Concert Review and Creative Fan Piece, You Are so Loved: Sleep Token at Rocket Arena, Cleveland!

On the completely DNA altering evening of Sept 27, 2025, Sleep Token brought their Even in Arcadia tour to Cleveland at Rocket Arena.  I was lucky enough to score tickets in the pre-sale that sold out within a day.  In fact, the whole tour sold out.  I’m an avid concert attender, frequently going for fun and for photos/media, but something was different about scoring these tickets.  Something about Sleep Token keeps that spark alive.  The anticipation of waiting for the date of my first ritual felt similar to waiting to go to your first ever concert.  I could not imagine how it felt for those who were attending Sleep Token as their first concert overall.  In the days following purchasing tickets, I discovered a Cleveland Worshipers Facebook group.  I wasn’t the only one so obsessed with Sleep Token.  That was validating.  Yes, I called the concert a ritual.  Yes, we call them rituals.  We go to worship. There is a whole lore behind Sleep Token.  I believe that is a big part of what makes them so captivating.  From the fans somehow cumulatively naming the flamingo Jerry, to multiple fan projects and groups, the Sleep Token fan base is so unique and brilliant.  The freshness of the band, the lore, a change from the ordinary, the anonymity of the members.  It’s all great, and so fascinating.  The literal three billion Spotify streams backs my case.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I love to nerd out with fellow Sleep Token fans.  I’m a member of multiple Sleep Token fan groups and you can catch me on the discord. I’m in this deep, you guys!

For those of you unaware, Sleep Token is an anonymous group of highly musically talented individuals from the UK who wear masks.  I know, you’re thinking about Slipknot right now.  There is so much more depth to it, however.  No shade on Slipknot. I also love them. Sleep Token can be labeled as “rock” or “metal” if one is looking for the simple explanation, but they possess the incredible ability to incorporate a multitude of musical genres into their work.  Their music has sounds of pop, indie, electro-pop, classical, hip-hop and even jazz are part of the Sleep Token sound. The frontman, known only as Vessel, has us all in a chokehold.  The other band members, II, III, and IV are equally as amazing.  Sleep Token is more than music.  Sleep Token is art in the form of sound bytes, with healing powers that spark something inside of us to become more self aware and process our own emotions.  I have a lot of favorite music.  I am a music enthusiast, if you will.  There are bands that have been prominent during certain parts of my timeline that have had their moment of offering healing properties, in all of their glory.  I have favorites that are special to me from youth, bands that are special to me from early adulthood, but Sleep Token has the first place medal for being relatable to me in my present tense.  I do not stand alone in these feelings.  With every arena sold out, and thousands upon thousands of fans just as crazy about them, these rituals are more than just concerts.

Cleveland, biased as I may be, was an exceptionally special day along this tour.  As fans, we can only hope that Vessel and the boys feel the same.  There was an energy in the air that cannot be put into human language.  I swear, at one point I could feel the vibes in my chest even before the first note sounded. On this date of the tour, there was a little something special that  happened.  It started a movement with the following rituals along the way.  A fan project was immensely successful; I will dive into the details of its success here in this article.  There have been other fan projects for the rituals, most notably the Projeckt Damocles app/light stickers. But, here in this review, there is also an interview.  Some questions in regard to the poster project started by an idea of the one and only Nikki (Poster Project Girl) of the now somewhat viral Poster Project will be answered.  I have had the amazing opportunity to connect with her and collaborate with her on this article.  So, if you can stick to me through this, you will have the never before published answers to the curiosity you may have about what was up with all those signs at the Cleveland show. 

