Sleep Token – Even In Arcadia

Written by on 07-06-2025 at 09:20.

Gatekeepers, sharpen your pitchforks, light that fuse and say a Hail Mary backwards. We’re about to discuss the latest offering, Even In Arcadia, from your favorite English sleep inducers Sleep Token. Are the wrinkles on your forehead dripping with sweat yet? I bet they are when I tell you that we’re talking about a healthy dose of pop, trip-hop, trap beats, expansive intros and then a dash – thinner than the lines they hand out in Antwerp these days – of heavy guitars. So hurry to the comments section to scorn. Your taste is ultimately superior of course. The rest of us are going to worship. It’s inevitable.

That the band is taking steps in the musical landscape is – to put it mildly – a half miracle. Neither heavy downtuned guitars, nor long, expansive intros, nor songs of seven+ minutes are ingredients that are appreciated in the mainstream. Yet Sleep Token here bring their mainstream debut on a gigantic record label with label mates such as Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Tate McRae and erm … Tool. And just like the latter, Sleep Token remains very much itself and has even turned that atypical typical eclectic mix up a notch. Admittedly, there are slightly less heavy moments to be found than on predecessor Take Me Back To Eden, but the song structures are anything but accessible. The fact that Sleep Token is starting to become radio darlings and currently even beats the streaming figures of Judas Priest or Iron Maiden is therefor even more difficult to explain.

One only has to put on the opener Look To Windward to be immediately carried away by swelling synths that become richer and richer while Vessel croons in a restrained manner. Despite the enormous production, Vessel sounds denser, more naked and more honest than on much of their previous work. The production does its bit to help the often slow build-up of the songs evolve better. It’s in the details such as the transition from Look To Windward to Emergence, or in very striking things such as the trap beats that dominate many songs.

A song like Caramel follows that typical Sleep Token formula, but the band weaves in the necessary poetry here. The song starts off sweet as disjointed crystals clump together and melt on an urban clave rhythm. That burnt, sticky complexity comes rushing in when II gives the best of himself on the drums under that same sweet vocals. ‘Too young to get bitter over it all, too old to retaliate like before‘. Guilty pleasures everywhere. Until Caramel burns black with post-black vocals and the necessary blast beats. Sleep Token avant la lettre, but never before have the puzzle pieces fallen into place so beautifully. Even In Arcadia feels a bit more lighthearted than the dark trilogy that brought up the band. Especially the second half of the album sways in that direction with more emphasis on piano, a bizarrely optimistic atmosphere in Damocles and even bouncy math rock on Gethsemane: a hidden gem. The demonic trip-hop synthwave meets Deftones it degenerates into is top-notch and can be placed right in Crosses‘ line.

Closing track Infinite Baths feels like a more epic best-of collection of the previous songs and is an instant favorite with its length and excessive – but oh so welcome – heavy section. A reference to Deftones from the Diamond Eyes era is never far away. The fade in the heavy riff shows that the band is certainly not throwing the build-up to heavy guitars away and is perhaps an ideal pretext for future work?

On Even In Arcadia the emphasis is more on keys, electronics – also in the drums – and synthesizers. The production shines in all its melancholic beauty. Especially the drums are recorded crystal clear. The injection of pop elements into the kit only elevates the whole thing. But is this still metal? Well, lock up your family with Infinite Baths and watch the skulls roll across the floor. ‘Teeth of God, Blood of Man, I will Be, What I Am‘. The heavy passages also benefit from the improved production. The guitar is very close to what Deftones presents to us on Diamond Eyes and tears like a chainsaw in harmony with Vessel’s voice. The fact that the band uses their heavy weaponry more sparsely here makes the performance all the more effective.

Sleep Token takes a major step forward towards mainstream success without losing a single bit of experiment or originality. I only know a handful of examples, of which label mates Tool are one, that can do that. The fact that the band takes its damned time with intros and there is little tempo in the whole is a known evil that is not solved or even addressed here. Better still, every song starts calmly and mysteriously this time. But the production thrives and gives the band even more buttons on the console. If you open yourself up to it and let yourself be carried away, you will forgive Sleep Token more quickly and you will get a lot in return. Even In Arcadia is the band’s most consistent and captivating album. For the first time, the eclectic mix comes into its own for a full album. Caramel, Gethsemane and Infinite Baths are highlights, yet every song has value on this work. On Even In Arcadia you won’t find intros that start with knees in the air and guitars in ‘murder’ mode. This death is slow, seductive and unexpected.

Score:

89/100

Label:

RCA Records, 2025

Tracklisting:

  1. Look To Windward
  2. Emergence
  3. Past Self
  4. Dangerous
  5. Caramel
  6. Even In Arcadia
  7. Provider
  8. Damocles
  9. Gethsemane
  10. Infinite Baths

Line-up:

  • Vessel – Vocals
  • II – Drums
  • III – Guitar
  • IV – Bass guitar

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