Share

Sheffield quintet While She Sleeps are already one of British metal’s biggest stars, and they tour their huge sixth studio album, Self Hell, a record packed full of confident, stadium-prepared anthems.

Sheffield quintet While She Sleeps are already one of British metal’s biggest stars, and they tour their huge sixth studio album, Self Hell, a record packed full of confident, stadium-prepared anthems.

How do you become an era-defining metal band? Is it through peerless levels of intensity? Hooks strong enough to get everyone in earshot singing? Or is it something as simple as the self-confidence to pursue your dreams despite all obstacles?What ever the hidden ingredient is, While She Sleeps have it.The world first heard vocalist Loz Taylor, guitarists Sean Long and Mat Welsh, bassist Aaran Mckenzie and drummer Adam Savage together on 2010 EPThe North Stands for Nothing. Ears instantly pricked upon hearing their energy and ambition. Sleeps’ bombardment of punk attitude and seething metal shattered expectations, as has their every subsequent album. Their integration of pop, electronics and conscious lyrics, which tackle depression and anxiety head-on, has continually kept the band two steps ahead of their peers.Metal Hammer deemed 2021’sSleep Society“an album very much for these troubled times, from a band we can continue to believe in”; its impact was followed by a weekend-stealing set at theDownload Pilot and, in 2023, a sellout show to 10,000 at London’s Alexandra Palace.All the while, Sleeps have stayed proudly, defiantlyDIY. They’ve eschewed the trappings of the conventional music industry by building their own base in their hometown of Sheffield. They release everything through their hand-made label, Sleeps Brothers, while writing, self-managing, demoing, producing and making music videos exclusively from their HQ. These tireless creatives go so far as to build their own stage props, which have joined them on blockbuster tours through five continents, visiting nations from Canada to Colombia, Thailand to Taiwan.