Altered Vessels Studio

I’m just a girl who loves everything about Sleep Token. I’m inspired to create custom band member Pop! vinyl figurines as a creative outlet (never for sale). I’m hoping that one day, after a lot of practice which I’ll be sharing with you, that I’ll have created a set that I would consider worthy of giving to the boys. Not that I ever think I could do that but that’s my intention behind this project. To be satisfied with my creations to a level that I would entertain the idea of giving it to them.

I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to perfectionism and anything that I create so I expect to go through many iterations of the different looks that I want to create before I have something even vaguely resembling something that I would consider giving to the band. I’m learning new creative skills as I create each version as I try to accomplish whatever odd idea my whacko brain has come up with which I will of course be sharing with you along the way.

Everyone worships differently. As I’m working on these figurines I’m listening to Sleep Token on repeat (I don’t really listen to anything else anyway lol) so while I’m in that creative state it’s become my daily meditation on Sleep Token music and I’ll be having a weekly conversation with you about it. Lucky you! I don’t know anyone in real life who likes them so I don’t have anyone to chat to about their music and the impacts of it on my life so I hope you don’t mind my occasional nerd ramble.

I also make other non-figurine art inspired by Sleep Token music. I’m amazed at how this band inspires people in the creative world, I haven’t really seen that with any other artist. There are people way more talented than I am doing way more amazing things that I want to share with you so I hope you don’t mind if I share other artist’s work from time to time to further their reach and hopefully inspire you as well.

Favourite song: High Water. Closely followed by Vore, Take Aim, Dark Signs, Jericho, Higher, The Apparition, Gods, Emergence, Jaws, and Ascensionism to round out a top 10.

First Sleep Token song heard: Higher. Sometime back in early 2020 while the world was going to $hit. I remember someone talking about the band so I YouTubed them and I haven’t stopped listening since. And after all these years I’m still not sick of them and still listen every day.

I find the lore interesting but for me Sleep Token is foremost about the complexity and intelligence of the music, lyrics and the emotions and thoughts that it stirs me every single time I listen to them. I like the side story that the lore plays in the Sleep Token universe but it’s primarily about the music for me. I’m one of those people who get goosebumps, chills and emotional with certain songs so their music conjures a physical, emotional and somewhat spiritual magic for me.

I have learned my lesson with Sleep Token songs that you CANNOT judge them by your first listen. Maybe not even the first 3 listens. By about 5 listens you’re really starting to notice things you hadn’t the first time or outright dismissed in the first listen and your brain starts to light up. Not to be funny but they’re growers not show-ers. Songs that I initially dismissed at first listen have turned into my obsessive favourites over time as I’ve just absorbed them and churned them over from different perspectives colored with a filter of the life I’m living at the time and whatever events are occurring.

When I say that Sleep Token have changed my life I don’t mean it on a rabid fan level but a literal life changing level, I am altered. A weight 20+ years old was lifted after listening to certain lyrics in a song, triggering a massive change in me. It changed something I believed to be true on a soul level not just the surface. To have music inspire this change, one I’m still reeling from and trying to process, makes me eternally grateful for their existence and the impact they have had on me cannot be overstated.

Some songs I absolutely love but can’t listen to most of the time because they make me sad and cry: Atlantic, Euclid, I’m 50/50 with Take Aim, Is it Really You? and Are You Really Ok? so it depends on my mood of the day, Blood Sport (also because it’s a mad earworm for me). Unless of course I need a good cry and I’ll dust them off and hurt/heal myself (emotionally that is).

My reactions to the new singles (pre Even in Arcadia release): It took me about 60 listens to Emergence before I could make it through without crying about my personal connection to the song and about the same amount of time with Caramel in empathy for Vessel’s pain. Again, it depends on my mood but they both still choke me up a bit and I get a lil something in my eye y’know. (Damocles didn’t hit me as hard as those two for some reason). I don’t skip them though. I think because Damocles and Caramel seemed to be coming from the man behind the mask where as Emergence was from Vessel. I don’t think there are many ‘man behind the mask’ songs in their back catalog which, in some subconscious way, has triggered so many people when they’ve heard it as it’s so jarring. I’ve seen the Sugar parallels with Caramel and I can see it. The more I listen to Caramel and Damocles I get a different perspective on them and I’m not sure that they’re about what I initially thought they were about. Time will tell.

Top 5 bands – 1. Sleep Token 2. Seether 3. Alice in Chains 4. Soundgarden, 5. Incubus

I apologise in advance for any unattributed photos not taken by me (I hold the copyright for my own images). A lot of the time I’ve saved images from various Sleep Token Facebook groups so over time the original owner/creator is not clear. It is not my intention to breach copyright by re-posting any of these images so copyright holders – please contact me asap if you want something taken down or correctly attributed. I’ll attribute correctly where I’m able.

Please note: I do not own any part of the Sleep Token copyright, all rights are retained by them and their management and any works I create including them are not for sale. I am not connected to them in any way. My works are a result of my daily meditation with Sleep Token music and are fanart for my personal enjoyment only. I cannot emphasise that more heavily so please be aware that all requests for purchase will be ignored and deleted.

You can find me here or on Instagram and Pinterest (and maybe Facebook and YouTube soon – only @altered_vessels is my genuine account). Thanks for dropping by, I really appreciate it and I hope to see you again soon!

Be kind.

Worship 🖤