The video titled ‘the paradox of progress’ details their beginnings as school friends growing up just outside Sheffield together, before forming the band in 2006. This was the same year that Sheffield’s music scene had been placed on the map in dramatic fashion by Arctic Monkey’s debut ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’, as well as Bring Me The Horizon’s first deathcore full-length ‘Count Your Blessings’.

After showman vocalist Lawrence Taylor joined in 2009, they set about independently recording their breakout EP ‘The North Stands For Nothing’ in a converted barn owned by guitarist Mat Welsh’s father. Having tracked and mixed it all themselves, it released originally in 2010, before being distributed for free with Metal Hammer magazine in 2011. Their early sound was a feverish frenzy of modern metalcore enhanced by the DIY production quality, pairing metal guitar riffs with the impassioned screaming found in hardcore punk. The buzz generated led them on frantic tours of small venues around the UK and Europe, where their energetic live shows drew ever larger audiences.

In the video they then give an impression of how fast things moved after their initial success. The members say “From there, life just sped up so quickly. We get signed to Sony, and we sign that f*****g contract in the toilet. Then we go into the studio to record ‘This Is The Six’. The tours were getting bigger, the crowds were getting bigger, we start winning awards.” After winning the Kerrang Award for Best British Newcomer, debut studio album ‘This Is The Six’ released in 2012, peaking at 27th on the UK Official Album Chart, and 2nd on the Rock and Metal Chart. BBC Radio 1 received numerous complaints regarding the first single ‘Dead Behind The Eyes’ being played on daytime shows, with listeners considering it too harsh for the general public.

Then problems began to arise. Singer Lawrence Taylor had to have throat surgery to treat his vocal cords in 2013, leading the band to cancel prospective tours for 2014. Excessive partying on Warped Tour in the US while also writing second album ‘Brainwashed’ was starting to cause some fatigue in the members. One member says the quote “we put a plaster on a wound, and we’d take it all around the world.” At this point they’d also become disillusioned with much of the music industry, and they’d started proceedings to become independent once more. They built their own studio that they named “Sleeps Warehouse”, and with it decided to cut loose from labels and release third album ‘You Are We’ on their own through crowdfunding measures. This 2017 LP released through their own label Sleeps Brothers, topping the Rock and Metal chart and finishing 8th on the Official Albums Chart.

Now the members were really suffering from their success, with Taylor needing a further surgery on his throat, and the scale of their tours and shows becoming far more demanding. Just like that, the global COVID-19 pandemic stopped the world of music in its tracks. While She Sleeps took the time to develop a subscription service to connect with fans and release music directly to their audience. After the pandemic ended, they achieved a dream of selling out the Alexandra Palace in 2023, on their biggest headlining show in front of over 10,000.

The video begins to close out by explaining the pressure the band was under, feeling compelled to consistently release songs to stay ahead in the rat race, at great detriment to their physical and mental health. Mat Welsh says “I want this band to live forever. If we want it to live forever, we have to stop something.” They reveal that for the foreseeable future, they will be withdrawing from touring in order to dedicate all their attention to writing music. Citing issues with the way the industry demands efficiency at the expense of quality, they aim to continue to do things on their terms and release their perfect album when the time is right. The video ends with a caption – “Bye, for now.”

While they won’t be touring, While She Sleeps’ extensive back catalogue including 2024’s ‘Self Hell’ is available on streaming platforms and their website. Updates can be expected through their Sleeps Society news subscription service.

We’ve got some unfinished business. Here we go, Europe 2022! Stoked to have @whileshesleeps joining us. Tickets on sale Friday at 11am CET / 10am GMT. https://t.co/tgA9MEszD4 pic.twitter.com/dmcSdvIQ2N

— Parkway Drive (@parkwayofficial) November 10, 2021

Parkway Drive has faced numerous touring issues in recent months, unfortunately having to cancel a North American tour in September with Hatebreed, after attempting to reschedule numerous times. The band issued a statement on the matter, saying; “To our US and Canadian friends, our North American tour is officially canceled, after trying to reschedule multiple times. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase. The good news is that we’re currently working on a new tour that we’re excited to tell you about very soon. It goes without saying that we wish the situation was different but we’re doing everything in our power to get back over there. See you all soon!”

Hailing originally from Byron Bay, New South Wales, Parkway Drive have been a household name in the metalcore genre since the early 2000s, initially finding success with their debut release Don’t Close Your Eyes, released in 2004. Following this, the band recorded their next full-length album Killing With A Smile (2006) with Killswitch Engage’s Adam Dutkiewicz, and its success allowed for the group to tour Europe and North America. The band has since released an additional five albums, Horizons (2009), Deep Blue (2010), Atlas (2012), Ire (2015) and Reverence (2018). With their last two releases, Parkway Drive has switched up their sound somewhat, adopting clear influences from nu-metal and incorporating it with their established metalcore style. The band’s entire musical catalogue is available on all streaming services.