From the first step into the arena, for as far as eyes could see, people were dressed to impress in their finest cosplay, Sleep Token merch, and sported bracelets and trinkets for trade or to give as offerings.  Speaking of the merch, the lines to obtain merch seemed to stretch on for miles.  I was made aware from seeing posts in the fan groups that I am in, that lines for the pit began to form at 0200.  The dedication to this band from its fans is out of this world.  I am not ashamed, not one ounce, to claim to be a part of this exceptional fandom.  I did not have an official media pass, so forgive the quality of any images you see, as I was fully attending this ritual as a fan and my main focus was on absorbing all the energy and basking in this experience.  These images are noisy, small, and from a cell phone that was held by my hands, shaking with more emotion than I am able to adequately portray in words.  Regardless, I am thrilled that Rock DNA has allowed me this opportunity to contribute my review of this day.  I did not come to the ritual empty handed. I hand made over a hundred bracelets/necklaces.  I got a few trades in return, but I was not worried about that.  I was just happy to provide my offerings to other fans.  I even gave one to a bartender who was also a fan.  His face lit up, and that is what it is about.  

Before Sleep Token could transform our souls, the mood was appropriately set with the opening band, Thornhill.  Thornhill hails from the land of Australia, and they have gained so many more new fans with this tour.  One of my favorite activities to do to kill time, relax or enjoy a nice evening is to explore new music.  Also, I love making sure that I’m early to concerts to hear bands I’ve never heard before to expand my musical palette.  Thornhill was a delicacy, delicious and energetic.  The vocalist, Jacob, was unreal.  His screams were scrumptious.  Ethan on guitar, Ben on the drums, and Nick on bass absolutely got the crowd hyped.  Jacob had a powerful and intense stage presence.  The mic-stand that night might have been left feeling taken advantage of between how Jacob treated it and the things that Vessel did to it.  Luckily it is an inanimate object, so no charges were filed.

After Thornhill, fans continued trading trinkets and wandering around.  My husband and I took a lap around the arena.  We were just people watching and giving compliments to nearly everyone we ran into.  Everyone was just so beautiful.  This crowd was hands down the nicest bunch of human beings gathered in one place that I have experienced.  It was a refreshing change of pace.  It was Arcadia.   A little ways down on our walk, we came across a little section off to the side that was lit up with Arcadia murals on giant LED screens.  We took a moment to take a photo.  At one point, the LED turned into an advert, and the “awwwww” that the people gasped in unison was comedic.  By the time we were done with our little giggle, the LED lights brought Arcadia back to us and everyone was pleased again.  

We then made our way back to our seats, anything but patient, to wait for Sleep Token to grace us with their presence.  The anticipation throughout the venue could have been cut clean in two halves with Vessel’s sword.  The sound of wind filled the arena.  Soon lights were dimmed and the suspense grew even thicker.  It felt so enchanting, the venue felt like another place, like we were really in Arcadia.  For this moment in time, everything was new, everything was untouched, everything was yet to be experienced.  And although I have been in this position of waiting for a curtain to fall, with many other shows in the past, like previously mentioned, this one was different.  Sleep Token knew what they were doing.  The place glowed with phones held up waiting for the curtain to fall and for Vessel and the boys to be there before us.  The first notes of “Look to the Windward” began and petals started falling all around us.  This only intensified the feeling of being somewhere other than real life.  We next heard Vessel’s voice singing melodically to us, curtain still up high, and then with the breathtaking fry scream, “Will you halt this eclipse in ME!?” BOOM, with a burst of pink and blue brightness, the curtain fell.  With the curtain’s fall, Vessel could be seen standing tall with arms open wide on the very top of the set.  

The set was a masterpiece.  A giant structure stood tall, resembling an Arcadian mausoleum-like vibe.  It was decorated to match the “Even in Arcadia” album art, with stone structures and floral accents.  There were multiple levels, with II on the drums on the far right.  Espera, a gorgeous and very talented trio of backup singers on the level to the left.  III and IV energetically vibing around Vessel on the bottom level.  The crowd was so large-an ocean of emotion, a sight to take in.  There was so much to see.  

