What happened when Sleep Token headlined Download Festival 2025

Haters be damned, this is impressive. They might be sandwiched between two certified festival titans this weekend, but all day long, Download belongs to Sleep Token. It starts in the morning, when a mysterious stall pops up in the arena encouraging fans to “act with haste” before 1pm, giving them the chance to win exclusive goodies. From then on, there’s signs of the ever-cryptic headliners everywhere – not just in the thousands of T-shirts worn across Donington, but in other little details, like flowers representing their Even In Arcadia era twisted around the sound towers. It’s all saying: for one day at least, you’ve entered a whole new realm.

And that’s not even getting to the show itself. There’s an hour to go, and – following some heavy downpours and the picture-perfect appearance of a rainbow – an extensive crew are hard at work on the Apex Stage, scurrying away behind black curtains to bring Sleep Token’s intricate vision to life. Twenty minutes till showtime, the giant stage screens reveal a QR code offering another virtual invite into the band’s world. Now it’s 9:08pm, and gusts of wind are projected loudly and cinematically through the PA. Four minutes later and the displays are totally black, as anticipation reaches fever pitch for the arrival of metal’s fastest-rising band.

All this faff would be pointless if Vessel and his masked gang didn’t have the show to live up to the suspense they so skilfully generate. Oh, but they do. With House Veridian flags hanging high above, a light show for the ages and a life-size Even In Arcadia housing to explore and utilise throughout their 15-song set, it’s a mind-blowing feast for the eyes. Confetti falls as the band open with Even In Arcadia’s Look To Windward, before fans instantly start clapping when The Offering really gets things going.

A brutal Vore follows, while soon after Vessel finds himself performing this year’s massive comeback effort Emergence at the piano in front of a real waterfall. The reaction suggests it’s already a fan classic despite Download only being its third-ever airing, and in fact, it’s the crowd who help take this spectacle to a new level: from inflatable pink flamingos (all named Jerry) waved around in the air, to the unified sing-alongs to the likes of Alkaline and Rain. Recent single Caramel sees everyone instantly oblige as Vessel asks to ‘let me see those hands’, and blastbeats then ring out to remind the remaining Download sceptics that Sleep Token’s place here is very much warranted.

Though some things have changed – and, indeed, improved – since their Take Me Back To Eden-era arena shows, the well-oiled core of Sleep Token is still the same. That is to say, despite this being the ultimate special occasion for the band, Vessel doesn’t say a word onstage that isn’t a lyric (though his dramatic pacing around in the darkness ahead of Granite is a highlight, as are his instinctual body jolts during the rarely-aired Thread The Needle from their 2016 EP One). It’s a far-cry from last night’s communal masterclass from Green Day, but Sleep Token have made it this far by being themselves, and it doesn’t matter one bit to the devotees.

Ninety mesmerising minutes later, and green lasers dazzle during epic closer Take Me Back To Eden. Sleep Token celebrate this most magnificent of achievements with a group photo at the end of their set, before inevitably slipping back into the shadows once again to plot their continued takeover. The ‘festival headliner’ tag is now firmly in the bag… so what on earth are they going to do next?

Read this next:

• Unpacking Arcadia: Analysing the clues in Sleep Token’s new album
• “They saved me”: Why Sleep Token have one of the most dedicated fanbases in the world
• Under Cover: How Sleep Token took masks in music to a whole new level