The band has not announced that any new music has been recorded, however, in an interview with Music Feeds, vocalist Winston McCall stated that the band has “written the majority” of the next Parkway Drive album.

The UK leg of Parkway Drive’s upcoming tour will begin on September 30^th in London. Tickets can be purchased here, and the dates are listed down below.

30/09/2022- Alexandra Palace- London
01/10- AO Arena- Manchester
02/10- Motorpoint Arena- Nottingham
03/10- Motorpoint Arena- Cardiff

The official tracklist officially confirms the rumours of vocal collaborations with Simon Neil from Biffy Clyro on the song ‘Nervous‘ as well as Deryck Whibley from Canadian punk rock veterans Sum 41 for ‘No Defeat For The Brave‘. Alongside the already released ‘Sleeps Society‘ and recent banger ‘You Are All You Need‘, the album will include the track ‘Call Of The Void‘ revealed to feature members of the Sleeps Society, teasing involvement from While She Sleeps’ hardcore fan base.

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The band revealed the second promo single ‘You Are All You Need‘ last Sunday during Daniel P. Carter’s ‘Rock Show‘ on BBC1. An undeniable masters of their craft and confidently moving to a league of their own, While She Sleeps deliver some of the most exciting arrangement and guitar work in modern metal, backed by rich bass sections, restless drums and singer Loz Taylor’s versatile vocal performance. Lead guitarist Sean Long talks about their new single and video, giving some insight on the direction of their explosive recent track and video:

“We are always trying to express a certain kind of emotion or internal insight and sometimes you really hit the nail on the head, expressing it how you imagined, and other times you miss it completely. Well, this time we hit it dead on with no room for speculation. The song says it how it is and reminds us to stop looking outwards for approval & validation. The video is a colour explosion from start to finish and, with the current state of this dull bleak world, we think it’s going to be the colour everyone needs to illuminate their spirits, even if it’s only for three minutes.”

While She Sleeps shared the psychedelic video for ‘You Are All You Need‘ at 6pm on Monday with a premiere that coincided with Architects’ latest track ‘Meteor‘ reveal on BBC Radio 1 and immediately sent ripples across the music media. In a seemingly coincidental yet powerfully unified action at both fronts, for a brief moment all eyes and ears were focused on two of the leading contemporary metal exports from the country, continuing the recently reinvigorated surge across the entire scene.

YOU ARE ALL YOU NEED MUSIC VIDEO OUT NOW! https://t.co/4bEHAZ3eFS pic.twitter.com/aYb3hcsJFN

— WHILE SHE SLEEPS (@whileshesleeps) February 8, 2021

2021 is already shaping to be a truly exciting time for modern metal fans and professionals across the UK, making the most of these troubled times. With established bands morphing into genre-defining global heavyweights and talented new acts confidently rising to fill the ranks, main albums charts are increasingly seeing more guitar-driven and louder music across the spots. Only recently Bring Me The Horizon confidently grabbed the top spot with the physical release of their seminal EP Post Human: Survival Horror, while Enter Shikari and Bury Tomorrow seamlessly broke into Top 10 in 2020, just to name a few without pinpointing specific genres.

Building on the momentum with the likes of While She Sleeps and Architects demanding the attention of primetime national radio shows and making press headlines with their highly anticipated new albums Sleeps Society and For Those That Wish To Exist, now is as exciting time as any to follow the new trends. Curiously, Biffy Clyro’s frontman Simon Neil is set to feature on both bands’ upcoming records, further expanding their shared creative field and strengthening the guitar-focused community across the country.

Check out While She Sleeps’ latest video in full below, and pre-order Sleeps Society from their official website. Album out 16 April 2021 via Spinefarm Records.

The single ‘You Are All You Need’ is the band’s second track to have been released from their upcoming album, and the track talks about wanting and seeking validation from the people around. Sean Long, guitarist for the band, in a press release, said of the song, “We somehow managed to inject enough personal inspiration from each member for it to completely embody “the Sleeps sound” with ease. We are always trying to express a certain kind of emotion or internal insight and sometimes you really hit the nail on the head, expressing it how you imagined, and other times you miss it completely. Well, this time we hit it dead on with no room for speculation. The song says it how it is and reminds us to stop looking outwards for approval & validation.” Listen to the down below:

Long added that a video music is set to be released for the song and that the visuals for it are going to embed colour explosions from the beginning to the end, symbolising “the current state of tis dull, bleak world”. Long further said that the music video will have the colour “everyone needs to illuminate their spirits, even if it’s only for three minutes.”

