Prog metal band Sleep Token - Take Me Back To Eden & Ascensionism [View all]

[highplainsdem]

Just ran across this serendipitously on YouTube, and had to do some googling since I'd never heard of the band. This is the title track of their new album, their third. Some excerpts from Wikipedia and reviews of the album below the video.

EDITING to add the video for Ascensionism, also mentioned in the reviews below:

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_Token

Sleep Token are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 2016. The group are an anonymous, masked collective led by a frontman using the moniker Vessel. They have been categorised under many different genres, including alternative metal, post-rock/metal, progressive metal and indie rock/pop. After self-releasing their debut extended play (EP) One in 2016, the band signed with Basick Records and issued a follow-up, Two, the next year. The group later signed with Spinefarm Records and released their debut full-length album Sundowning in 2019, which was followed in 2021 by This Place Will Become Your Tomb. A third album, Take Me Back to Eden, was released in May 2023.

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Since their formation, Sleep Token have remained entirely anonymous – Rich Hobson of Metal Hammer explains that the members, who all wear masks and cloaks, "obscure their faces, they don't talk onstage, and they have only ever done one interview".[53] The lead singer and primary songwriter of the band is known by the moniker "Vessel".[54] The group's focus on anonymity and visual style have been likened to similar practices employed by Ghost,[53][55][56] Slipknot,[54][57][58] and Gwar.[57][58] In 2017, Sleep Token's then-new label Basick Records published a description of the band which read, "A band that goes above and beyond simply writing and playing music, Sleep Token are said to be "the mortal representatives of the ancient deity known only as 'Sleep', led by the masked and cloaked figure appointed 'Vessel' ... the master creator behind the music."[59] In the band's only reported interview to date, with Metal Hammer at the time of their signing with Basick, frontman Vessel expanded on the lore of the band, stating that "We are here to serve Sleep and project His message." When asked about Sleep, he stated that "He is everywhere, at all times. Vessel encountered Sleep in a dream, with promise of glory and magnificence if Vessel followed Him."[8]

Musically, Sleep Token have been categorised in a wide range of genres, including alternative metal,[1] post-rock/metal,[3] progressive metal,[2] and indie rock/pop.[4] Hobson has suggested that the band has a "fluid approach to genre", claiming that they incorporate "elements of everything from tech metal and alternative to pop and R&B".[53] Similarly, John D. Buchanan of the website AllMusic has written that Sleep Token "combine post-rock, post-classical, and post-metal tropes with soulful indie pop vocals into a blend that sounds like nothing else".[60] The band's label Spinefarm Records has simply stated that "in a world of form and genre, Sleep Token cannot be confined".[61] The band have been vague about their influences, simply crediting "a plethora of artists" as inspiration;[8] early in their career, though, they did name Leprous, Agent Fresco, Bon Iver and Meshuggah as influences.[62] Commentators have also posited performers such as Deftones, Cult of Luna, Explosions in the Sky and Ólafur Arnalds as possible influences.[60][63][64]

And in case anyone here is wondering, I think the anonymity and attempt at myth-making are silly, but I find their music interesting.

Reviews of the new album and this title track in particular:


NME, a 5-star review: https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/sleep-token-take-me-back-to-eden-review-3444788

Just days into 2023, Sleep Token were at the epicentre of an unprecedented moment. Without any prior notice, they unleashed two new singles, ‘Chokehold’ and ‘The Summoning’ on consecutive days, and made themselves alternative music’s new favourite topic of conversation. The former’s jaw-dropping riffs and the latter’s sultry fusion of metal and funk had their Spotify monthly listeners quintupling in a fortnight, and yet, nobody knew who these masked musicians were. With their identities concealed beneath masks and cloaks, and both a rich, fantastical origin story and a huge cult fanbase behind them, Sleep Token were luring in the masses while letting their music speak for itself.

Doubters dismissed their shadowy anonymity and eclectic sound as a gimmick, but this band’s star isn’t burning out. The success of those singles was no accident. In fact, even beyond ‘Chokehold’ and ‘The Summoning’, there’s a whole other 48 minutes or so of bold, stunning music on ‘Take Me Back To Eden’ that will pour cold water on any suggestion that Sleep Token’s is a flash-in-the-pan success.

Plenty of artists of their ilk adopt a genre-fluid approach, but on ‘Take Me Back To Eden’, Sleep Token stretches that concept to its limit. While rooted in metal they reach further into other genres than most bands would dare. In theory, the darkly seductive, piano-laden R&B number ‘Aqua Regia’ shouldn’t rub up anywhere near a song like the lacerating black-metal inspired ‘Vore’, but the contrast in sounds between these two songs feels purposeful rather than confused.

