Sleeping With Sirens is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Florida in 2009, known for frontman Kellin Quinn’s unusually high, melodic voice and for becoming one of the defining acts of the 2010s post-hardcore wave. They built that reputation touring alongside peers like Pierce the Veil and Of Mice & Men.
When the band broke through, most people noticed the voice first. Kellin Quinn’s range set him apart in a scene full of screamed vocals, and it helped push melodic post-hardcore closer to the mainstream. This guide traces that rise and the wave around it. That same scene sits next to the pop-punk world mapped in our pop-punk bands guide.
The Sound and the Voice
Sleeping With Sirens play melodic post-hardcore: heavy, screamed verses that open into soaring clean choruses. Quinn’s tenor sits high enough that new listeners sometimes mistake him for a woman on first listen, and that quirk became part of the band’s identity rather than a footnote. To see exactly where this style sits among its neighbors, our explainer on post-hardcore vs screamo vs metalcore breaks down the family of genres.
Formation and Breakthrough
The band formed in 2009 and put out its debut, With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear, the following year. Let’s Cheers to This (2011) pushed them into the scene’s upper tier, and the acoustic EP If You Were a Movie, This Would Be Your Soundtrack (2012) showed a softer side of the band. Then came Feel (2013). It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, a rare feat for a post-hardcore act and proof the wave carried real commercial weight.
The Post-Hardcore Wave
Sleeping With Sirens did not do this alone. The early 2010s produced a run of melodic post-hardcore bands who toured together and traded fans, among them Pierce the Veil, Of Mice & Men and a handful of the genre’s elder statesmen. Several grew out of the same underground scene that produced blessthefall, whose return we covered when the band shared the stream of “See You on the Outside”. What tied the whole movement together was relentless touring, especially on the circuit explored in our history of Warped Tour.
- Kellin Quinn’s high tenor remains the band’s calling card and the thing most new fans mention first.
- Feel (2013) is the band’s commercial peak, a Billboard top-5 debut for a post-hardcore record.
- Pierce the Veil, Of Mice & Men and blessthefall were the closest peers in that same touring circuit.
Many of these acts are still touring in 2026, part of the larger story we tell in our feature on scene bands and where they are now. Fans who followed that post-hardcore wave often end up working through emo’s back catalog too, which we round up in our best emo albums guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Sleeping With Sirens singer a man or a woman?
Frontman Kellin Quinn is a man with an unusually high tenor voice. New listeners often mistake him for a female vocalist at first, and that mix-up became part of the band’s identity.
What genre is Sleeping With Sirens?
They play melodic post-hardcore, alternating heavy, screamed passages with soaring clean choruses. Their later albums leaned further into accessible rock and pop-rock territory.
What is Sleeping With Sirens’ biggest album?
2013’s Feel was their commercial peak, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, one of the highest chart placements a post-hardcore band managed during that era.
Who were Sleeping With Sirens’ main peers?
Pierce the Veil, Of Mice & Men and blessthefall were among the key bands of the same melodic post-hardcore wave, touring together constantly.
What the Wave Left Behind
Sleeping With Sirens helped carry melodic post-hardcore out of underground clubs and onto the Billboard charts, powered by a voice nobody else in the scene quite had. As part of a larger wave of 2010s bands, they showed that screamed verses and arena-sized choruses did not have to cancel each other out, and shows still sell out on that sound today.