SLEEP TOKEN - TAKE ME BACK TO EDEN
Fame and recognition in the music industry is a price that comes alongside the enjoyment of sharing your art with the world. The societal pressures of accompanying the artist with the art is a blessing and a curse, as fans can relate to the person behind the mask until they end up adopting obsessive tendencies towards band members, which can go as far as following them around in person. Alongside this, a completely different can of worms can be opened when the fanbase ends up disliking the art, leading to abusive behaviors towards people that while placed on a much higher pedestal in society, in reality, are no different from you and me.
There have been multiple occasions in which performers choose to remain anonymous, despite them now being known in public. The first projects of bands like Slipknot, Gorillaz, Daft Punk, and countless others, were surrounded by mystery and intrigue, as each of them respectfully pushed the boundary for artistic expression within music. Slipknot were the anonymous embodiment of rage, Gorillaz popularized the virtual band, a term which quite funny enough originated from Alvin and the Chipmunks in 1958, and Daft Punk revolutionized electronic music as we know it today. Before unmasking their identities, they created music for the sake of music, and while keeping a certain image to fit their own stories, kept their sound as the main focal point.
Enter Sleep Token. Debuting in September 2016 with their first single ‘Thread the Needle’, and later in the year their debut EP titled One, a shroud of mystery surrounded this new anonymous four-piece band, which seemed to have an impressive blend of sounds that consecutively took sharp turns jumping from genre to genre while keeping a fantastic pace throughout. With each release following One, it was easy to predict the peak in interest that the media and music consumers would have in Sleep Token. Shortly enough, the band would see publications the likes of Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, and many others covering their music and mystery, with people already speculating the identities of Vessel and his peers II, III, and IV.
Following the releases of exceptional albums Sundowning and This Place Will Become Your Tomb, alongside their consistent touring schedule, they quickly found a steady fanbase and a place within the scene, as metal’s latest modern mystery. Fast forward to the 5th and 6th of January 2023, and the release of new singles ‘Chokehold’ and ‘The Summoning’ had the music industry in an uproar. Both tracks were captivating, with Vessel’s vocals sharper than they have ever been, quality wise, Sleep Token’s sound design had reached an all-time high, with the first single featuring haunting synths and piano work, that slowly reach a spectacular crescendo at the end of the song. While both songs were captivating, it was in fact ‘The Summoning’ that not only generated excitement for what was to come but skyrocketed them to worldwide fame. The excellent pacing and mix of their signature sound of light versus heavy topped off with a smooth funky two-minute outro, was a massive success with their listeners, and saw them jump from 300,000 monthly listeners to 2,100,000 within the span of a couple of weeks, and rightly so.
Keeping a smart marketing strategy alongside them, those two weeks of growth were followed by the releases of two more singles on the 19th and 20th of January, ‘Granite’ and ‘Aqua Regia’. All singles seemed to follow the pattern of seamless transitioning and featured emotionally charged lyrics coinciding with the interesting story and world that the band had created from the release of their first single in 2016. ‘Aqua Regia’ in particular could easily be recognised as one of the band’s best songs full stop, with its phenomenal instrumentals and vocals. While it was the calmest of the four singles released, it puts Sleep Token’s talent on full blast and features moments that quite honestly will leave the listener amazed.
Take Me Back To Eden was officially announced on the 16th of February 2023, with the release of the fifth single ‘Vore’. This song was a genuine surprise, and a surprise that hadn’t been seen since the release of Sundowning in 2019, quite specifically with the song ‘Gods’. The raw brutality from the first few seconds of the track is a complete 180 from what Sleep Token’s audience is used to but makes all the sense in the world considering their own motives and musical structure. From high-pitched screaming verses accompanied by crushing guitar and drum work to a fantastic high-energy chorus and peaceful midsection, only to end again with a memorable breakdown, ‘Vore’ is a fantastic reminder of who Sleep Token are, and the unpredictability that comes with their identity as a band.
The final single, ‘DYWTYLM’, was released on the 20th of April 2023, a few weeks before the album release, and it was interesting, to say the least. This song takes a more pop-like approach, with an electronic instrumental that sounds similar to what one would describe as raindrops falling onto a synth keyboard. While it is one of their more conventional songs, the evolving instrumental that comes along with each chorus throughout its 4-minute duration keeps it interesting to listen to.
With the release of the album on the 19th of May 2023, the singles took a whole new meaning upon them. Under the context of the full album, they are beautifully tragic, as Take Me Back To Eden brings a conclusion to a fantastic musical trilogy, that might have a storyline in place, but aims to bring individual interpretation to each listener.
Raising discussion around themes of, depression, self-discovery, problematic relationships, and the interactions between Vessel and the character mentioned in all three albums, “Sleep”, each song has meaning and reason for its creation and placement within the album. They all follow a moment in time in which Vessel has dealt with certain traumatic memories or occasions, examples being the beautifully haunting ‘Are You Really Okay?’ and ‘The Apparition’, which tackle the serious topics of self-harm, anxiety, and depression, and in all honesty prove to be a quite difficult listen.
The highlight of the album however comes in the form of the sixth track, ‘Ascensionism’. It sees Vessel walk his audience through a manipulative and deceptive relationship. Standing at 7 minutes long it evolves from a slow piano intro, into R&B verses that merge with a fantastic and heavy-hitting breakdown and outro. It is easily the best song on the album and one that fully represents Sleep Token’s core. The penultimate and title track follows this structure in a similar style, and while its breakdown is probably the heaviest Sleep Token have been, the seamlessness and quality of ‘Ascensionism’ respectfully places it as the more memorable song out of the two.
The finale to this trilogy, ‘Euclid’, is an extraordinary closer to this fantastic album. The first half of the song features Vessel and his piano, calling back to old songs either from the current or the previous two albums released. It is a nice nod to their past discography, and it gives the feeling of closure, as the band hint towards venturing into new territory in future releases. It isn’t however until the final minutes of the song, in which everything comes full circle.
I don’t usually get personal or speak from my own viewpoint in my reviews, however, I can’t fully explain the importance of this song unless doing so now. Very rarely do I get teary during album listens, only a few albums have brought out that sense of vulnerability and melancholy. This was the case with ‘Euclid’s final minutes however, as the chorus of ‘The Night Does Not Belong to God’, the opening track from their debut album served as the closing moments of Take Me Back To Eden. It’s creation of a loop between the three albums show humanity for what it is.
With all the themes surrounding emotions and what it means to be human, I believe Sleep Token have created a masterpiece in what some consider to be storytelling, but what I believe to be a metaphorical passage into humanity, and the ups and downs of being alive. Each song in retrospect becomes so unpredictable sonically because we as humans have unpredictable emotions and understandably have the tendency to go through a rollercoaster of what we feel in a short span of time. It’s a genius way of converting day-to-day emotions into a sonic form, and it makes every song they have released so much more meaningful and interesting to listen to.
It's why at the end of the day I don’t think that the identities behind the masks really matter because music like this serves the sole purpose of bringing out emotions and discussing timeless, and relatable topics through the art of writing and recording, whether that be through a metaphorical story or not. The Vessel towards acceptance, reminiscence, and dealing with your own traumas and past experiences sit at the very core of Sleep Token, and throughout the span of 4 years with the release of Sundowning leading up to now, they have done exactly that. I’m looking forward to what the Vessels have in store in their future releases.
Take Me Back To Eden serves not only as a finale to a trilogy of fantastic albums, but reminds its listeners that behind anyone’s mask, is an imperfect human being, and learning to accept that while recognising the loop of having difficult moments just as equal as positive ones, serves as a key to processing life and humanity.
Daniel Tsourekas
★★★★★