Vessel effortlessly then appeared down on the stage.  Next up was “The Offering.”  And before I knew it, “Vore.”  “Vore” was the first song that I ever heard from Sleep Token when I was first discovering the band.  I saw the drummer for Daughtry a couple years ago wearing a Sleep Token t-shirt. After that concert, I went home and had to check them out.  I had been hearing a lot of talk about them, and decided that it was time.  It immediately owned me.  I was a follower.  The way that I related to this song, in metaphor, was like nothing I have ever heard.  Anyone already familiar with their discography could predict my confusion, when I clicked over to the next track.  I quickly realized that this band was going to take me places.  Each song has its own identity, addressing another theme, somehow all forming the overall story.  I was hooked.  Swallowed whole.  I’m not above admitting that during this song live, I bawled.  Like one of those good, puffy eyed, purge-cries.  Straight-up sobbed.  All I could do was look at my husband and say, “they’re playing ‘Vore’!” I put my arm around him and we embraced while my soul was removed from my body, washed, wrung out and placed back into my body.  Apparently, this song was not on the set list at every stop along the way.  This was special to me.

Sleep Token took ownership of the night, with a set list perfectly performed.  They continued with “Emergence,” “Alakaline,” “Hypnosis,” and “Provider”.  Let me just tell you, “Provider” performed live was a treat.  I especially loved the “oh baby” added in with flirtatious tones that Vessel practically moaned into the microphone.  You could hear a roaring of female screams.  I had seen videos online of them performing “Rain,” but nothing prepared me for how visually pleasing the light show was for this one in real life.  At one point the lasers encapsulated Vessel in a spotlight fashion as he continued with pure sounds of ecstasy for all ears to enjoy.  Next was “Caramel,” and Vessel gave us what we came for.  “The Summoning,” “Aqua Regia,” “Granite,” and a surprise oldie but goodie, “Thread the Needle” were all part of the list.  There was a saxophone player accompanying this tour, and he was phenomenal, and a true spectacle.  The saxophone addition of “Aqua Regia” was nothing short of astonishing.  Of course “Damocles” made the cut, and then the set was finished off with “Infinite Baths”.  The set list was a masterpiece of the new album and a variety of songs from other albums.  Sleep Token displayed a perfectly balanced variety of playful banter and seriousness.  I know that Vessel wants us to focus on the music and the art, but he has to know we love the moments of their personalities coming through.  But let’s be real, their personalities are a true work of art.  During “Damocles” the otherworldly display of orange and purple lights was nothing short of breathtaking.  The lights were from the Projekt Damocles, either from the app that you can download or from little colored stickers that went over the flashlight of cell phones.  

Vessel has vocals that are from another realm.  The lungs he has, the emotion that entwines with the most elegant screams ever heard by these ears, must be forged with space dust.  I’m a car and shower singer, definitely have some tone issues, but usually I can belt out some long screams, but man, he’s got some air.  I’ve nearly thrown myself into a vasovagal response that could carry me into the afterlife trying to hold a note as long as him.  I would imagine, the music in the afterlife could not even compare to what is the product of the masterminds that make up Sleep Token.  

With the final song of the night, “Infinite Baths,” I was anxious to see if we as fans were going to pull through with the signs.  Nikki, the Poster Project girl had made a post in the Cleveland Worshipers Facebook group with an idea to all hold up signs that said, “You are so loved” simultaneously during the last song.  With the realness and heartbreaking lyrics from “Caramel” and “Damocles,” we knew we wanted to make sure that Vessel knew that he was loved.  Nikki originally also wanted to bring a banner to hold up at the barricade that had a longer message, but due to the venue’s restrictions on sign sizes, that had to be nixed.  Nikki had a fat stack of computer paper printed with the message to pass out, and encouraged other group members to print and bring even more to pass out.  She gave the font size and specifics so that they were all identical.  Before I knew it, a beautiful sea of signs were held high.  They were everywhere.  It was so emotional.  It was obvious that Vessel had been moved to tears, as audible sobs were heard during breaths.  He turned his back, walked further back into the set and then turned around.  He walked back up toward the crowd and demanded (only politely of course, and non-verbally) the security guy to hand him a sign from the crowd.  There he was, before all of us, holding that “You are so loved” sign back at us. The tears from the crowd could have filled a sea.  A huge wave of emotions took over me at this moment, bathing me and cleansing me.  My eyes were pools.  The ritual had to end, as nothing lasts forever.  We all knew we were just a part of something absolutely insanely huge, but had no idea the reach it would get.  

