KORN Praises SLEEP TOKEN's Download Festival Show: 'They Outdid a SLIPKNOT Stage'

Summary

• Korn praised Sleep Token’s Download Festival set, saying they went bigger than a Slipknot stage and silenced critics.
• Sleep Token’s new album, Even In Arcadia, impressed Korn’s guitarists for having both the songs and the spectacle.
• Korn’s own headlining set was called a total triumph, putting them on par with Metallica, Black Sabbath, and more.

The members of Korn had high praise for Sleep Token following their performance at the Download Festival on Saturday, June 14.

According to the band, the masked group managed to silence skeptics with a massive stage setup and commanding live presence.

Korn themselves headlined the festival on Sunday, June 15, while Sleep Token took the top slot the night before.

Speaking on BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show, guitarists Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer weighed in on Sleep Token’s set, saying the band’s production was so over-the-top that it even surpassed what Slipknot typically brings to the table.

“I love it because so many people, I don’t know how many, were saying things like, ‘Sleep Token headlining? Really?’” Welch said, as transcribed by The PRP. “Some people said they were too young to headline that quickly. And then they come out with that stage? Shut everybody up. They went bigger than a Slipknot stage, man.”

Shaffer chimed in as well, noting that Sleep Token’s showmanship isn’t just smoke and mirrors, the music holds up too.

“On top of that, the new album is amazing,” he said, referring to Even In Arcadia, released last month via RCA. “So it’s not just about the stage, yeah, you can throw that together all day, but they have the songs to back it up.”

Korn Brings the Fire as Sunday Headliners

Korn didn’t exactly play second fiddle, though. Their headlining performance on Sunday earned glowing praise from the UK rock press. According to Louder, the show was a “total triumph”, putting Korn shoulder to shoulder with past Download headliners like Metallica, Black Sabbath, and Guns N’ Roses.

Despite the lack of pyrotechnics or elaborate stage theatrics, Korn delivered a set packed with raw energy, immersive lighting, and their signature sound.

“No fireworks. No over-the-top production,” Louder wrote. “Just a kaleidoscope of lights and some of the best nu-metal tracks ever written.”

The site described the crowd’s massive sing-along during “Freak On A Leash” and the streamer explosion at the end of the set as symbolic, the moment Korn cemented themselves as equals to Download’s historic headliners.

“It was a statement,” the review concluded. “Korn has officially joined the ranks of Metallica, Sabbath, and all the other titans who’ve headlined this stage over the years. It was a triumph.”

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