In just nine years and across three albums, Sleep Token have done the unthinkable: taken over the world. From underground curiosities to Download Festival headliners, their rise has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Forget the masks – I couldn’t care less. And ignore the fact that it would take someone three seconds on Google to figure out who Vessel really is. Strip away the theatrics, the layers, the bullshit backstory, and what you’ve got is a band that sits at the vanguard of modern progressive music.
“Even In Arcadia” opens with “Look To Windward,” a fragile, delicate piece—until, halfway through, it explodes. Genuinely heavy and genuinely unexpected, it sets the tone perfectly. Sleep Token do what they want, when they want. The track shifts into an electronic dance vibe, with Vessel “walking with God” before it crushes itself into oblivion.
“Emergence” flirts with rap before ballooning into something massive and stadium-sized. The overt pop of “Past Self” is what happens when you give yourself full artistic freedom, and that sense of liberation runs through the entire album, including the shimmering “Dangerous.”
“Left foot in the roses, right foot on the landmine,” Vessel sings on “Caramel,” before turning on those who “use my real name just to get a rise out of me.” It’s a moment that hints at the pressures that come with fame—and the weight of being massive now.
The title track is bold and fearless, and totally in line with the album’s ethos.
There’s a hypnotic, meditative quality to “Provider.” Like much of this album, it’s not concerned with instant gratification. The slow builds and long payoffs are the reward.
At their best, it’s the keyboards that drive Sleep Token’s sound. “Damocles” is a standout, its synth foundation propelling the song into something transcendent.
Nothing here is short or sweet. Like “Gethsemane,” these tracks live and breathe on their own terms, with their own internal rhythm. The closing “Infinite Baths” is the longest piece here, and two-thirds of the way through—for absolutely no reason—it turns into a death metal track. It’s as cold and searing as anything Ihsahn ever did.
And that’s why you have to respect Sleep Token. Even if they’re not always easy to love. Festival headliners are meant to “Rock and Roll All Nite” or get you “Thunderstruck.” They’re not meant to be… well, this.
But they are. And ultimately, Sleep Token are so massive now that it barely matters what anyone thinks. That said, “Even In Arcadia” is as bold as it is brave—and easily the most out there release they’ve made to date.
Rating: 7.5/10