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The band’s upcoming album ‘Sleeps Society’ is set to release on the 16th of April and is confirmed to have guest appearances from   Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley and Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil. The band have also been confirmed as part of the line-up for 2021′ s Slam Dunk Festival, which commences on the 29th of May. You can find more information about the festival here.

‘You Are All You Need‘ comes out exactly fours montsh since the premiere of the album title track ‘Sleeps Society‘ that caused quite the hype back in October 2020 with the foundation of While She Sleep’s self-sustainable Patreon membership system. With the exception of their late-2019 standalone track ‘Faker’s Plague‘, this was their first music since their previous record So What? (2019) and coming right on time towards the end of the traditional two-years album production cycle.

NEW MUSIC – WORLDWIDE PREMIERE OF ‘YOU ARE ALL YOU NEED’ SUNDAY 9PM GMT – @Radio1RockShow @DanielPCarter #youareallyouneed pic.twitter.com/JtXBPfi9kB

— WHILE SHE SLEEPS (@whileshesleeps) February 5, 2021

Subscribers of While She Sleeps’s Patreon profile were already treated to sneak peak of the new single’s lyrics as well as exclusive Behind The Song videos with Aaran McKenzie (bass), Sean Long (lead guitar), Adam ‘Sav’ Savage (drums) and Lawrence ‘Loz’ Taylor (vocals). The Sleeps Society is going strong after smashing their ambitious target within the first two weeks, and maintaining a solid folling of over 2000 paid members. Since its inception back in October 2020 the band has provided almost 200 unique posts covering video tutorials and production sessions, photoshoots, audio teasers and early access to upcoming gig tickets.

In addition, While She Sleeps launched the official Sleeps Brothers Podcast with first episode revealed on 7 December with an introduction, update on the Sleeps Society and an overview of the unusual COVID-stricken 2020 and its impact on the band and their followers. The second episode premiered last Monday 1 February, available to stream on Spotify and launched with the following message:

“Come and join us on a zoom chat all about what we’ve been up to, The impact we feel Brexit will have on the music industry and we talk about some cool surprises happening within the Sleeps Society RIGHT NOW! We also chat to one of our Patrons to answer some questions and find out Loz wanted to be a Priest when he was younger! We chat about what music we have been jammin’ this month and give some of the talented members of the Sleeps Society a shout out!“

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Публикация, споделена от WHILE SHE SLEEPS (@whileshesleeps)

Sleeps Society is set to be While She Sleeps’ eight music release in the last fifteenth years (counting their three EPs between 2006 and 2010), easily making them one of the most dedicated and hard-working metal acts in the UK. Ever since revealing their second studio album Brainwashed from March 2015, the Sheffield quintet have dropped new records with clockwork precision every two years, meticulously following it with You Are We from April 2017, So What? from March 2019 and now an upcoming premiere on 16 April 2021.

Although looking less and less likely with the ongoing government restrictions and endless lockdowns, While She Sleeps are still hoping to go ahead with their planned UK tour in May. The band has thirteen shows booked, starting in Glasgow on 2 May and ending in Brighton on 23 May, including three separate dates at Leeds’ The Key and another three in Camden’s Underworld. Tickets and information available here.

The anniversary repressing was launched on 1st January on limited 600 copies of the gold and red splatter vinyl, with one side etched with handwritten lyrics. Originally available on the While She Sleeps’ official website, the LPs sold out immediately but you can keep checking the band’s social media channels in case more copies are ordered due to popular demand.

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The North Stands For Nothing is the third EP in the band’s career following their first steps with And This Is Just The Start (2006) and Split with the Andwhitestars (2009), and the one to transform While She Sleeps from a hobbie and side project into a full-time music act. The EP was recorded between January and April 2010 in their home studio ‘The Barn’ in Sheffield, with mastering by Tim Turan from Turan Audio in Oxford, and officially released on 26 July through Small Time Recordings.

The North Stands For Nothing was almost entirely a self-made project produced by guitarist Mat Welsh with composition, arrangement, lyrics and artwork all done by the band. The EP featured While She Sleeps’ first two music videos of the monumental tracks ‘Crows‘ and ‘Hearts Aside Our Horses‘, fan favourites to this day and a highlight of any of the band’s energetic concerts.

