Images: Sleep Token [Official Press Photo], PRESIDENT – In the Name of the Father [YouTube, Official Video]
There are bands and musicians who manage to scramble to the very top in a very short amount of time. Yet, where there is success, there is always envy. Rapidly rising artists are often accused of lacking authenticity, not releasing "handmade" music, or focusing too much on aesthetics. This criticism comes from listeners, music experts, the press, or even fellow musicians. However, it isn't just "success" that speaks for them; sold-out concerts, social media follower counts, and streams on major platforms show that they are doing quite a few things right. But why are fans and critics so quick to begrudge these bands their success?
The World of Anonymity: Sleep Token and President
Performing anonymously works! What bands like Slipknot or Mushroomhead realized in the 1990s and early 2000s remains a successful recipe today—even if most acts choose anonymity to keep their identities private rather than for pure marketing reasons. A prime example of this right now is Sleep Token. Particularly through the two albums Take Me Back To Eden (2023) and Even In Arcadia (2025), the British collective has worked its way to the top. Streaming numbers went through the roof, monthly Spotify listeners are now in the millions, and worldwide concerts sold out in no time. In 2025, they headlined Download Festival in their home country, the UK, which brought plenty of criticism not only to the band but also to the festival organizers. Critics claimed they hadn't been in the business long enough or weren't established enough to sit at the top of the festival poster.
The organizers countered that a band capable of selling out Wembley Arena in minutes has more than enough "it" factor to headline a festival and can easily hold their own against the scene's heavyweights.
"We, as a festival, have to be bringing bands through and believe in what we’re doing, but we don’t do it in a haphazard way. It’s very measured, it’s calculated, and I think it’s Sleep Token’s time," explained booker and organizer Andy Copping at the time.
"It’ll be massive for them and for the festival, and I think that any detractors, when they see it, will get it.." It worked: with their headlining production, they won over audiences not only at the British Download but also at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park.
And speaking of Download Festival: a band appeared there in 2025 that, until then, no one knew: President. This crew also performs anonymously, leading to early speculation that it might be a side project of Sleep Token. Voices were immediately raised claiming they were "coat-tailing" or imitating Vessel and co. The excitement was high, and even though it has since turned out that the combo has nothing to do with Sleep Token, the hype remains. Headliner shows sold out lightning-fast, and monthly Spotify listeners in the seven-figure range speak volumes, considering how short a time the group has been in the business. Musically, by the way, President don't rip off Sleep Token; with their industrial sound, they sound quite different from their British colleagues.
The fact that President is often accused of riding Sleep Token's wave of success is nothing new. But aside from the lack of musical similarities, the acts also choose different promotional approaches. While anonymity certainly plays a big role for both, that’s where the similarities end, as President themselves have stated:
"What a fucking lazy comparison. I mean, yes, we have the same management, and we both wear masks. Those are both facts… you got me! It’s like, is that it?! That’s all you’ve got? It’s hardly a new thing, is it, wearing masks?!”
Sound Changes – WITHOUT asking the fans?! Architects and Bring Me The Horizon
Alongside resentment toward record-breaking success, sound changes are also a frequent and heavily commented-on topic—usually completely unprompted, of course. Many bands in the scene have felt the brunt of this, especially those who used to be "heavier" and eventually opened up their sound. Take Architects as an example. While Sam Carter and co. celebrated worldwide success as the British metalcore band through their early albums, their sound changed over time.
The turning points (The Here And Now, For Those That Wish To Exist, The Classic Symptoms Of A Broken Spirit) were met with disappointment by many fans. Yet, the sales figures spoke for the British band: The Here And Now was their first record to appear on the charts, and For Those That Wish To Exist was their first No. 1 album in the UK. The Sky, The Earth & All Between was a move backward, bringing back a fair amount of brute heaviness without discarding the modern sound. They even dedicated the single "Seeing Red" to their haters.
Bring Me The Horizon had a similar experience. While they played very raw deathcore in their early days, their current EPs are highly produced and, above all, very well thought out. Post Human: Survival Horror rode the wave of sing-along metalcore, while Post Human: NeX GEn lives on emo vibes and electronic elements. In the meantime—between their first full-length Count Your Blessings (2006) and NeX GEn (2024)—there were several shifts in direction that caused some fans to jump ship. Specifically, 2015’s That’s The Spirit is an album through which the band lost many early-year listeners but also gained a massive new audience. With a significantly catchier sound—which the band largely owed to producer Jordan Fish—the voices of early supporters grew loud. True to the motto "not my BMTH anymore," some fans never tire of criticizing them, especially online. Meanwhile, the records from 2015 onwards propelled BMTH to absolute headliner status, which they likely won't lose anytime soon.
Reasons for Resentment – Which aren't really Reasons at all
But what causes a fanbase to suddenly view bands they once loved with a kind of reluctance? Compared to pop music, which often involves external producers, rock and metal thrive on "handmade" sounds and lyrics. This is a cherished trait that becomes shaky in the eyes of fans when a sound change seems triggered by external influences and suddenly brings commercial success. For The Sky, The Earth & All Between, Architects brought in Jordan Fish as a producer, who is known for helping Bring Me The Horizon reach the status they have today. Naturally, accusations arose that Sam Carter and co. only snagged Fish to get on the same level as BMTH. However, the collaboration came about more or less spontaneously, as Carter mentioned in an interview:
"We had been planning for a while to find a new level for ourselves, to shift up a gear. Then Josh left the band, and we wondered if another player could be involved in Architects. And right then, Jordan left BMTH. He called and asked: 'Should we make an album together?'"
It’s a similar story with rapid success in a scene that actually thrives on consistency and linear growth. While some acts in the 1990s and early 2000s had to work much harder for their status, young artists have it significantly easier. Social media—especially TikTok and Instagram—plus much easier access to music through streaming services, do the rest. Sleep Token used these opportunities very smartly during the marketing of their 2025 album Even In Arcadia in the form of a kind of online scavenger hunt to keep fans engaged, while President also accompanied their launch via social media. This is less about self-promotion until the end of time and more about skillfully using the channels that already play a major role in listeners' lives. Artists have to do marketing anyway, and today’s social media algorithms demand regular content. There is no way around it if you want to stay relevant.
Often, it’s not about becoming more accessible to the mainstream, but rather about evolution. And that is in no way reprehensible, because that is what art—and professional life—is all about: not standing still, but developing and achieving something. The fact that commercial success follows is simply the natural path. And who would honestly turn that down?
