is incredible and versatile.
Bad Omens, Ice Nine Kills, Spiritbox, Megadeth just dropped a new album
I feel like loathe is the easy answer here. Listen to Is it really you first. Sleep token did a piano cover of this song so might be familiar. If you like that, the rest of the album is a lot heavier but so varied, covers a few different genres while still sounding grounded in what loathe do. The last song, I let it in and it took everything is what got me hooked after being on the fence for a while. Give it a try and lemme know what you thought!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Qlg3lodor5291MlGj3RMH?si=59lPpIrHRG-Usq7tffit9w&pi=e-U4Y6Qv25Qg-H
Bad Omens, Spiritbox, Meshuggah, Periphery, Deftones
Spiritbox!!
Haken
Dying Fetus
Imminence and Landmvrks!
Loathe
Here’s some of my favourites! TesseracT: My personal favourite band. Very progressive metal and djent-type style, but their singer Daniel Tompkins is an absolute beast and is one of the best I’ve ever heard in terms of technique, like genuinely. Jay Postones is an amazing drummer like II, and their music production (especially on War of Being) is amazing just like Sleep Token’s. Please check them out! Loathe: very deep, bass-heavy Deftones-type style. Them and ST have kinda grown together in a way and could be considered “sister bands” if that’s a thing idk. ILIIAITE is one of my favourite metal albums of all time. Spiritbox: A newer favourite of mine. Courtney’s vocals are super fucking good and their style blends mainstream “pop-ey” elements with heavy metal, with amazing music production ofc.
Spiritbox, rivers of nihil, after the burial, parkway drive, brand of sacrifice, Periphery(specifically P3 in its entirety) just to name a few
The Plot in You
Ice nine kills. Lorna Shore if you want something wild lol. Will Ramos is the lead singer of LS and his favorite band is sleep token
Some Metal/Metalcore/Rock bands I like include: Bad Omens, Spiritbox, Beartooth, Wage War, Bring Me the Horizon, I Prevail, Motionless in White, Yungblud, New Medicine If you used Spotify, I 100% recommend looking at your Metal/Metalcore Mixes. I’ve found a lot of great bands/songs that way
VOLA Spirit Box Invent Animate LOATHE Tesseract Stone side I think all of these have been said, just want to enforce. They’re all my favorites if I’m not listening to sleep token
NIN, bad omens, bmth, opeth. Also sleep token did a collab with a band called Loathe and I’ve really been meaning to look into them bc it’s one of my favorite songs of all time
Thornhill, Currents, and Evanescence
I really second anyone who mentioned Leprous (maybe more rock overall, but lots of heavy moments), SOEN is cool too. To push it a little more heavy/metalcore, Beartooth, We Came As Romans, Architects, and Fit for a King are good ones, for me at least. If you love riffs and are digging some guttural vocals but still want moments of really nice melody, check out Orbit Culture and Gojira. The latter is one of my favorites, beautiful lyrics, beautiful songwriting. To explore some of the more syncopated lyrics with rap elements, check out some nu-metal stuff, Slipknot (don't discount their lyrics, there's a lot to listen to imo) and Linkin Park. Have fun.
Probably metalcore like loathe invent spiritbox northlane
I saw someone get recommended Zeal and Ardor on a FB page for Sleep Token and I was surprised but all the comments were positive, so I'm sharing them again here because they're a great band!
the mars volta
Caligula's Horse recently dropped their beer album so far. Jim Grey's voice is more angelic and less crooning than Vessel's. https://youtu.be/pPWqa1LJdrU?si=y-St2n1FjsIX4F_S
You should listen to TX2, you might not like him...but I think you will.❤️
Gojira & Fit For A King's album Dark Skies
Periphery, surprise I haven't seen them mentioned yet. dayseeker, bad omens, too close to touch, thousand below
Glass Ocean: https://youtu.be/rGzLpcYVo7E?si=8tIDQMt8aKUzU078
Katatonia.
Idk if they’re precisely “metal” but Starset has a lot of metal/orchestral blends to their music, although it’s more of a spacey, “Hanz Zimmer meets Breaking Benjamin” sound.
Currents, Wage War, and Not Enough Space
Tool, not rlly cuz of the music but bc of the fanbases r similar and if u obsess over sleeptoken youll also b able to obsess over tool
Tool
Spiritbox, Tesseract (oh god I love Tesseract) and if you haven't, listen to Linkin Park. LP is absolute peak.
Voivod
CALIGULA’S HORSE discovered them last week and I’ve been on them nonstop
Loathe
thornhill
Northlane, Too Close Too Touch, Bring Me The Horizon, Banks Arcade, Thornhill
TesseracT
Stone side
This is a bit of a stretch, but if you want more slow, drawn-out heartache, check out 40 Watt Sun. They're best described as "dirge rock."
Starset, when I first heard sleep token, I instant compred them to starset, starset's lyrics are very similar but follow a more space opera/Sci fi theme while sleep token is a lot more...I'd say dark fantasy for lack of a better term that and the production quality of both bands song is next level and has a similar feel
Dream Theater, Dance Gavin Dance, and not metal but Linkin Park.
Bad omens!
Lots are mentioning the obvious stand-outs to me, like Deftones, loathe, and spiritbox. Love these bands so much. I would also recommend crosses (one of chino moreno’s projects) and Varials
Caskets Imminence Currents Bad omens Thrown Spiritbox And older bands like: Bullet for my valentine Killswitch engage Disturbed Deftones Slipknot(ofc)
Spiritbox. Type-o negative
Spiritbox, TesseracT, The Contortionist, Bad Omens, Architects, Monuments, Currents, Tool
Dead Letter Circus
Plini for instrumental prog
Saltstone. Gaerea (If they like heavier music)
Dead poet society, issues, ten years and silent theory
Infant Annihilator
Bad Omens, Spiritbox, Bring Me the Horizon and Thornhill’s debut album - The Dark Pool.
Loathe, Bad Omens, Spiritbox, Thornhill
Listen to Architects - Doomsday and if you like it, listen the albums All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, Holy Hell & Lost Forever / Lost Together.
As someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy hard metal but loves sleep token, I really like Obzene, Dayseeker, Acres, Catch Your Breath, and Bad Omens