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Sleeping With Sirens is an American post-hardcore band formed in Florida in 2009, best known for frontman Kellin Quinn’s strikingly high, melodic voice and for becoming one of the defining acts of the 2010s post-hardcore wave alongside peers like Pierce the Veil and Of Mice & Men.
When Sleeping With Sirens broke through, the first thing most people noticed was the voice. Kellin Quinn’s soaring vocal range set the band apart in a crowded scene and helped push melodic post-hardcore toward the mainstream. This guide covers the band’s rise and the wider wave they rode. That 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, a style that swings between heavy, screamed sections and soaring clean choruses. Kellin Quinn’s unusually high tenor became the band’s signature, often mistaken for a female vocalist by first-time listeners. To understand exactly where this style sits, our explainer on post-hardcore vs screamo vs metalcore breaks down the family of genres.
Formation and Breakthrough
The band formed in 2009 and released its debut, With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear, in 2010. The follow-up, 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 off their melodic side. Their third album, Feel (2013), debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, a major milestone for a post-hardcore act and proof the wave had real commercial muscle.
The Post-Hardcore Wave
Sleeping With Sirens did not rise alone. The early 2010s produced a wave of melodic post-hardcore bands who toured together and shared fans, including Pierce the Veil, Of Mice & Men and the genre’s elder statesmen. Many of these bands grew out of the same underground that produced acts like blessthefall, whose return we covered when they shared the stream of “See You on the Outside”. The whole movement was tied together by relentless touring, especially on the festival explored in our history of Warped Tour.
- Kellin Quinn: the band’s distinctive high-tenor frontman.
- Breakthrough album: Feel (2013), a Billboard top-5 debut.
- Scene peers: Pierce the Veil, Of Mice & Men, blessthefall.
Many of these acts are still active in 2026, part of the broader story we tell in our feature on scene bands and where they are now.
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, which became part of the band’s distinctive 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 a commercial peak, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, one of the highest chart placements for a post-hardcore band of 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, frequently touring and collaborating with them.
The Bottom Line
Sleeping With Sirens helped carry melodic post-hardcore from underground clubs to the Billboard charts, powered by Kellin Quinn’s unmistakable voice. As part of a larger wave of 2010s bands, they proved screamed verses and arena-sized choruses could coexist, and they are still drawing crowds today.