With the addition of vocalist Lawrence Taylor the year before and ever since beginning to work on The North Stands For Nothing, the band has maintained its original line-up consisting of the founding members Mat Welsh (rhythm guitar), Aaran McKenzie (bass), Sean Long (lead guitar) and Adam Savage (drums). Heavily toured and promoted, the EP paved the way for the Sheffield quintet to becoming one of the most influential and sought-after acts in the European contemporary metalcore scene. 

 

 

 

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Публикация, споделена от WHILE SHE SLEEPS (@whileshesleeps)

Earlier in 2020, in response to the widespread criticism of devaluation of music by streaming platforms and record labels, in addition to the difficulties imposed on music acts due to the COVID-19 ongoing restrictions, While She Sleeps made a stand and launched their innovative sustainable business model. Based around the Patreon public support platform, the band established the Sleeps Society virtual club, revolving around four tiers of monthly membership granting their followers a wide range of benefits and exclusive content. Since its inception on 15 October 2020 and following the update two weeks later, While She Sleeps have more than passed their initial goal of 500 members, with the highest paid ‘Revolution’ tier all sold out and currently standing at 2071 total members and almost 142 unique posts

Alongside the society launch, the metalcore heavyweights debuted the title single ‘Sleeps Society‘ as their first and only release for 2020. Following the standalone track ‘Fakers Plague‘ from December 2019, these are the only two songs since the release of their fourth album So What? in March 2019. While She Sleeps have confirmed they are currently working on their fifth record, also called Sleeps Society and set for premiere on 16 April 2021, done entirely with their fans’ and members’ support.

The proposed solution came in a Patreon-run online membership system where people can pay for monthly subscription in four different tiers, and get exclusive content and special access to tickets, merch and most of the band’s activities. The so called Sleeps Society seemed like an interesting idea but surely had lots of doubters and critics. Now, two weeks later, the Sheffield crew have shared an exclusive update of the phenomenal response and initial support from their fans that have ralied and more than smashed the 500-subscribers target to reach a staggering 2190 members and counting.

The initial reception of the track, and the feedback of While She Sleeps’ sustainable business model have been overwhelmingly positive across all social media channels and media outlets. Some of the most popular YouTube reaction channels such as Nik Nocturnal, Hard Core, METALBIRB and Hoopsick have immediately jumped on board and supported the cause, alongside many of the of the leading metal bands in the UK. As seen in the above video desctiption, While She Sleeps are truly grateful to all of the support and promised that “content within the Society is coming in full force and [they] haven’t even scratched the surface yet!“.

The last couple of weeks have more than exceeded any of the band members’ expectations and are already proving to be hugely beneficial. As it is, getting the 2000+ subscribers have helped While She Sleeps hire in some of their touring crew which in itself is a phenomenal progress considering the difficult situatuon all workers in the live entertainment indsutry are finding themselves in the COVID-19 crisis, especially with a second nation-wide lockdown on the line. The fans’ support also goes towards the recording and production of the band’s new record, with bits of the process being available to members of the their Patreon Society.

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The first vocal tutorial series is dropping tonight at 6 in the Sleeps Society! Stoked for you guys to see this one!

Публикация, споделена от WHILE SHE SLEEPS (@whileshesleeps) на Окт 28, 2020 в 8:00 PDT

So far, members of the Sleeps Society have received loads of special perks including warm-up lessons and vocal tutorials from singer Lawrence Taylor, exclusive peak at new tracks, teasers for the new album, podcast and upcoming merch. There is also a Discord community set up within the membership where fans share instrumental covers, art ideas, photos or simply hang out with fellow like-minded people.

The official Sleeps Society Patreon membership starts from £4.99 for Support member and carry on with £7.99 for Defiance member, £19.99 for limited Mutiny member with only 6 remaining at present. Incredibly, the £59.99 top level Revolution Membership has already sold out – a clear evidence that the system works and fans should not be underestimated.

Moreover, most of the early bird tickets were purchased upon their release, and in some cases shows from While She Sleeps’ 2021 tour dates have completely sold out, forcing more events to be added. As it is, the band is playing three shows at The Key Club in Leeds, and another three in Camden’s Underworld due to popular demand, some of these exclusive for members of the Sleeps Society.

