Sleep Token Play First Show of 2025 Tour

Last night (June 7), Sleep Token kicked off their 2025 “June Festival Rituals” tour in support of their recently released fourth studio LP, Even in Arcadia. In the process – and alongside numerous classic tracks – four songs from the album made their live debuts, resulting in a superb show for all in attendance.

What Sleep Token Played

Per setlist.fm, Sleep Token’s heading performance at the Rock im Park festival in Nuremberg, Germany included over a dozen songs, with arguably the most exciting inclusions being the four never-before-played cuts from Even in Arcadia. Specifically, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the mysterious ensemble began by debuting album opener “Look to Windward,” and they eventually pulled out singles “Emergence,” “Caramel” and “Damocles” as well. (Interestingly, they played the singles in release order, too.) As such, there are now only a handful of tunes they’ve yet to bring to the stage.

Beyond that, the group ran through at least a couple of songs from each of their prior three LPs. For instance, both “The Offering” and “Higher” from 2019’s Sundowning got the spotlight, as did “Hypnosis” and “The Love You Want” (from 2021’s This Place Will Become Your Tomb) and “The Summoning,” “Granite” and “Take Me Back to Eden” (from 2023’s Take Me Back to Eden).

Along the way, they split up the set with two interludes, and the venue played Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” after Sleep Token finished their performance.

In their review of the show, Revolver praise Sleep Token for providing concertgoers with “an era-spanning set full of fan-favorite offerings” that “showcased Sleep Token’s compelling whirl of alt rock, djent, pop, electronica and more.” They mention that the night “found the band unveiling stunning new skull masks and an elaborate new stage production complete with a waterfall,” too.

Likewise, Kerrang! note that Sleep Token are “levelling up” with “a bigger, brighter, [and] bolder version” of their trademark live approach.  They continue:

There isn’t a moment where you aren’t being dazzled, where [Sleep Token] aren’t commanding your attention. . . . This isn’t just a few more bits added for a slightly bigger venue, this is a band recalibrating knowing what they are now, not running to keep up with themselves, but finding themselves and being able to bring their biggest ambitions to life.

You can view Sleep Token’s entire setlist – and see photos and videos – below. Also, you can see Sleep Token’s upcoming tour dates (and purchase tickets) here.

READ MORE: Doc Coyle Calls Out ‘Pretentious Gatekeeping’ Surrounding Sleep Token

Sleep Token’s Rock im Park 2025 Setlist (June 7, 2025)

01. “Look to Windward” (Live debut)
02. “The Offering”
03. “Vore”
04. “Emergence” (Live debut)
05. “Alkaline”
06. “Hypnosis”
07. “Aqua Regia”
08. “Rain” (Extended keyboard intro)
09. “Caramel” (Live debut)
10. “The Summoning”
11. “Granite”
12. “The Love You Want”
13. “Higher”
14. “Damocles” (Live debut)
15. “Thread the Needle”
16. “Take Me Back to Eden”

via setlist.fm

Sleep Token – “Intro” + “Look to Windward” (June 7, 2025)

Sleep Token – “Emergence” (June 7, 2025)

Sleep Token – “The Offering” (June 7, 2025)

Sleep Token – “Damocles” (June 7, 2025)

Sleep Token – “Take Me Back to Eden” (June 7, 2025)

Sleep Token – “Caramel” (June 7, 2025)

Sleep Token – “Thread the Needle” (June 7, 2025)

Sleep Token – “The Love You Want” (June 7, 2025)

Sleep Token – “Alkaline” (June 7, 2025)

Sleep Token – “Hypnosis” (June 7, 2025)

Sleep Token – “The Summoning” (June 7, 2025)

Other Sleep Token News

If you’re reading this, you’re almost certainly aware of how divisive Sleep Token are (regarding whether they qualify as a metal band, among other things). Recently, ex-Bad Wolves guitarist (and current Snot member) Doc Coyle came to their defense by decrying the “pretentious gatekeeping” that surrounds Sleep Token.

Specifically, Coyle wrote an op-ed piece for Metal Hammer in which he acknowledged the “harsh and swift” backlash Sleep Token have received (from both casual metal listeners and professional critics) in response to Even in Arcadia’s commercial victories. “Sleep Token’s crime is not their artistic choices; it’s the audacity to become the most popular rock act on earth with those choices,” Coyle claimed.

He added:

I fear that we’ve become a society incentivized not to enjoy blatantly enjoyable things. . . . I very much enjoy Even in Arcadia. It’s best songs don’t hit the peaks of ‘The Summoning’ and ‘Chokehold’ from Take Me Back to Eden, but I find it a more satisfying listen top-to-bottom . . . . I don’t begrudge anyone who dislikes the album or the band. What bothers me is the coalitions of lynch mobs against popular heavy bands as a trend. It’s knee-jerk contrarianism to dislike what the masses like. I don’t think that’s cool.

I just don’t know why we have to keep repeating the same patterns of tearing down our successful acts. This is “why we can’t have nice things” in practice. Hating bands as trends is not cool because trying to be cool isn’t cool. It is another form of conformity, elitism. I believe truly being a fan is being a nerd. It’s passionate, obsessive and unabashedly earnest. Unfortunately, we live in a time where earnestness is viewed as cringe. . . . It’s just music. Just because you have a right to be an asshole about this stuff, doesn’t mean you have to be. Be an outsider. Be a nerd. And it’s okay to sometimes be a basic bitch that likes things that make you feel good.

On the other end of the spectrum, Latin soul singer Kali Uchis received backlash for social media posts in which she erroneously claimed that Sleep Token use “blackface” and did immoral things to get Even in Arcadia to No. 1.

In particular, and as Loudwire previously reported, Uchis insinuated on social media that Sleep Token cheated to get such high sales. One person commented on her now-deleted post, “Imagine being so petty that you censor the #1 band on an IG story. Sleep Token is better,” to which Uchis replied: “To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable posting of photo of someone in blackface. It really wasn’t deeper than that, doll.”

You can see screenshots of those exchanges here.