Following the Louder Than Life Festival, which took place in Louisville, Kentucky, from September 18 to 21, several members of the metal community who attended the event have publicly called out Sleep Token fans for their behavior.
Taking to the Louder Than Life Bound 2026 group on Facebook, many metal fans have shared evidence and criticism of poor concert etiquette during Sleep Token’s set. Concert etiquette has been a growing issue in the past several years, especially during larger sets from popular artists. Fans throw things on stage—bracelets, drinks, phones, etc.—often making the artist a target, and sometimes causing injury.
At Louder Than Life, however, Sleep Token fans treated other fans with disrespect. Numerous fans were intentionally dropped while attempting to crowd surf. Crowd surfing, of course, has been a common occurrence at rock shows for decades. The long-established etiquette is that fans help support the surfer, carrying them safely on the wave.
Sleep Token fans apparently never got the memo. On the Facebook page, one fan recalled having someone dropped on her head, which knocked her unconscious and triggered a seizure. She had to be extracted from the crowd and taken to the hospital, and said she sustained “a major concussion and minor brain bleed.”
Sleep token fans face backlash from metal community for dangerous concert behavior
Other attendees in the crowd shared their experiences with Sleep Token fans, noting the lack of responsibility and courtesy for their fellow fans. One person expressed that she “lost a lot of respect” for Sleep Token fans after the set.
According to the post, she heard someone shout “drop the bitch” in response to a crowd surfer. This turned into a chant from other fans.
“Instead of helping, people were letting surfers fall hard into the crowd,” she wrote. “I was in the ASL area, and I can’t tell you how many medical workers had to drag people to the medical tent. It was over 50 by the end.”
The post continued, “Here is the deal. If you love Sleep Token and want to be up close at the barricade, you need to accept the package that comes with it. You help the crowd surfers, you always look back for incoming surfers. You will stay busy helping so everyone lands safely and your reward is seeing your favorite band closer.”
Other criticisms of Sleep Token fans brought up an apparent lack of enthusiasm and movement from the crowd. More fans claimed they attempted to start a pit several times, but people weren’t cooperating.
Photo by Katja Ogrin/Redferns
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