“Twenty years forces you to look at what you've achieved and go, 'What can we do next?'” Inside While She Sleeps' massive anniversary show

The Doncaster Dome isn’t actually that round. While there might be a bite-sized conical roof at its centre-point, this rectangular compound where you can go ice skating and swimming is more of a labyrinth to navigate. Somewhere among it all, While She Sleeps are lounging on a jet-black sofa in the production office.

With the floor markings of an indoor sports hall, WSS have built today’s gig room – where tonight they'll play to 3,300 people – from the ground up, installing their own stage, PA and everything in between. But that’s business as usual for arguably the most DIY band in British metal. Even the backdrop of letters that spell out ‘SLEEPS’ have been hand-cut by the band, from the remnants of barricades and railings.

“I used to come to Taste Of Chaos events at this venue – Killswitch Engage, Taking Back Sunday, all in this room,” says frontman Loz Taylor, the only member of Sleeps who hails from the city of Doncaster, 23 miles north-east of Sleeps’ Sheffield HQ.

“This is Loz’s world, this is Loz’s domain,” acknowledges lead guitarist Sean Long. “Now we've done this, for me, we've got to do Sheff Arena – that's my one!”

“I used to hang out with all the BMX-ers and skaters, and we came to this venue, watched Killswitch,” remembers Loz. “After the show had finished, they let us out, and there were loads of chavs that weren't into the style of music at all. We had a massive brawl with them in the car park…”

The only brawls happening at Donny Dome tonight are the friendly kind. For one night only, Sleeps have curated their own answer to Taste Of Chaos, bringing Mancunian hardcore upstarts Guilt Trip, buzzy alt. shapeshifters unpeople and shoegaze five-piece OVERSIZE along for the ride. All British. All-killer-no-filler. The ideal way to celebrate 20 years of While She Sleeps, on home turf, in the first city that properly got behind this band.

“I heard unpeople when they brought out the garden, I thought that was an absolute belter track,” nods Loz. Do they see their younger selves reflected on this line-up?

“I get it from Guilt Trip,” responds Sean. “I got it from Malev before, and I think it's the nostalgic riffs. Not many people are doing that Killswitch, All That Remains [style], and I want that back, personally.”

The next generation: Guilt Trip, Oversize and unpeople

Loz and Sean remember precious little of their own 20th birthday celebrations, guessing they were “probably on tour and probably on coke.” When it comes to their own, Sean is less fussed than Loz about making a fuss about those occasions. The collective two-decade mark was a milestone that crept up on Sleeps, not one that they actively worked towards.

“Twenty years forces you to take a step back and look into everything you've actually achieved, because the goalposts always move and you're like, ‘What can we do next?’” says Loz.

“We didn't even consider another life,” points out Sean. “Unspoken, didn't even have to talk about it. Now you look back, we just went for 20 years, and we did not stop.”

“That's almost a bit of a dying breed, aside from maybe in hardcore,” suggests Loz. “It's always been important to me to bring bands into Doncaster, because the way that streaming is going takes out the grassroots venue. Something blows up online, and then the band goes, ‘We can already do a 3,000-cap room.’”

“People saw us and enjoyed what they saw, not [because of] what other people said online, which is what happens these days,” says Sean.

There’s no undertone of jealousy in this argument. In fact, While She Sleeps assure us that they wouldn’t have changed a thing, if they could start all over again. A classic tale of the journey trumping the destination, Sleeps now understand they will be one of the last bands who lived to tell that story, throwing the kitchen sink at their dream for half their lives.

“I wouldn’t change owt,” says Loz in his big Yorkshire accent. “Being young, jumping in a van, having a campfire and looking up at the stars – it's been a huge part of the enjoyment of what we've done.”

“We tasted life without the internet, and someone knocking at your door: ‘You coming out to play?”” reminisces Sean. “Those times are gone. We toured for 20 years until we actually made something of ourselves. That's not gonna be heard of anymore. You're gonna be hot or you're not, really.”

“Limp Bizkit said it…” agrees Loz with a smirk, testing how quickly K! has memorised the chorus to Making Love To Morgan Wallen.

Unless you’re PRESIDENT or WSS' fellow snooze enthusiasts Sleep Token or Sleep Theory, it’s not always that simple. But Sleeps’ success story – staunchly DIY since 2021 – is an inspiration to artists hoping to find their feet, in the face of financial burdens that pressurise many to sign away their artistry away to the wrong, exploitative hands.

“When you're young, you're operating on a different frequency,” offers Sean. “My advice for someone who is going through anything near that would be that the only reason they're approaching you is because you have something they want. No one's coming to be your best mate, they're coming to make money off you. Take advances, do the deals… but never sell your rights. Keep skimping by until you make enough money, because it will pay dividends in the end.”

And the rewards continue to be reaped. Sleeps have now headlined London's Roundhouse, O2 Academy Brixton and Alexandra Palace. Perhaps just as poignantly, after 20 years of raw power, which have seen Loz fight through three throat surgeries, they’ve now earned the privilege to dictate their own pace – exemplified by this quieter year. They currently have no scheduled tour dates for 2026.

“There's genuine injuries in the band – mental and physical – that need addressing,” admits Sean. “I've got Tourette's Syndrome, and from the tick and my guitar playing, I’ve got really bad neck damage. I'm working on that to get it fixed. But again, putting this 20-year package around it has brought in a lot of perspective on how to navigate our energy and where to put it. We want to get healthier, then pour all of the energy into the best record possible.”

“Our lives have been a hundred mile an hour for 20 years,” concludes Loz. “You don't run your car into the ground, you get it serviced.

“We might need a bit of service, but anyone that knows this band well knows that we're always grinding.”

Read this next:

• While She Sleeps and Bury Tomorrow: “The mission is for everyone to leave going, ‘Holy crap, that was the show of the year’”
• Split Chain: “Life is not easy and never will be – this album is a depiction of all that sh*t”
• Employed To Serve: “There’s nothing more powerful than heavy metal”