Another day, another Sleep Token milestone: this time Vessel and his masked besties have made history in the US by topping the Billboard album chart with latest full-length, Even In Arcadia. According to Billboard, the album, which also got to number one in the UK on Friday, is the biggest-selling hard rock album of the past two years, and has broken streaming records by bagging the biggest weekly streams for any hard rock album in history.
Even In Arcadia also broke records for vinyl sales, shifting over 47,000 units - the highest number for any hard rock album in the modern era. Indeed, they've broken the record only recently set by fellow mask-donning metal sensations Ghost, who sold 44,000 vinyl copies of their latest album, Skeletá. Basically, it's a good time to be a big metal band packing spooky costumes and massive choruses.
Released Friday May 9 to generally positive reviews, Even In Arcadia is Sleep Token's fourth studio album and continues their improbable rise to power, with sold out arena shows worldwide, those impressive aforementioned album sales and an imminent debut Download festival headline set all establishing them as, comfortably, the biggest metal band of their generation.
In the latest issue of Metal Hammer - which comes with two exclusive separate collectable Vessel covers - we take a look inside the secret history of Sleep Token, through the eyes of the people who were at the frontlines helping to break them into the metal scene.
Read all about it by ordering our new issue here.
