Interviews: SLEEPWALKER
1. Where did you get the idea for the band name? Did you plan it, or did it just come out like that?
We originally went through a couple of different names, including BLEAK, before settling on SLEEPWALKER because we felt it represented us and what we stand for much better.
The name comes from the idea of people living their lives without fully engaging with them, forming opinions based on what everyone else believes, following the crowd or a herd mentality rather than thinking for themselves.
For us, SLEEPWALKER represents that feeling of moving through life almost on autopilot, and questioning whether we’re actually making our own choices or simply following the path that’s been laid out for us.
2. Why did you want to play this genre?
Heavy music has always had a special place for all of us. I think one of the biggest reasons we play this style of music is because of what it allows us to express emotionally, both through the tone and the lyrics.
The contrast between powerful clean vocals and harsh screams gives us a way of conveying different sides of the emotions within our songs. There’s something about that dynamic that feels incredibly honest and impactful to us.
We all listen to a wide range of different genres, but heavy music will always be the most powerful way for us to express what we want to say and make people feel something through our songs.
3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?
We did actually. Our vocalist, Killian, and guitarist O N I have been friends for over 15 years, having met during our college days. We’ve also worked together on several other musical projects before SLEEPWALKER.
Having that history together definitely helped when we started the band. There’s already a level of trust and understanding between us, which meant we could get past a lot of the early anxieties that can come with writing and recording music together. We already knew how each other worked creatively, so it gave us a really solid foundation to build the band from.
4. Each band member’s favourite band?
We all have quite varied tastes individually, but there’s definitely a lot of crossover when it comes to the music that inspires SLEEPWALKER. Collectively, some of the bands we find ourselves coming back to include The Plot In You, Architects, Make Them Suffer, Northlane and Polaris.
Outside of heavy music, we all have our own favourites and influences that range across a much wider variety of genres, but those are some of the bands that have had the biggest impact on us and the kind of music we want to create with SLEEPWALKER.
5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?
Lyrically, a lot of the inspiration comes from vocalist Killian Black’s own personal experiences and hardships. Writing has always been a way of trying to comprehend, understand, and reflect on things that have happened in the past, particularly experiences that weren’t always easy to make sense of at the time.
Rather than simply telling a story, the lyrics often come from looking back at those experiences from a different perspective and trying to understand what they meant, how they affected us, and what was left behind.
Musically, the inspiration comes from all of us. We each bring different influences and ideas into the writing process, which helps shape the sound of the band. While our individual tastes are quite varied, we’re all drawn to music that feels emotionally powerful, atmospheric, and carries a real sense of weight.
6. Where was your last gig?
We haven’t played our first SLEEPWALKER show yet. We’re currently focused on releasing our debut material and building the band before taking it to the stage, so we’re really looking forward to playing our first live show when the time is right.
7. Where would you like to play?
We’d love to start by playing some of the amazing alternative music venues around the UK, like Subside in Birmingham, The Underworld in London and The Anvil in Bournemouth. They’d all be amazing venues for us to play one day, as well as festivals such as Burn It Down in Torquay or Novacaine in Sheffield.
There’s something really exciting about taking the music we’ve spent so much time creating and finally experiencing it with a room full of people. Longer term, we’d obviously love to work our way towards bigger stages and festivals, but for now we’re looking forward to getting out there, building our live reputation and earning our place on those stages.
8. Who would you like to support?
If we’re allowed to be starry-eyed for a moment, we’d absolutely love the opportunity to open for bands like Bring Me The Horizon, Spiritbox, Bad Omens or Architects. Those would obviously be dream opportunities for us.
But if we’re talking about bands we could realistically see ourselves sharing a bill with, we’d love to play alongside bands like Caskets, Acres, Dream State or Holding Absence. Those are the kinds of bands and audiences we can genuinely see SLEEPWALKER fitting alongside, so hopefully one day we get the chance.
9. Who not?
Probably Sleep Token, and purely because of the names. Could you imagine it? SLEEPWALKER supporting Sleep Token. It would look ridiculous on a poster! [😂](https://fonts.gstatic.com/s/e/notoemoji/17.0/1f602/32.png)
In all seriousness, we’d be happy to share a stage with any band where we felt the music and audience were a good fit. But purely from a visual branding perspective, we’d probably give Sleep Token a miss.
10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?
“Yes, absolutely. Most nights I’ve gone on stage, I’ve found myself getting overwhelmed with anxiety and starting to shake. Truthfully, I’ve never completely found a way to get past it. Instead, I’ve learned to embrace it and see that feeling as excitement because ultimately I’m nervous because I care about going out there and putting on the best show possible.
For anyone struggling with stage fright, I’d say don’t be ashamed of those feelings. You don’t necessarily have to make the nerves disappear; sometimes it’s about learning to use that energy rather than fighting against it.” — Killian Black
11. What bands have inspired you the most?
Honestly, bands like early Linkin Park have been a massive influence on us, particularly vocally and in the way they were able to balance melody with heavier elements. Bring Me The Horizon have also been a huge inspiration, especially because of how diverse their discography is and how willing they’ve always been to evolve their sound. The production and sonic direction of bands like Bad Omens have also been a massive influence on us.
That’s something we’d like to achieve with SLEEPWALKER too. We don’t want every release to sound exactly the same. We’d love for each chapter of the band to have its own identity while still feeling unmistakably like SLEEPWALKER, allowing our sound to evolve and grow alongside us.
12. What’s the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?
This actually happened to Killian and O N I in one of their previous bands. Someone liked the band so much that they asked us to play at their wedding.
Yep, a metalcore wedding band.
Safe to say, it never actually came to be, but we still think it’s one of the strangest and most memorable requests we’ve ever had from someone who liked our music.
13. What do you think of your fans?
We genuinely love and appreciate our fans. Without them, there wouldn’t really be a SLEEPWALKER beyond the four of us making music for ourselves.
Something we’ve always wanted to build within the band is a community where everyone feels welcome, nobody is judged, and where genuine connections can be made and friendships can grow. We don’t want people to feel like they’re simply listening to a band; we’d rather they feel like they’re part of something.
At the end of the day, the music is the reason we started this, but the people we meet and the connections we build along the way are what make it truly worthwhile.
14. What do you think of our site?
We’ll be honest, we’ve only recently had the chance to properly look around the site, but we’ve really enjoyed what we’ve seen. It’s great to see a platform supporting and showcasing up-and-coming bands like ourselves, and we’re genuinely grateful to be featured.
Thank you for having us
15. Something to add?
Our debut music video for “Phantom Pain” drops on 22/10/26, taken from our debut EP VOL I: ECLIPSE, which follows on 22/01/27.
This is only the beginning of the SLEEPWALKER journey. We’ve spent a long time building this band, and we’re finally ready to share it with the world.
Welcome to the new era.
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