19/06/2026
Emergence - Come on, come out, from underneath who you were. Come on, come come out, you know that its time to Emerge. An illustration inspired by the song of the same name by Sleep Token.
This song is super powerful. Ive had it on repeat for a week or two now. There’s a raw drop that is almost… EMOTIONAL. Maybe because it follows the same pattern as the very emotional lyrics before it, but it hits like a ton of bricks. And then at the end, it brings you back down with a light little sax solo. The voice itself, during this part almost feels like a hug itself. Vessel, the lead singer, has such a raw, deep voice yet his lyrics can weave between very strong and masculine and soft and feminine and dare I say, vulnerable. I do not usually to like male vocalists because it tends to lack that.
The entire album it is on, Even in Arcadia, is just a masterpiece. I highly recommend anyone who likes metal in the slightest to check it out. Its got hip hoppy bits, djenty bits, while never straying from its metallic roots.
The other day I while listening to this song I was on the bus and heard that like “come out from underneath who you were”. I was trying to come up with ideas for it. I thought of things like a snake shedding its skin, etc… but i landed on something a little more literal. Coming out from directly underneath haha. I wanted it to be recognizably the same person but with a key difference, so thus the hair changing colors. Almost like this emergence was an evolution of sorts.
It’s the first time in a while with no reference but with an intention. It was a bit easier if I’m being honest because drawing with no reference can sometimes be daunting because you can literally draw anything. Having an idea of what you want to portray at least narrows down that possibility. But it’s still not as easy as with a reference. With a reference you have it narrowed down even further, AND you have evidence and feedback when your getting it right or not. There were many different ways to interpret and show this theme, and im happy to have one I can call my own.