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The sharpest turns arrive in two lengthy tracks, ‘Ascensionism’ and ‘Take Me Back To Eden’, which weave between starkly different sounds – hushed piano, airy synths, dagger-like djent, and bursts of R&B that toy with autotune and trap drums – with breathtaking grace. By treating each genre like a movement in a classical piece, nothing ever jars, where in less skilled hands, it so easily could.

Clash...and this was the most negative review - 5/10 - since the reviewer found the album over-indulgent, but they really liked this title track:

https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/sleep-token-take-me-back-to-eden/

Some moments are impressive, like the eight-minute epic of a title track ‘Take Me Back To Eden’, which sprawls and writhes between textures and knows just when to spotlight frontman Vessel’s holy outpourings. Impeccable production and climactic builds, devolving into electro beats and rap over haunting piano then sinking into a practical pop ballad, then edging up to howling metal peak once more – it’s a marvel and pulls off all it sets out to. Numinous, majestic, and Sleep Token at their wildly varied best, ‘Take Me Back To Eden’ showcases a band that could be masters of any genre they deigned to dip into. But the issue is, this opus comes over an hour into the album, and follows a number of lengthy tracks that seem to be trying to do the same thing, but less successfully.

Upset, a 5-star review:

https://upsetmagazine.com/reviews/albums/sleep-token-take-me-back-to-eden/

This album pulls no punches. It revels in its mercuriality, wildly swinging from the lightest touches into the heaviest of blows. Restless and relentless, Sleep Token punctuate those skyscraper moments with the most audacious twists towards garage, jazz, or even the odd trap beat, all without losing their own authenticity. At over an hour long, it keeps the album fizzing with unpredictability and possibility.

This is the most inventive metal has sounded in a long time. Sleep Token have been regularly touted as the future of the genre. On ‘Take Me Back To Eden’, the future is now.

Metal Hammer, 4 stars:

https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/sleep-token-take-me-back-to-eden-review


Metal Sucks, 4.5/5:

https://www.metalsucks.net/2023/05/16/review-sleep-token-continues-to-push-boundaries-on-take-me-back-to-eden/

The meteoric rise of Sleep Token may be one of the best success stories in modern heavy music. Besides the anonymous masked members looking like anime villains, the UK band’s combination of art-pop, R&B, and djent-ish tech metal has given folks a lot to chew on. The band’s supposed worship of a deity called “Sleep” paid off, because their strange combination of styles has gone viral on streaming services and landed them some key tour slots. They also match their explosive popularity with one awesome release after the other. The obvious calling card remains the powerful, emotive, and unorthodox singing from the front person, known only as The Vessel, but Sleep Token has continued to refine every aspect of its genre mash. Sundowning (2019) to This Place Will Become Your Tomb (2021) exhibited growth on all fronts — growth continued in spades by Take Me Back to Eden.

Take Me Back to Eden still leans into Sleep Token’s cross-section of pop, R&B, and modern prog metal, and the breadth of this sonic spectrum manifests right from the start. The Vessel’s voice cuts through the droning synth-scapes and dive-bomb string bend riffage alike on opener “Chokehold,” extracting rapturous melodies from a decidedly non-melodic foundation. His vast vocal range seamlessly guides the ambiguous ambiance to grand, earth-rumbling proportions.

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The best example of casual creativity from Sleep Token comes during “Ascensionism,” which starts with ethereal piano voicings and ends with unapologetic Meshuggah vibes. The tasteful dynamic journey from delicate, synthetic verses to detuned beatdowns allows the vocals to take a step back and let the instrumentation shine through in its strident bridging of violence and serenity. It all oozes creative instinct, which explains why “Rain” avoids the pitfalls of unmemorable deep cuts even if its structure could at this point be considered Sleep Token per usual. No one sounds like them, so “per usual” means intricate rhythm structures, unique riffage, and sweeping refrains.

It would also explain why an eight-minute monster of a title track hardly feels its length. No other song on the album revels in 1-to-100 dynamic leaps, so when it happens here toward the end of the album it doesn’t feel overplayed. Said dynamic leaps are also timed perfectly so that the lulls don’t get boring and the skull-splitting heaviness doesn’t get tiresome. The energy flows fluidly, taking the album closer to post-rock with its massive crescendos and arrival points. After such a huge undertaking, it’s fitting for “Euclid” to land the album more peacefully. But even here, Sleep Token won’t settle for a simple outro.

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