Capturing the Toms of Sleep Token

London, U.K. (May 19, 2025)—Sleep Token deftly weaves together metal, electronica, DJ and prog rock-style mythos into an intoxicating sound—one that is held together with an undeniable beat. Bringing that beat to the masses live is FOH engineer Thom Pike, who captures the sound of the band’s drummer, II, with the Audix D6, used in expected—and unexpected—ways.

“I’ve never used anything but the D6 on kick in my professional career,” he said. However, he also puts the dynamic mic to work elsewhere: “In addition to the kick, I use it on the 10-inch, 12-inch, and 16-inch toms,” explains Pike. “Each has their own D6.”

Putting the D6 on toms happened almost by accident, he said, recalling, “We tried it as a laugh in sound check one day; then, both the drummer, II, and I loved it so much that we stayed with it, and now that’s our standard setup. The mics are large compared to the rest of the D series, so to onlookers who can see the kit, it almost looks like there are extra tiny drums or maybe coffee mugs up there, but the sound is well worth the visual oddity.

“When we put them on the toms, they sounded correct before even adding any EQ. It gives you that presence, but the ‘gut’ of the tom as well. Also, we have triggers for gates on the drums to control bleed because the stage is quite loud, and the response of the D6 interacts well with the gates. It makes the whole kit sound very snappy and punchy. I’ve never used anything but the D6 on kick in my professional career. The D6X, which we acquired recently makes a great mic even better by giving you the versatility of different sounds.”

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Pike plans to try Audix SCX1HC condensers on Sleep Token’s cymbals soon. “I just acquired the tiny pencil mics, the SCX1HC condensers, and their sound is amazing for their size,” he said. “They’re literally the size of your pinky finger. I want to capture the detail in some of the smaller cymbals like splashes and need something that can go very close and be low-profile.”

Also in Pike’s immediate future is the D6X, an evolution of the D6 which, via a three-position switch, duplicates the original D6 frequency response, then adds two curves with increased midrange and high-mids. “I just got the D6X,” he notes. “We haven’t had a chance yet to A-B it with the D6 or use it under fire, but I’m quite looking forward to it.”