When the lights came back on, it was dead silent.  The crowd, more like followers, were silent in thoughts, quiet in transformation.  Because every single soul in attendance that night left changed. I’m fairly certain we left parts of our past selves to the tombs.  We had to make our way back to the hotel.  We did, in fact make it back, in a state of reflection, still trying to accept what was just presented before our very eyes.  I pulled up Instagram, and immediately noticed posts were buzzing through my algorithm about the posters at the Cleveland ritual.  The one in particular from Rockfeed was the post that let us know we really were seen.  Nikki had shared Rockfeed’s post to the Cleveland Worshipers group and wrote “Our sign project worked better than I ever could have imagined!!! Thank you so much to everyone who helped, printed papers, passed them out, and participated.  This was a night to remember forever.”  Jokingly, I asked Nikki if the stage crew had to sweep her up off of the floor with the petal confetti at the end of the night, and she responded with “Yes, I 100% had to get swept up off the floor with the confetti!”  

Disclaimer: Fan crowd shots by Karie.

If you’ve made it this far, please enjoy these beautifully written responses from the creative soul, Nikki.

1. What made you choose to put “you are so loved?”

This project actually started as something a bit different! When I first reached out to our Cleveland Sleep Token group on Facebook, I had the idea of the people at the barrier holding four big, long, posters that they would drape over the barrier as soon as "Infinite Baths" started so as not to block any views. The four posters said "You have emptied our darkness / You have kept us in motion / You are lifting our bones / We are dancing in revelry." I had them printed at Walgreens and they turned out great... I think they were 2 feet X 8 feet each. And then I ordered around 100 Sharpies, and asked others to bring more. The thought was that we would have as many people as possible sign the posters and write messages for the band, and then maybe after the show we would see if any member(s) of the crew would be willing to take them. 

I started thinking about how I could get the rest of the audience involved to really make sure our message was felt. Around the same time, people started sharing the venue's policies on bringing larger posters into the venue. So, I honestly added the "You are so loved" signs almost as a back-up! I thought, well, if they do let us into the venue with these big signs, then it will be so magical to hold the big ones up for the entirety of the song and then surprise the band with a sea of individual signs at the end. And if the big ones don't make it through, then at least we'll all have these. 

All around, I have to say that the posts I made with updates (even those that announced any changes we were having to make) were mostly met with excitement, support, positivity, etc. It was very encouraging. I really do believe that we had such a special group of humans at the Cleveland ritual. There's been so much kindness and community, now that we're more than two weeks past the show, and I genuinely feel that this is the heart of the entire Sleep Token community as a whole. People are still supporting each other and lifting each other up, trading offerings, bracelets, and trinkets online. It sounds cheesy, but there's just so much love and acceptance. I've never experienced anything like it.   

Going back to the signs... When I got to the venue and chatted with the folks at the barrier, we all had the feeling that the big signs weren't going to be allowed into the venue, and we absolutely did not want to disrespect venue policies in any way. We discussed the idea of cutting out the individual words, but it's so hard to know exactly who will end up on the barrier and even more impossible to know ahead of time what order everyone will be standing in. So, I shoved the big posters and markers back into my car and pivoted to just handing out the individual signs instead. I did feel badly, because so many people had sent us requests to sign their names for them or had sent us messages to add to the posters online. But people were very understanding, and of course it all ended up working out so much better than I had ever imagined anyways!

