Sleep Token’s drummer, II, has given the band’s first video interview to discuss his drumming techniques and influences.These performances are interspersed with interview clips in which II – his voice masked behind a distorted voice filter – divulges into his approach to drumming, techniques, and influences.
In one excerpt, he touches on the wide range of influences which shape his style. “I’ve always personally taken a lot of inspiration from the UK dance music scene,” he said. “And listening to various subgenres of drum and bass specifically allow me to incorporate stylistic traits from those genres into my vocabulary as a drummer.”Watch Drumeo’s interview with Sleep Token’s II below:Elsewhere in the interview, he named various drummers as influences on his approach as a drummer, including former Suicidal Tendencies drummer Eric Moore, Mudvayne’s Matt McDonough, and the late Joey Jordison, stating: “When I first started playing, I, like many others in my generation were heavily into drummers such as Joey Jordison, Matt from the band Mudvayne, as well as the more extreme speed players, such as Derek Roddy.”Sleep Token released their third album, ‘Take Me Back To Eden’, in May, following the release of lead singles ‘Chokehold’ and ‘The Summoning’ on consecutive days in January.
The album earned a glowing, five-star review from NME, with Emma Wilkes praising the band’s eclectic sound, blending influences as wide as R&B, funk and black metal into a cohesive mix.“There are more risks on ‘Take Me Back To Eden’ than Sleep Token have ever taken before, but there’s never an opportunity to doubt whether anything they attempt will succeed,” Wilkes wrote. “It’s an ambitious, emotional monolith of a record, with all the hallmarks.
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