Korn Members Say Sleep Token “Shut Everybody Up” With Huge Download Headline Set

Korn guitarists Brian “Head’ Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer say Sleep Token proved critics wrong with their massive Download headline set.

Sleep Token’s headline set at this year’s Download Festival wasn’t just a milestone for the band — it was a statement. According to Korn’s Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer, the masked UK collective silenced the critics with a performance that went bigger than Slipknot.

Speaking to Daniel P. Carter on BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show, the Korn guitarists backed Sleep Token’s spot at the top of the lineup. Korn themselves closed the final night of Download 2025, playing just one day after Sleep Token’s set.

Welch addressed the pre-show backlash head-on. “I love it because all these people — I don’t know how many — but, I heard chatter about people like, ‘Sleep Token headlining?’ Some people were saying they’re so young to be able to headline so quick. And they came with that stage? Shut everybody up. They went bigger than a Slipknot stage, man.” [transcribed via ThePRP]

Munky agreed, praising both the production and the music itself. “Also, the new record is incredible,” he said, referring to Even In Arcadia, released in May via RCA. “So it’s not only like the stage, yeah you can do that all day long, but they got the songs to back it up.”

Sleep Token’s rise has been divisive. Their blend of metal, R&B, and pop has made them a standout, and a target. But Korn aren’t the only ones in the heavy community backing them. Doc Coyle of Bad Wolves also defended the band in a Metal Hammer op-ed, writing: “Like what you like. Hate what you hate. But I think we’d all be healthier if we weren’t so protective and defined by our outspoken contempt.”

From their debut gig in 2017 to headlining Download in 2025, Sleep Token’s climb hasn’t followed any traditional path — but the results speak for themselves.