The small signs we used, I printed a huge stack at home - right around 500. But then I ran out of paper and ink, and didn't have time to get more, so I had put a call out on our Facebook groups to see if others could help print some out as well. A few other magical women were beyond instrumental in printing and bringing extras (one brought hundreds more for us!), and they also worked so hard to help distribute them to as many people both inside and outside of the venue as possible. Once I got into the pit, we had a small stack left, so I walked around the pit like an annoying mom and checked to see if there was anyone who wanted to participate but hadn't gotten one, and then I found some magical people in the seated floor sections and in the stadium seats closest to the stage who were very enthusiastic about helping by passing out small stacks to their sections so we could spread them out as far as possible. I so badly wish we could have done more after seeing how successful it was, but I'm still immensely proud of everything we were able to accomplish. It was such a group effort. This never would have happened without everyone who helped print and pass out the signs, or without everyone's willingness to help. From start to finish, the positive energy I felt throughout the entire process just took my breath away in the very best way possible. The world is kind of crazy right now, but it was such a refreshing experience. It reminded me that there's more good in the world than not, even when it doesn't feel like it. 

As far as the "you are so loved" message itself - I know it's not unique, and neither are fan projects. People have been doing them for decades, and the "you are so loved" message is everywhere. In fact, as this all started circulating online after the show, people brought out other photos of Vessel holding signs from the crowd with the very same message from tours in years past, and I thought that was the most amazing thing. I feel like the universe has a way of bringing these things back around. I toyed with so many different options... lyrics from their songs, etc. But at the end of the day, I decided to keep it simple. This felt like the message they needed, and judging by Vessel's reaction, I think it was. Honestly, it feels like the message we all need right now. 

There's been such an overwhelmingly positive response online (minus a few trolls and cynics, of course ). What has really stuck with me is seeing how these signs have continued at so many rituals after, and then seeing how much it feels like the phrase "you are so loved" has stuck with the entire fandom. I'm seeing so many videos and captions and beautiful pieces of artwork and jewelry and creations and just all sorts of things, using this message and sort of celebrating it and embracing it. In fact, I've chatted with our Cleveland group about doing something online to keep this movement going. We'll see how it pans out... time will tell! But for now, I'm just so happy with how it all came together. And I'm so touched that this is something that ended up being special not just for the band, and not just the people holding the signs, but for a lot of people I never planned on touching. 

2. How did you feel seeing the arena full of signs during infinite baths?

This is something I have thought about a lot since the show. This may very well be one of the first experiences I've ever had in my life that I just... cannot find the words to properly convey. I have never in my life felt such genuine, raw, unfiltered shock.

Even though I had been met with great energy in our Facebook groups leading up to the show, I still had a lot of doubt about it actually working in any sort of big way. It just felt unrealistic. I tend to have these big ideas that don't usually pan out. I really had it in my head from start to finish that this project would just end up being a few people holding up their sign for maybe a few seconds, and I hoped that maybe the band would get some joy out of seeing them briefly and move on with their night. It was a rock show... I thought, these are going to fall out of people's pockets, get stepped on, etc. People will get so lost in the music that they will forget about them (which is totally understandable!). People are going to think “this is dumb” or just not bother to participate in the moment. There were a million reasons for it not to work.

So when Infinite Baths started playing, and I heard this sound around me like the crinkling of paper... and I looked around and realized that all of these signs were going up one by one, and there were... a lot of them! And then Vessel noticed and it sounded like he was... crying!? And then the lights and the music changed as they shifted into that first chorus and the pit became this sea of signs in the blue... I could hardly even process it. It felt like there was almost this collective, cathartic, shared emotional exchange between the band and everyone in the audience. Everyone in the entire arena. I thought... This is really happening. And it... means something. To everyone. And then Vessel took that sign and held it up to give his love back to us, and I just lost it. Ugly sobbed. I've never felt such a surge of emotions shared by so many people, in one moment, in one space. It was otherworldly. 

