Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Sleep Token - Take Me Back to Eden (2023)
I've seen this band Sleep Token getting mentioned a lot lately in different sites. With their new album being this month's Gateway feature release, I thought it would be the right time to find out what the hype is about. And let me tell you, this is one of the best albums to combine pop and metal in my life!
Having just come back from headlining a tour in Australia, Sleep Token started getting ready for an immense comeback that is Take Me Back to Eden! Pretty much half of their album was released as 6 singles one by one in the 5 months leading up to its release. Apparently, this album concludes a trilogy that began with their first two albums. Mixing heartful melodies and reflective lyrics with metal guitars, Take Me Back to Eden breaks the boundaries of heavy music and pays off with graceful strides.
A true blessing was unleashed with first single "Chokehold", as the beautiful synths and vocals welcome you to Eden. What's incredible is the ethereal atmosphere that you just gotta hear! The next day, listeners get to hear "The Summoning", with heavier breakdowns leading up to a soulful bass/vocals ending. The song is highly popular on Spotify, and I can understand why. Next single "Granite" has some energy though in an R&B/trap direction. The lyrics have frontman Vessel standing up for himself, which fits well for the album's tone. "Aqua Regia" continues to descend from the dynamics with just a minimalistic instrument lineup of bass, drums, and piano, as Vessel continues rising with his vocals that are like Imagine Dragons but better.
"Vore" sharply turns into blackgaze. Vessel takes on vicious screaming while drummer II blasts through with rapid drumming which, combined with intense guitar heaviness, adds beautiful ambient darkness that sounds so killer. "Ascensionism" ascends through 7 minutes of sonic emotion. Melancholic piano and delicate vocals start things off before an atmospheric buildup. Then we switch to that electronic trap beat as Vessel takes on autotuned rap-ish singing that I would rather hear from him instead of T-Pain. Just listen to that personality! Things get tense as another verse builds, and finally, a heavy breakdown occurs, a little more touching piano, and then ground-pounding finale. "Are You Really Okay?" is worth some praise as a sad yet uplifting ballad with clean guitar. The lyrics head down in esoteric depths as they warn you about mental health and the dangers of self-harm. "The Apparition" is similar with more of the harmonic vocals, clean guitars, serene synths, and programmed drums, before the djent comes again.
"DYWTYLM" may be a fan divider, but the sparse instrumentation is something great to love. "Rain" will have people clapping along in live shows, especially to the infectious chorus, "Rain down on me". The 8-minute title epic really nails the structure. In a garden of birds, Vessel sings in tranquility before lyrics of mental state are semi-rapped. The ending climax has Vessel screaming in pretty much the heaviest breakdown of the album. "Euclid" ends it all in bittersweet hope with the last of Vessel's vocals here. The album and trilogy may be over, but who knows what's next in the future of this band?
Take Me Back to Eden shows Sleep Token experimenting in beautiful greatness, and in the end, we have a lot of emotional complexity to explore that will have you wanting more once you try it. I was given a chance to check out the hype, and it was well worth the ride!
Favorites: "Chokehold", "The Summoning", "Vore", "Ascensionism", "DYWTYLM", "Take Me Back to Eden"