Sleep Token’s Mask Designer Denies Ripping Off Mushroomhead

Sleep Token recently kicked off "a new era" for the band, with three of their members unveiling new masks during a Dec. 16 show at Wembley Arena. But, as soon as the new masks were unveiled, social media reaction started coming in, with several fans feeling as though there were a similarity to Mushroomhead's masks in the new look. Mask creator Lani Hernandez-David has now address those claims in a chat with Metal Hammer.

When asked about the comparisons to Mushroomhead, Hernandez-David responded, “I’d always heard of Mushroomhead, but never really looked at them. To me they look wildly different."

The mask maker then added, "Mushroomhead aren’t the first band to wear masks with a ponytail and eyebrows, and neither are Slipknot. You can say Sleep Token are copying Mushroomhead, but then you can say Mushroomhead were copying Slipknot, Slipknot were copying whoever – no one invented these things.”

See Sleep Token's new masks directly below, as well as a photo of Mushroomhead for comparison.

Mushroomhead

READ MORE: Sleep Token Members Unveil Creepy New Masks to Mark 'a New Era'

From facepaint to masks, covering one's visage is a time-honored tradition in heavy music with bands from KISS through more modern acts such as Sleep Token and Ghost finding success with the visual presentation.

As for those new masks, drummer (II), bassist (III) and guitarist (IV) all shared their new masks on social media, with each of the new masks bearing the Sleep Token sigil, just about the foreheads and eyes of III and IV and over the nose and mouth of II. Get a closer look here.

The 21-year-old Hernandez-David also offered more insight on the new mask creation, telling Metal Hammer, “II said he had an idea, so he sent me some little inspirations: he wanted it to have hair and be this color and have buckles. For the other guys, they actually had a design. The plan was for IV and III’s masks to be fairly similar, but for the paint to be reversed: IV’s is black with gold on the front and III’s is gold with black on the front.”

The artist says he was not clued in on how the new masks tie into the band's supposed "new era," but has great appreciation to the band for the opportunity to work with them.

“It’s been great! The first evening, I gained a thousand followers. So far, I’ve gained, like, 5,000, which is just insane,” he explained. “I’m eternally grateful for people like Sleep Token giving a young, indie artist work like this. They could have easily gone to some big studio, but they found my work and were like, ‘Oh, he’s just a kid? Let’s go with him!’"

With Sleep Token now giving him a platform for his work, Hernandez-David says it's his goal to eventually work with Slipknot. "That would be the end goal, because that's what started it for me. When I got into serious mask-making, it was definitely with Slipknot."