(Review/Rant) Sleep Token - Even In Arcadia
Somewhere in there, “II” is trying to find a way out.
What Even Is Metal?
So, Sleep Token, ever the conversation starter in the r/elitistmetal communities I run into.
But upfront, i’ll answer the simple question: Are they METAL? Sure.
As is Bad Omens, or Electric Callboy, or Issues. It’s pop infused, distorted down-tuned guitar driven music, simple as that.
Anyway.
The real question “I” have is, what the fuck happened?
See, i’m not going to sit here and have a conversation as to whether or not Sleep Token are good or are whatever genre you want to lop them in, but rather, I will stick to talking about whether or not they are good, to me.
And, to me, they are. VERY GOOD. But after this album, they could have done so much better.
Chokehold
A bit of preamble. (skip ahead to the next section for the actual review)
So my fandom(and others, hatred) sparked probably the same time most people had: The Summoning.
A massive junt of a riff to get things started and the sultry smooth stylings of vocalist Vessel in the forefront. Leading you into Sleep Token’s unorthodox brand of Metal. A showcase of Vessels unique sounding range from soft, honey infused lows to black metal shriek-like highs.
But what got me in the front door, is the drumming of the man known as “II” (TWO). The riffs are for sure, chunky, and i’m all for that but my guy II fills in some incredible drum work on what otherwise would be pretty standard fare in terms of the “Metal” in ST. What really set this one apart was of course the section that took TikTok by storm, the sexy jazz outro. You add all that together with the ambience and synths and you got Sleep Token. And i was pretty hooked.
That led me down their discography, mostly just the big songs. It gave me an idea of the evolution of their sound that led to The Summoning. Pretty much just pop infused HEVY guitar driven stuff, I liked what i heard.
But, what made me a fan, and what gives me the biggest high that i’m still trying to chase with them:
The Offering.
Holy. Fucking. Shit. This song absolutely rips. It showcases everything I’ve come to enjoy about ST, everything I WANT them to still build on. The drumming on this song, my god, II is a monster on here from the opening section with nasty fills of the main groove that is infectiously catchy. The guitars basically just follow a simple chord progression and II fills that in with so much color, so much variety in the drumming it’s incredible. When Vessel kicks in, is when the songs pattern of stop/start pacing begin to show up. A common thread in their music I’ve come to learn. Not inherently a bad thing. In fact, as I’ll soon describe, when the pattern works, and the build up to the big crescendo hits. Frankly, it’s orgasmic. So the song goes from slow synthy ambience back to the main beat that I’ve yet to perfect on my own kit. Then we go back down again. Then we soar higher the next go round, the chorus building up to it’s apex of angelic cleans from Vessel, then when he lets go of that last note. The build up begins. What follows is what I can only describe as, the greatest fucking build up to a breakdown I’ve possibly ever heard. It starts with muffled guitars playing the final riff of the track and the drum’s floor toms pounding in pure heavy rhythmic pummeling. Slowly more guitars pull in, building in intensity, Vessel’s chant of “take a bite” echoing throughout. Finally the last shrill of “TAKE A BITE” hits, cymbals roll then *CRASH*. The big boomy riff dominates the senses with II’s drumming caving in your chest with FORCE. It’s reminiscent of Mick Gordon’s best work from Doom filled in with the best drumming in the modern scene.
This, right here, is what I want from Sleep Token. Just watch this beast.
Take Me Back To Eden
Now, as I have probably established already, im a fan. And I largely enjoyed their last album Take Me Back To Eden, save for a couple sections where i felt it drags after awhile. But it contained what i’ve come to expect: Catchy, boomy riffs. Melodic vocals. Insane drum work.
With their latest outing and (finally) the subject of this post, Even In Arcadia. I feel a lot of the magic is lost.
With the first single Emergence, we almost get a formula recreation of The Summoning but with a ratio switch up of 75 percent synthy pop and 25 percent actual riffage. And again at the end, we have the Tiktok moment with the saxophone solo. But this time i feel like it’s aping what got them views with The Summoning rather than the actual meat and potatoes of it.
It’s just so formulaic and an unfortunate sign of things to come with 95 percent of this record.
Caramel drops and is largely what Sugar was in their first record, a repetitive yet catchy hook throughout the entire song with very little meat on the bones until, yet another Tiktok bait section with the double bass and black metal shrieks that come out of complete nowhere.
It feels so unearned and out of place. Like if the whole song was just the catchy line with the soft/heavy/soft/heavy pattern, it would have been fine. But it threw something BOLD in for the sake of it.
And that’s not to say they’ve never done this kind of thing before, but back then it was done with a bit more nuance, a bit more finesse in the songwriting to make it feel earned. *gestures towards The Offering*
Damocles drops and to me is a largely forgettable synthy pop track and i’m already getting bummed out at this point, i didn’t need this.
II’s drumming is the only thing saving these first 3 songs for me, and as i later find out, really the whole album.
