ALBUM REVIEW: Sleep Token - Even in Arcadia
The most anticipated Offering fans have been waiting for. Even In Arcadia is now at our hands, gifted by Sleep Token after months of sending the most dedicated on wild goose chases to decipher and break complex codes to ultimately drip feed the most mysterious pieces of puzzles, to prepare fans the most heart wrenching, soul destroying album to date.
Look To Windward- Opening with an ominous ringing, retro synth in the forefront whilst stings and orchestra softly build up in the background of the first few verses. I love that there is space to breathe and Vessel has a chance to demonstrate his vocal ranges and control even though it is creatively drowned in some effects. I feel that Vessel is questioning his faith in himself and his ascension and what to do with his new direction “Am I walking With Gods or Stumbling forth?” I also love the focus on the lyrics “You Know I live by the Feather and Die by the Sword” which is the concept built around this album of fetching factions into play The Feathered Host representing change and ending a cycle whilst House Veridian representing tradition and continuation.
The subtle build in later verses of “Will you halt this eclipse in me” before hammering down a devastatingly brutal breakdown, is quite chilling and really gets the approval of all headbangers. With beautiful ethereal slow soloing riffs that really elevate the intensity before dropping into some infernal pulsating rap beats that set the tone how Vessel views himself through the eyes of Sleep through some parallels of the popular bible interpretations “I am the Demon of Sodom, I am the blood of an angel, The fate of the fallen” that refers to Lucifer losing his wings and becoming Satan. This song at a glance could be mistaken for two tracks in one but continues and flows and paints quite a complex picture.
Following on, Emergence is quite a complex track opening with serene synths, open airy piano and gentle vocals, before splitting it’s personality and creating tightness with “Go Ahead and wrap your arms around me…” the guitars switch from light and clean to edgy and erratic and vocals dip into distortion and back to that infernal tone Sleep Token have created with Vessel spitting with force a few bars. Fans have agreed that the “Whoop” in the background is quite satisfying.
The texture of the track continually builds in brutality, the guitars becoming more vicious upon returning verses and then taking quite a sharp turn back to serenity in the chorus.
It’s a song that again, mashes little ideas together from different genres that, seems rather jarring however fits together nicely and when you think that you’ve had enough whiplash from the song it takes you through another “wtf” moment upon introducing a soulful saxophone solo by Gabi Rose (Bulmuri) that takes Emergence to a serene close.
Perhaps a parallel to Legend of Zelda’s Fairy Fountain, Past Self, opens with light warm arpeggiated chimes and an upbeat trap rhythm. I find it a little ironic that I and many other fans have made the similarities and one of the first lyrical lines are “...You know it’s not a game or a fantasy”. This track is rather repetitive in itself with subtle changes, acapella, and harmonies. It lacks the hardness of the past tracks and feels like it stands on its own. Or rather compared to the richness in any of the tracks on the album, this is very stripped back and is almost like the odd one out.
Dangerous Is sensuous and has an aura of a wounding romance, it holds smoother synthesis of a myriad of genres, taking into account of the iconic dark iconic guitar chimes that sounds like an evolved tone from “This Place Will Become Your Tomb” (and would sit nicely on that album). There’s a floating ache in the vocals with a bassier pulse in bass that builds tension and drops into a staggered sultry EDM beat. The heavier guitars and drums drop in the last quarter of the song transitioning this heartbreak pop song into metallic waters. The closing lyrics “Will you show me how to dance forever?” are so devastating in tone that any fan will swoon.
Keeping with the theme of heartbreak, Caramel visits a theme that goes beyond Vessel, it is the man behind the mask that is now taking over the narrative, talking about his struggles with his new fame, struggles with fans that are trying to expose his identity and how the stage now feels like a prison. Fans have taken to social media since the release of this single to promise to do better by the band, after sifting over the reveal of such emotionally raw turmoil. The track opens with such gentle, sorrowful chimes of a music box. The music in the chorus creates kind of an opposite effect, uplifting into a danceable section, which confuses my brain a little bit; should I dance or cry… or both?
After a few A and B verses there is a breakdown that is quite punishing in depth with desperate screams to be heard before going back to the music box and leaving with a last few gentle blows for the listener to absorb. A song that is pure emotion.
