Project Description
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Photo – Andy Ford
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SLEEP TOKEN
‘EVEN IN ARCADIA’
Album Review
(9th May 2025)
Review by Missy Smiley
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Photo – Andy Ford
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If we didn’t already know it, Sleep Token have clearly stamped themselves as a once in a generation band with their fourth studio album. After several months of cryptic clues and tantalising treasure hunts, the anonymous UK metal band’s latest offering, Even In Arcadia, has arrived.
Masked sensations Sleep Token, are arguably the biggest band in metal right now, and the hype leading up to the release of this album has truly been something else to watch unfold. In February, fans first discovered the bands brand new TikTok account and mysterious website showmehowtodanceforever.com prompting fans to choose their allegiance to either House Veridian or The Feathered Host.
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What followed was several months of teasers, puzzles, and even getting metalhead weatherman Chris Michaels involved (what??) as they shared three new songs, and announced the impending album release with a mammoth U.S. tour. Although I have been a Sleep Token fan for the past few years, my puzzle solving skills are far lacking comparatively to the Swiftie levels of sleuthing I’ve witnessed over the course of three months. I did, however, have a great time watching things unfold. Some may have worried that such a build up would result in the album itself falling flat, but the genre-fluid band have delivered yet again with a stellar follow up to their critically acclaimed 2023 album Take Me Back To Eden.
The nearly 8 minute long Look To Windward doesn’t just open the album, it kicks the door open and storms in. What starts off with video-game-like 8-bit synth, slowly opens into Vessel’s hypnotisingly melodic voice, before steadily building to an orchestral level that is abruptly halted by guttural screams. Just when you thought it couldn’t get better, the track switches to hip hop, then back to stripped piano, before ending with more screams alongside powerful drums that really showcase drummer II’s talents. This was an excellent opening to the album.
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The aptly named Emergence was the first single pre-released, heralding the bands emergence into their next era. Expertly blending melodic storytelling with metal, the undeniably catchy toned down ‘arms around me’ provides an excellent contrast to the punchy instrumentals. And we can’t forget the Gabbi Rose – who tours with fellow genre-bender Bilmuri – feature that ends the song with dreamy saxophone that evokes the feeling of a late night cigarette on a balcony overlooking a busy cityscape.
Past Self and Dangerous showcase more of Sleep Token’s Hip Hop and Pop influences respectively and makes for an interesting gear change from the previous two heavier tracks. The band is well-known for including ‘easter eggs’ in their music and one can’t help but wonder if Past Self’s ‘are you gunna dance on the line with me’ or Dangerous’ ‘show me how to dance forever’ is a call-back to Ascensionism’s ‘won’t you come and dance in the dark with me’.
We then reach the second pre-released song, Caramel, which has not only been touted as a bit of a f**k you to fans who overstep boundaries with ‘every time they try to shout my real name, just to get a rise from me’ but is also a highly personal tale of the highs and lows of fame, and the frustration that can come when a fanbase tries to take control of a narrative. Sleep Token cleverly asks fans to remember the importance of the music and the band’s purpose with ‘everybody wants eyes on ‘em, I just wanna hear you sing that top line’; a message that is reminiscent of their infamous 2017 interview with Metal Hammer where Vessel stated “How we got here is as irrelevant as who we are – what matters is the music and the message. We are here to serve Sleep and project His message.”
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Title track Even In Arcadia opens with the now-recognisable music box tune from the teaser visuals, before we hear a piano riff that would also be familiar to dedicated fans as the sheet music that was shared as a puzzle in the lead up to the album announcement. This track, with its stripped back intro that builds and builds expertly showcases Sleep Token’s unfailing ability to escalate a song to a crescendo, is the most cinematic of the album. It evokes the feeling of a medieval ballad that has been passed down generation to generation which is accentuated with the violin outro.
The switch between music styles continues with Provider being reminiscent of an RnB love song with a catchy melody and more trap-like beats, followed by the Pop-y third and final pre-release Damocles. Here we see another potential ‘easter egg’ with the guitar riff in Damocles sounding eerily similar to Blacklit Canopy’s Don’t Let The World Swallow Me.
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The two final offerings perfectly round out the album with both tracks further showcasing Sleep Token’s ability to flawlessly blend genres to deliver winding, emotional tales. Gethsemane tells the tale of heartbreak or love lost and lends inspiration from trap breakdowns, midwest emo guitar, and even 1950’s rock ballads. It is one of their most vulnerable tracks from the album and explores the idea of relationships not always working out with ‘what might be good for your heart, might not be my head’. The concluding track, Infinite Baths, takes us back to the 8-bit sounding synth and soars to a tale of resilience and hope with ‘I have fought so long to be here I am never going back’ and ‘I’m finally here, I’m not leaving this time’. The 8 minute long epic roars into their heaviest breakdown on the album – akin to 2023’s Vore – and as Vessel’s gritty screams are carried out with rhythmic chugging guitar, I can’t help but feel like we are witnessing history unfolding with their latest offering. What a way to end an album!
All in all, Even In Arcadia feels like Sleep Token’s most personal album yet. Whilst we still see the storyline unfolding between Sleep and Vessel, we also see a raw and vulnerable discussion on fame; we have the duality of loving and hating where they are, and a continued theme of losing oneself represented in the tracks throughout. Although the band’s lore is intriguing and extensive, it’s their musicality and mixing of genres that hold the real intrigue for me and I feel as though we have been gifted with an album that not only truly showcases what Sleep Token is capable of, but also firmly announces that they are not done yet.
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Photo – Andy Ford
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Photo – Andy Ford
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