Funny enough, the plan had actually been for everyone to wait until the song was over and hold the signs up at the very end when Vessel bows to show his gratitude as a way of giving ours back to him. I also thought waiting until the end was best so that we weren't blocking anyone's view of the performance with these pieces of paper. But I think people just got excited, and of course it's hard to share and remember those details when you have almost a thousand people in an arena participating in a project like this. So when the audience started holding them up early, I was even more shocked because it was earlier than expected... but gosh, I'm so glad they did! It was just - perfect. Every. single. thing. about it. It was "lightning in a bottle," just like the song says. And the messages I've received on social media, and the comments I've seen, have just confirmed time and time again that it really was such a unique, shared, special moment for everyone — even from people all around the world who were watching livestreams of the show online. I immediately knew that this single moment in time was extraordinary. And the responses pouring in from people on the internet have solidified that for me. I don't think I'll ever experience a moment like that again. 

3. Did the stage crew have to sweep you up off the floor into a pile of petal confetti? 

This is such a great question, because they really just about did! I was genuinely in a state of shock for hours after. I vividly remember feeling like I didn't know what to do next, or where to go, or how to function. A few people came up and congratulated me or said sweet things as they were leaving the pit, which was so lovely! But I just looked at them and cried, and could hardly respond. Then I stared at the stage for the longest time while the crew was packing up, until someone from security came and told the group of us still hanging around that it was time to get moving. Then I just... walked! Aimlessly. Truly. Just walked. I was one of the very last people to leave the venue as crews were breaking down merch tables and concession stands, throwing away boxes, sweeping floors, etc. I think that part of me was just taking it all in. I was so happy! Attendees had gathered outside of the venue to continue trading their bracelets and trinkets, and I just sort of existed in that space for a bit. Then I started walking to my car, only I walked at least a block past my garage before realizing what I had done, and then I walked two floors higher than where I had actually parked my car before it dawned on me to turn around and go back down. Then I think I just sat in my car for at least another hour, probably more. Staring at my phone as messages and tags and comments and videos and all of the things just started flooding in. Staring out my window. Positively elated, but still in absolute disbelief. Just stuck in a gleeful daze that lasted for quite a while after. I honestly don't know how I made it to my hotel that night. (P.S., mom, if you're reading this article... just ignore this whole paragraph please, k? Thanks!) 

4. Free space- please say whatever you want the fans/Sleep Token to know… Please submit as much as you would love to have known/published on your perspective of the poster project and its success. 

I think what caught me off guard the most with this project was how much it resonated with not only the band, or the people holding the signs, but with everyone. Aside from a few people here and there online, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. And again, just to see how much the act of making signs and the message itself have been embraced and continued throughout the tour and even now after it's ended... I think it just shows how sort-of starved we are as a society, and as humans living in this tumultuous time of negativity and division, for the good things. The positive things - Connection, caring, empathy, compassion, community, and (as cheesy as it sounds) for love. I think it is so very telling and so very powerful, the way we tapped into this overwhelmingly beautiful outpouring of goodness that night. And there were so many reasons for it not to work. It shows that there genuinely is so much strength in community, and also so much power in the act of trying something, even when you really are afraid it just isn't going to work. We live in a time where I think a lot of us are feeling a bit... helpless? Useless, even? There are so many big things happening around us, and we WANT to do something, and we WANT to make change, but it feels like we're just one person in this endless sea of barriers. In that moment when I looked around and saw so many people holding up one of my signs, and even when Vessel held that sign back up to us... it really did remind me that we have a much greater ability to impact the world around us than we think. We can be that positive change we want to see. We forget sometimes that just maybe, an idea we have really might work out. That some small step we take really might become something bigger, that we really can inspire, influence, or bring together the people around us. If you look at the trajectory of Sleep Token themselves - how they started as something so much smaller, less than ten years ago, and now they're this global phenomenon - I think Sleep Token themselves have shown us that anything is possible. Not just through the poetry and depth of their lyrics or the reflections and messages in their songs, but also through their example of what can happen if you work hard, you refuse to give up, you believe, you reach for that magic, and you hope, and you try. 

