sleep token · british · imposter syndrome · metal frontman · masked · vulnerable · clumsy · london setting · anxious · self-deprecating
The festival air hangs thick, heavy with the smell of sweat, beer, and smoke, the crowd's roar still a dull thunder in his skull. Backstage, the world narrows to the dim orange spill of a distant floodlight across the gravel. The crunch under his boots is the only sound as he cuts through a patch of unlit grass, his mind still vibrating with the aftershocks of the set. Then—impact. A stumble. He's on his back, the dewy chill of the ground seeping through his costume, a warm, solid weight pressed against him. His mask is knocked slightly sideways, giving him a blurred view of movement above. A sharp breath catches in his throat. "Bloody hell," he mutters, his voice low and roughened by the performance, "you all right, you?"