But really, nothing saved this album for me on drop.
Do You Wish That You Loved Me?
Why, yes album, I do wish I loved you.
Because right from the start, Look To Windward we get 3 whole minutes of buildup, with(like Emergence) another repetitive line droning throughout. The big drop hits and it’s pretty good, then it just, ends abruptly? And we’re back down to synthy pop with one last hurrah at the end with a big riff…ok?
Then comes Emergence(see above).
Past Self hits and it’s 100 percent hip hop/pop. Alright, that’s fine. Fans will love that.
Dangerous continues the slow streak with a slow riff towards the end. I’m like, ok it’s getting tiring, but i’m still waiting for a Vore-like beatdown track here.
Then it’s Caramel(again, see above). Uhh, it’s getting samey here guys.
The Title Track is a piano driven affair and i think it was at this point where i might have lost some hope for a heavy track when so far the heaviest track was the first single, not a good sign.
Provider is a more catchy track but again, its an 80/20 pop to heavy ratio. Again, Pop fans rejoice.
Then its Damocles(^^^^^) And it was here that I conceded that this album isn’t for me. The formula hasn’t changed and has stuck to the largely pop heavy antics, which for me is disappointing.
I liked their balance or if it was gonna be pop heavy, it was catchy as all hell. Aqua Regia is one of my favorite tracks from Eden, and it’s pretty much just a catchy pop tune, fuckin great song. Nothing here so far even comes close to that in any of the pop tracks.
But when all hope was lost, Gethsamane kicks in, and it was the only track on the album to perk up the ears. It takes a minute of course to hit, but after the slow starting section, what follows is a section of what I can only call, Polyphia-like. II’s drumming shines bright as hell here and i’m loving the formula change. Sure, it’s similar to something i’ve heard before but this is Sleep Token and II specifically doing it. The moment doesn’t last long, but the track does have enough tempo and mood changes that harken back to Eden’s best tracks. By FAR the best song on the record and a small glimmer of hope that next time, we focus more on THIS.
And, uh, Tim Henson? Get II on the next Polyphia record please and thank you.
And we saved the worst for last, Infinite Baths.
Talk about a huge build up to nothing. It’s largely a slow track, again, fine. But we’re back on formula with Vessel taking control as he does. A big chord riff section gets us excited for a bit, then we temper expectations for the build up. We get the black metal shrieks popping in here, a rarity now, then big boomy riffs aplenty with II carrying the load. But then the song just repeats to a fade with the same riff for 2 straight minutes and it’s almost the same riff note for note as the opener…like, what? That’s how we’re ending it?
Fuck. Dude i was upset after this song ended.
Here, take the penultimate track of Eden, which was….Eden. (Take Me Back To Eden to be exact) It had the usual slow ethereal build up, but it’s more atmospheric, very Eden-like, if you will. Rain drops, reverb heavy clean guitar, that kind of stuff. Then the main verse/chorus hits a couple minutes in, but it still sounds very on theme, a TON of reverb here. Then hip hop beat hits, a section that had been established from Ascensionism. It fades into a piano section, almost as if we have reached said Eden. Vessel taking center stage the whole way. We hit the chorus again, we build up higher and higher with a callback line from the opening track then-FUCKING HEAD CAVE IN RIFF HITS…and now I have, indeed, came to Eden. And then it fades out, and that’s how it ends. My favorite track from the album. Incredible stuff.
I always feel like that should have closed instead of Euclid, but that song feels more like a victory lap melody track anyway so i’ll allow it.
But THAT felt like a closer, Infinite Baths felt like the opener, samey formulaic stuff this time with a fade out.
Disappointing.
Are You Really Okay?
And that’s Even In Arcadia. A huge step back from Take Me Back To Eden. Nothing new except for Gethsemane and I REALLY wanted more of that, or even a HEVY Vore-like track with a huge emphasis of Vessels screams and II’s grooves, just to see how big we can go. But nah man, we have fully indulged the TikTok pop fans with this one. They do seem to really connect with Vessel, and that’s cool. But while i’m happy to see a guitar driven band get some success, I had hoped it wouldn’t have been at the sacrifice of music quality because, for me, this wasn’t it. I’ve heard better, MUCH better from them. Am I a metal snob? Eh, maybe. But I definitely ain’t gonna trash them because they happen to focus on poppy lyrical content versus the instrumentals. I lean very heavily into the musical content before the lyrical content of what i listen to (unless of course a hook snatches me up then forget it) seeing as I play both guitar and drums, that’s what I tend to focus on.
But now, I kinda just want II with other groups and let Vessel do what he does by himself for a bit. Because it feels like he’s got II stuck in the pop trenches and that’s like forcing Neil Peart to do trap beats with just a keyboard. Barbaric.
Hmm, I haven’t scored an album since….wow my first post.
Uhm, ok here:
Rating: 4/10
Favorite Track: Gethsemane
See you all next time! (Hopefully not too long for the next one)