{"id":17156,"date":"2024-11-15T15:26:49","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T15:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/the-masked-act-freshening-up-download-festival\/"},"modified":"2024-11-15T15:26:49","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T15:26:49","slug":"the-masked-act-freshening-up-download-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/the-masked-act-freshening-up-download-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"The masked act freshening up Download festival"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Sleep Token have kept their identities secret by wearing masks on stage<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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When it comes to your favourite music artists, chances are you probably know a lot about their lives.<\/p>\n

But there is an air of mystery around one of the headline acts for next year’s Download festival.<\/p>\n

Masked mystery.<\/p>\n

British metal group Sleep Token will be topping the bill in Leicestershire, along with Green Day and Korn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It is the first time any of the three headliners have been the main acts<\/a> at the rock gathering.<\/p>\n

Sleep Token – who formed in 2016 – are known for performing in masks to keep their identities hidden, and have created a buzz in particular.<\/p>\n

A search online gives no easy answers about them, with various theories floating around some of their identities – often citing “research and analysis”.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s a big part of the attraction because no-one knows who they are,” says fan Devon, from Plymouth.<\/p>\n

“It gives a lot of people a chance to see them. I’ve always wanted to see them and Download’s just an amazing opportunity.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘A dream for anyone’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Devon, 25, tells BBC Newsbeat “the massive bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Slipknot” often take the headline slot, and the change is good.<\/p>\n

“Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love those bands, but it’s nice to have something new for once.”<\/p>\n

There has been some criticism about not having some of those traditional acts, but Devon feels it’s a case of “people don’t like seeing new stuff coming out”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On their website, Sleep Token encourage fans to “gather in Worship” at their shows<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Gareth, from Cardiff, has been a fan of Sleep Token for five years and is excited to see them.<\/p>\n

He feels the group “have moments of real sombreness” mixed with the heavy metal.<\/p>\n

“I guess when they started, they were supporting the headliners [at the time],” Gareth, 22, says.<\/p>\n

“It’s so good to see the evolution of a band from playing in small venues to them now having millions of monthly listeners, and also to headline what is probably the biggest metal festival in the UK.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Alyx Holcombe is a presenter on BBC Radio 1<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Other acts due to perform include McFly, Bullet For My Valentine, Don Broco, Sex Pistols, Alien Ant Farm, Spiritbox, Poppy and CKY.<\/p>\n

Alyx Holcombe, presenter of BBC Introducing Rock on Radio 1, describes the new line-up as “refreshing”. <\/p>\n

“It feels like we are going in the right direction for rock music,” she tells Newsbeat.<\/p>\n

“The music is like something that I don’t think anyone has really ever heard before. It’s quite a new sound.”<\/p>\n

And she’s a fan of the “clever” mystery masks because it “creates intrigue”.<\/p>\n

“I think it adds a layer of mystery and curiosity as to why are all these people in masks.<\/p>\n

“I want to know who is creating this amazing music, and it creates a mass fandom,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Headlining Download brings Sleep Token into the “big leagues” of rock, Alyx says.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s a statement that Download have put out. <\/p>\n

“Like actually, Sleep Token are as good as all these other bands, and you should get on board with them.<\/p>\n

“It would be a dream for anyone, and to be next to Green Day and Korn, I know they’re absolutely stoked about this,” she says.<\/p>\n

Download festival is due to take place at Donington Park, Leicestershire, between 13 and 15 June.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Listen to Newsbeat live<\/a> at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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Getty Images Sleep Token have kept their identities secret by wearing masks on stage When it comes to your favourite music artists, chances are you probably know a lot about their lives. But there is an air of mystery around one of the headline acts for next year’s Download festival. Masked mystery. British metal group […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[279],"tags":[4790,6819,622,6818,6817],"class_list":["post-17156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-act","tag-download","tag-festival","tag-freshening","tag-masked"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17158,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17156\/revisions\/17158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}