Sleep Token "Take Me Back to Eden" Review
Listening to Sleep Token is an experience that goes beyond getting caught up in the heady guitar solos and powerful percussion. You have to also invest some attention to the lyrics to pick up on the references to serpents, floods, and Eden. The metal band hailing from London, England presents for consumption a beast of an album, Take Me Back To Eden. Several singles featured on the album are available on streaming platforms and have been received in a huge way, now to see if the rest of the album lives up to the hype.
My introduction to Sleep Token came in the form of “The Summoning”. As someone who never thought I would enjoy metal music, I am glad that I am willing to try anything at least once because they proved me wrong. Sultry from top to bottom with provocative lyrics “Something you say or something you do, the taste of the divine,” in this case the instrumentals, not only carry but add emphasis to the vocal delivery. The first of a handful of tracks on the album that have over a six-minute runtime, it is well worth every second spent listening. If you happen to be looking for a new song to throw on a playlist for a push to finish strong, this will do the job very nicely.
The midpoint of the album, “Ascensionism” features beautiful piano, caressing vocals, this song is a tease talking about a “dark-lipped paradise.” Rocking from heavy metal to an emphasis on choral-esque vocals and punching the volume back up with gritty guitar and smashing percussion - like waves hitting on a cliffside, gentle as the tide pulls out before crashing back into the shore. If Sleep Token does one thing well it's having an absolutely killer drop and change to close out the final minutes of a track, this is featured several times on Take Me Back To Eden.
“Are You Really Okay?” is sonically the softest song on the album by far and lyrically a bit of a heartbreaker. With lyrics speaking on seeing through the pretense, I can see this one making folks cry, as it gives the feeling of being seen through the facade to the person inside. The opening chords remind me of a 70’s classic folk-rock song, carrying steady through the duration, it adds a comforting sense to the song. These are without a doubt my favorite songs on the album and will be played in heavy rotation for the foreseeable future.
The entire album is a testament to the range that frontman, Vessel, possesses but I have to give special mention to “Rain”. Sleep Token has an ethereal aspect achieved by soft, whisper-like vocals strategically mixed in with the more traditional vocal stylings of the metal genre.
The mark of what makes a truly great album for me is balance and Take Me Back To Eden has just the right blend of delicate and riotous, without sacrificing the power behind any song.
10/10