Even in Arcadia Is The song we didn’t know we were waiting for! The opening music box we’ve been hearing in the teasers and promotional content, were not some throw away teaser for the visuals. It was in fact in this very song! The revelation and excitement makes me appreciate the attention to detail this band goes through, that every aspect of them is very much intentional.
When the piano cuts in it shifts to something so cinematic, so chilling, that I can’t find words to describe how much deeper this song goes, yet still manages to find depth beyond that. It brings a yearning ache to the song.
It feels like it should be slotted into a slow-motion section of a battle, where the character is now realising that despite his efforts and hope, he was always destined to lose. “Turns out the Gods we thought were dyin’, were just sharpening their blades…” It is sonically grand and intimate, and when you feel like you have felt every emotion your hit further and Oh boy the moment that truly broke me, was the desperate, shattering scream “Have you been waiting Long?” It truly earned it’s right to be my favourite track on the album.
Then when you have truly felt a cataclysmic depressing emotional shift through Caramel and Even in Arcadia. Provider catapults you into another sensual number, giving the listener emotional whiplash. This one is very much a pop-focused track that is a dark-romance reader's fantasy come true. Vessel whispering into the ears of listeners saying all the right things. A A Lovers entwine in music format.
And when things start sounding somewhat on an uplifting note Damocles, shifts you back into the depression pit, however, arming you with a sense of hope and friendship with the band, like they’re outstretching a hand. However, the story behind Damocles is his views on how power and wealth is the ultimate goal in life; however, tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse, Taught Damocles that there is so much danger in power and wealth and is actually the most vulnerable position. Sleep Token have taken this story to describe the sword above their heads about their fame and position within the music industry as something very fragile.
Very rich for story and morals. It still holds that pop-focused melody, however, shifts into a heavy percussion section, demonstrating II’s skills of deep fills and rolls, this is key to push that uplifting section and is impressive to hear.
Gethsemane really threw me when introducing such heavily progressive guitar melodies in an almost complex math-rock way, when you're just about to sit in your feelings, this really takes you out of it and Vessel really takes his power back and pushes onward. This track takes the album to an even higher plain. I must admit this is the least played track, or the least amount of my attention is given to it, however when I do tune in, it really does have my heart in a chokehold.
Infinite Baths is another track I rarely pay enough attention to and it really does blow you away. It feels like a revelation. It Feels like coming to the final chapter of a book that a character really deserved their happy ending despite all of the turmoil and pain they have gone through. It feels like hope personified. It is the ideal track to end on for it washes away the dark that the other tracks exposed the listeners to… or at least that’s how it portrays for now…
The subtle flange and hazy section really threw me until I came back to familiarity with the vocal screams that really sounded like something from The Sundowing era.
And just as Look To Windward was long and winding, Infinite Baths follows the same formula of longevity and twists before truly reflecting and looping back on “Will You Halt this Eclipse in me?” it took brutality to another level coming down hard for the final time.
Overall - Even with insights to Vessel’s raw and intimate feelings toward stardom, fame and healing and self-discovery. There is still no show of outward reveal of the person he is and It still holds intrigue. This album adds another chapter to the already flavourful deep lore we all love and know and stands beautifully next to Take Me to Eden.
Sleep Token will always keep the listener surprised with its ever driving twists, turns and unexpected tonal shifts. They were never a band to be pinpointed to a genre and have always been sonically pristine. I’ve seen other reviews hating the fact they’re not completely metal or infused with so many genres and you can’t give a bad rating because music is not in a box a person wants it to. Not having a genre makes them so likeable amongst different groups of people, it gives them access to the band, rather than gatekept to a certain genre and community. Even though they lean much more into R&B rap and pop this time than previous albums, There is still the element of metal and the progression is going beyond what we can estimate. There is no rinse and repeat, it’s going deeper and exploring intrinsically.
Even In Arcadia exceeded my expectations to a higher level I couldn’t fully comprehend but I would say it is a Painting, a beautiful painting. As I may have briefly said of sorts, Sleep Token is human emotion personified and amplified. Vessel masterfully blends precision and unfiltered emotion. Concepts and imagery that are very poetic complex and are the very essence of art. Their music plays an indispensable role - a living heart beat, tying all things together.
And with further promotion quoting the band “The Battle Continues” I’m excited to see how they will exceed Even In Arcadia in the near future.