All dates for While She Sleeps UK shows can be seen below, with tickets available here:
02/05/2021 – Stereo – Glasgow
03/05 – Stereo – Glasgow
06/05 – O2 Academy – Leicester
07/05 – Asylum – Birmingham
08/05 – Hobos – Bridgend
09/05 – Hobos – Bridgend
12/05 – The Key – Leeds
13/05 – The Key – Leeds
14/05 – The Key – Leeds
17/05 – Underworld – London
18/05 – Underworld – London
19/05 – Underworld – London
23/05 – Chalk – Brighton

‘Sleeps Society‘ openly criticises the global music industry with its long introduction outlining the main issues with its current state, hierarchy and distribution of wealth, and sharing a new concept centred around bands’ sustainable self-management through online platforms such as Patreon. The song goes on to glorify While She Sleeps’ own fans, well known for their dedication and passion, and supporters of music in general who are the main reason bands do what they do. The composition and production of the track offers a brilliant foundation of its message with fast bouncy riffs, groovy rhythm and unifying lyrics focused on creating “a system where the people exist“.

The response for the track has been overwhelmingly positive so far with fans sharing their love and support for the band, their idea and the song itself all over social media. When the singer Lawrence ‘Loz’ Taylor shouted “welcome to the guilty party” back in January 2019, noone could predict the global pandemic will send the music industry in downward spiral that would eventually lead to the sobering growl “welcome to sleeps society” from yesterday. The COVID crisis and recent developments put aside, the band challenges the status quo and joins the long list of acts inspired to create a better future for themselves and their fellow musicians with their followers at the heart of everything.

Speaking from personal experience, While She Sleeps throw shade at an industry where 5000 online streams generate no more than £20 for the band, and 14 year are often not sufficient to turn music into an actual career with steady income. While openly acknowledging the huge positive impact of streaming platforms, publishers and labels, the band offers an alternative where fans have all the power to support the bands they love. Without being a revolutionary concept, establishing The Sleeps Society and turning the tables around immediately makes While She Sleeps one of the first bands from the UK to offer a solution and switch to audience support systems.

Not surprisingly, the support video opens with Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s recent announcement that has prompted an angry response from almost every UK artist and band in the past few weeks. With the uncertain state of the industry, alongside the openly criticised streaming monetisation system and the potential live events restrictions running into mid-2021, While She Sleeps have reacted accordingly and adapted to the new way of life, hopeful to pave the way to other bands and inspire a generation of likeminded artists willing to break the conractual restraints, all of this backed up with the killer metalcore banger ‘Sleeps Society‘ worthy of the WSS brand.

The Patreon-based Sleeps Society offers members four different tiers (Support, Defiance, Mutiny and Revolution) with monthly fees ranging from £4.99 all the way to premium £59.99. The benefits for all tiers vary but most of the packages offer a “too good to be true” value to a membership that starts from as little as two coffees. While She Sleeps are promising to pay their fans back with exclusive content and updates, music tutiorials and track run-throughs, early ticket and merch access, members only events and secret shows, live stream writing and recording sessions and even mental health guidance and support groups.

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Sleeps Society guitar run through will be available from the Defiance tier and higher from 6pm this evening!

Публикация, споделена от WHILE SHE SLEEPS (@whileshesleeps) на Окт 16, 2020 в 7:03 PDT

The t-shirt reads, “One T-shirt is the equivalent to 5000 streams on Spotify. 76% of all music in 2019 is streamed and not bought physically or digitally. Band merchandise is the most direct way of supporting an artist.”

The group have made it very clear that this is not a campaign against streaming services, but an attempt to bring to light the effects of these services if people rely solely on them as a way of supporting musicians.

Formed in 2006, the metalcore punk band have released four studio albums, with their most recent, ‘So What?’ in March of this year. The album has been received well on the whole, with positive reviews from Kerrang and Louder Sound, describing it as “more alternative, electronic”. It is clear that the group have taken a different angle in their production with this release than their previous work, “there are plenty of riff heavy body slams, but this is a shinier, polished and melodic finish.” As with most long time rock bands that decide to go down this route, of course the record has face some backlash. Max Morin called it “a transparent attempt at marketability than genuine musical vision.”

On twitter, WSS explained the reasons behind why they have launched this t-shirt and why it is important for this message to be shared further than just their own fanbase. “If bands and artists are to survive and win the battle of art vs money, we need to find new income to keep afloat…this t-shirt isn’t just for our band, it’s for all bands and we want it to become a staple in the positive change needed in the music industry.”

This is about how you can support the music you love.
Not just our band and our music – this is aimed at every working band trying to make music and get it out there. We are launching a free-to-use design to highlight the realities of being a band today.https://t.co/84LyW9LCyZ pic.twitter.com/HEB082D6JX

— WHILE SHE SLEEPS (@whileshesleeps) August 7, 2019

In addition, the 5-piece metal core band have made this t-shirt design available to use for free, so that the message can be heard in further realms of the industry and in popular culture as a whole.