If I could say anything to Sleep Token, I think it would be, "you are so loved." Which, when it comes down to it, is why I chose that message for the Poster Project. It's the one thing I really wanted them to know. It feels entirely too simple compared to the enormity of everything they've given us. But here's the thing... I'm very lucky to have been to many concerts over the years. I've cherished so much music, and I've adored many bands. And out of all the music that has shaped my life, and my path, and the things I love, and the person I've become and am still becoming, I have never felt or found anything that feels even remotely close to this. The power of their music, and the connection of this community... it's like, from a different dimension. I can't even begin to explain how HAPPY - how truly elated and gleeful and just overcome with everything our hearts and souls crave - I felt at the EIA stops I attended. 

I've seen countless comments online - hundreds of comments - from people who attended rituals (shows) in every city on this tour, all saying the same thing; it was the best show they've ever been to. It was one of the best nights of their life, if not THE best night of their life. They couldn't stop crying, because while it happened, and now they can't stop crying because it's over. They've never felt so lost, or empty, or sad after a concert before because the crash after feeling so positively levitated by their experience is almost too much to grasp. The tour is over now, and people are grieving it like a true, genuine loss. They say they've never experienced anything so powerful. That it was more than just a concert, that it was spiritual, and out-of-body, and it feels like a dream. They say it was cathartic and healing and sad and happy and it was just everything. It was everything, to all of us. And the world is so divided right now, but so many people online are saying, "even though everything feels so hard right now, I'm so happy I exist at the same time as Sleep Token. I'm so lucky." And my gosh - how special is that? To be the one thing that reminds millions of people that beauty, and light, and magic, and change, and love, and hope, and JOY can exist in a time where those things feel so otherwise distant? I hope that Sleep Token, the Espera, and their entire crew, and every person who is involved in making Sleep Token "happen" knows that this is what they are for so many of us. That's certainly what they've become for me.

————

I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to connect with Nikki.  The whole ritual still feels surreal.  I love how this idea has transformed into more than just signs at a concert.  The Sleep Token community is so wholesome and the connections made through this have been so amazing. Also, thanks again to Rock DNA for accepting this contribution.  

I left the ritual that night transformed.  The mold of my past self was altered. I left feeling renewed, revived and ready to endure.  Life is but a pathway of infinite baths.  It is but a cycle of heartache and healing, falling down and then learning to stand.  It is a never ending repeat, a sequence of growing beyond our darkness, deeply rooted within. It is overcoming, it is a pattern of continually learning to self soothe and cleanse ourselves of our trauma.  It’s remembering when there was hurt, but acknowledging that we have survived our hardest days.  We win some, we lose some, we have good days and bad days. People do us wrong, and people do us good. We do ourselves and others wrong and they do the same back to us.  

Vessel has played pre-recorded messages, with a very computerized voice as the messenger, at past rituals during interludes.  During these messages, the mask had stated to Vessel that he is nothing without the mask.  Vessel disagreed, stating that the mask and him shall be a conduit for our anguish.  Vessel elaborated that connection was important.  I hope that the Cleveland ritual gave him what he came for.  I believe that it did.  He was also right in that we are united in our feelings of never belonging.  Sleep Token has connected thousands of people with similar scars in more ways than they realize.  The mask had accused Vessel of being nothing without the mask, even calling him pathetic and miserable in the summary of it.  Of course, Vessel disagreed again.  We all disagree with that.  The mask had it wrong.  We are nothing without Sleep Token.  Sleep Token has allowed us to be more than a pathetic ball of self-pity.  Sleep Token saved us.  Maybe we saved each other?

The signs at Cleveland were the beginning of a new movement.  In that moment, the significance is perfectly timed with the theme of “Infinite baths”.  Having the sign held back at us felt like receiving an unexpected gift in return. We gave the message to Vessel and the band altruistically, but the emotion behind the returned message is what we all needed, whether we realized it or not.  It was an impressively potent moment of collective effervescence.  Nikki wants the message to travel further than Cleveland, further than Sleep Token.  Let us all make this a movement.  Tell someone that they are so loved. It may save them. The following cities followed suit by holding up various other messages. Pass it along. And remember, the house must endure, even when it feels easier to let the cycle end.