Sleep Token - "Take Me Back To Eden"

Disparate elements come together in a cohesive overall sound

This might be the album I’ve been waiting on. At some point this year, I knew something would need to blow by everything that I’d heard so far. As good as the efforts from Haken, Gracie Abrams, NF, Melanie Martinez, and Isole are…none of them truly feel like AOTY contenders.

This one does.

Sleep Token is still a new-to-me band. “Take Me Back to Eden” is only their third album (and apparently wraps up a complete trilogy), but I hadn’t heard about them before seeing their name blowing up in my Prog spaces (RIP Reddit) the week after this one released. But their sound is a mind-blowing amalgam that is nevertheless incredibly cohesive despite its disparity.

The core is prog metal. And, honestly, these days that doesn’t, in itself, say much. Prog Metal has become expansive as the genre’s leading acts all lead in different directions. However, no other genre plays with meter and rhythm the way prog does. Then, there’s the djenty guitar, which is a staple in some sectors of the genre. Lastly, there’s the strong metalcore elements - the bombast of the bass line (example: the drop about halfway through “The Apparation”, and about a third of the way through “Rain”) is indicative of this sub/genre, as are the glossy-to-harsh vocals which are evident throughout (though the harsh only comes out in two or three tracks, the gloss is there throughout).

Then, to that proggy foundation, add in strong electronic and R&B elements, including some pseudo-rapped sections. Then there are sections that seem to stand alone, such as the last funky minute-and-a-half of “The Summoning”.

The instrumentation jumps from light or barely there to a full-on wall of sound to stripped-down percussion-forward to something else. Sometimes it reduces to a lighter rock sound, as in “Are You Really Okay?”; sometimes it’s raw Prog/Metalcore, as in “The Summoning”. It’s eclectic and diverse, but it feels very natural in its execution, because the album is clearly emotionally driven.

Without having heard the first two albums (so lacking prior context), the album seems to be about returning to a relationship that was, at points, toxic. The emotions on display are deep and complex, with faults being detailed on both sides, but with an overarching feeling of loneliness and longing. And the music shifts along with the emotional drivers in the lyrics.

It’s powerfully done. I love every track. I cannot recommend this one enough.

Rating: Purple