u/CompetitiveWhole9466

Sleep Token is by a long shot the hottest rock band in the world right now. They album bombed the hot 100 in 2025 and even got a top 40 single. In a world where rock is essentially a legacy genre, that's VERY admirable.

But here's the thing...I don’t hear the songwriting core underneath the aesthetic.

These guys just plain and simple don't have any actual songs.

What they're doing is essentially "what Linkin Park did but on steroids"... but unlike Linkin Park who blended pop and rap with metal and created genuine classic songs that have stood the test of time, Sleep Token just throws Sheeran-Bieber pop together with a metalcore breakdown and maybe some jazz interlude.

Now, I'm not saying any of this to hate on the band. Because the talent is obviously there. The production is expensive-sounding, the drummer is fucking insane, the atmosphere is polished, the aesthetic is cohesive. They clearly care. This is not a lazy band.

But I just think they're so gimmicky, despite their INSANE talent level. They seem like the metal equivalent of a rapper who raps really fast.

Anyone who loves the band, anyone who hates the band, personally I'm neutral, can discuss the band and their appeal with me.

I get it... and I don't. ​

Sleep Token is probably the hottest rock band in the world right now. They album bombed the hot 100 in 2025 and even got a top 40 single. In a world where rock is essentially a legacy genre, that's VERY admirable.

But here's the thing...I don’t hear the songwriting core underneath the aesthetic.

These guys just plain and simple don't have any actual songs.

What they're doing is essentially "what Linkin Park did but on steroids"... but unlike Linkin Park who blended pop and rap with metal and created genuine classic songs that have stood the test of time, Sleep Token just throws Sheeran-Bieber pop together with a metalcore breakdown and maybe some jazz interlude.

Now, I'm not saying any of this to hate on the band. Because the talent is obviously there. The production is expensive-sounding, the drummer is fucking insane, the atmosphere is polished, the aesthetic is cohesive. They clearly care. This is not a lazy band.

But I just think they're so gimmicky, despite their INSANE talent level. They seem like the metal equivalent of a rapper who raps really fast.

Anyone who loves the band, anyone who hates the band, personally I'm neutral, can discuss the band and their appeal with me.

I get it... and I don't. ​

Before you attack me, I was born in 2001. So I missed the Nickelback being overplayed thing. But I would always hear why people hated Nickelback and they'd give the reasons ("bland", "overplayed", "formulaic")

Yet so many 2010s artists were just that and didn't get hated on for it

Is music even subjective?

My theory is that Gen Z are fed “vibes” - music that conforms to a consistent aesthetic. They might say, “I like this song, and I want more music that sounds pretty much exactly like that.” They’re not looking for albums, or even particular artists to latch onto.

A good example would be how i just searched for the top 40 most-streamed songs of the 80s today.

No Madonna on there, no Prince, no Def Leppard, no Bruce Springsteen, and only one Michael Jackson song. (Though Michael is about to go super saiyan.) But lots of songs that were not among the bigger hits of the decade have been licensed effectively to media recently , like songs by Kate Bush, Alphaville, The Outfield, etc. And many songs that give what kids think of as an 80s vibe - Take on Me, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Eye of the Tiger, and so on.

Spotify did not invent this, but it 100 percent supercharged it.

People always used music to create moods. The difference is that streaming platforms organize listening around mood, activity, and affect at industrial scale. Academic research on Spotify playlists specifically discusses how users use playlists to cultivate moods and emotions, and Spotify’s own research distinguishes user-driven listening from algorithm-driven programmed listening.

That explains why some old songs become immortal while some old superstars don’t translate as cleanly.