Sleep Token - Even In Arcadia

My relationship with this band‘s music has been… well less than impressive. I was first introduced by the song “The Summoning” and while it had cool parts, it just never seemed to flow very well together. It felt like a bunch of puzzle pieces from different pictures that someone smashed together. Most of their other albums felt the same way to me. The lore behind the band is pretty neat, but that doesn’t make the music for me. I am not one who connects to mystery and personalities; I like the music. It also turns me off a little bit that they kind of treat it like a cult in a sense, but it does make for cool imagery, events, and live shows.

However even with this in mind - I recognize there’s something there. I respect it and there may be something for the future for me, but also maybe not. Several bands hit this category for me like Revocation. This album hits way closer than their other records for me though. It’s less about the “worship” and lore, and there’s a lot of depth in the record.

Warning though; if you’re expecting a metal album… this ain’t it. The majority of this record is far away from anything metal. Metal is only used as an element.

There are two main focal instruments on this record; the drums and the vocals. I’ll take each of these separately.

Obviously if you’ve heard of Sleep Token, you‘ve heard about the gushing of fans over the vocals, and yeah, it is definitely worth mentioning. This dude bounces between all different styles, from pop and metal, rock and rap, and there’s even a few hints of other genres in there too. With the style comes something even better, which is the melody creation and delivery. Top notch. He uses just about every trick in the book on the album and then some. You end up with a lot of hooks floating in your brain, sometimes even from the verses.

Now, the drums. I have no clue who the heck is on drums, but he’s a professional. It’s apparent, and his execution and creativity in the kit shows it. Between beat choices, simplistic complexity, and the flawless without being programmed performance, it just stands out. There’s many times on the record where drums just took the show away from everything else. I think he knows he can control the feel of the songs. He creates the space, he upholds the mood, and he knows how to take it from one section to another.

Alright - so what exactly from a music perspective is this album trying to accomplish? It aims for story and soundscapes. It aims for mood. Each song has a sort of dynamic cadence to it. Less like “we’re just making some songs” and more written as a screenplay. That in fact does feel like that sometimes. It’s definitely not the type of record you just throw on at the gym or blast in the car. A good chunk of these songs spend a ton of time without drums for long periods.

It’s the type of album that you definitely have to sit with for a couple of rounds. You have to get used to the way that it operates. It’s not an instant gratification type of record; it’s more of an album where you need to understand it’s going to move at its own pace and you need to slow down and travel with it. Let it be airy, let it build up to a drone chorus, let it just be a pop like build, let a breakdown make you move, let the singer just sing at you for a while. 

Words on this album… are definitely words. He gets lost in the words all the time. You’ll hear things so strange, comparisons that make you double take, and lines where you wonder if he’s okay. He definitely would rather paint you a bunch of pictures than tell you directly what the heck is going on… 

… and it’s beautiful. I love how both conversational and poetic the lyrics feel. Two songs in particular caught my attention lyrically for the right reasons; “Damocles” and “Infinite Baths.” There’s this extremely vividly described… pain and depressive thoughts. Both songs feel like a… I don’t know… a beautiful void lyrically. 

Let’s also take the two singles “Emergence” and “Caramel” - painted all over the place with metaphor, simile, and imagery that makes you really question the point he’s trying to make, also mixed in with “dude are you okay?” type lyrics. “I thought I got better, maybe I didn’t” - like why would you even need to question that? Unless you were hurting or questioning life. 

For those who expect direct, you’ll hear a lot of what you’d consider repetitive or emo/goth type stuff, but for those who appreciate a story and poetic nuance, with something deeper, you’ll definitely find it.

So… all in all, I am not sure at this very moment how long this will remain in my rotation. I don’t mean that as a negative, I mean that I can’t actually determine its… persistence with me. It’s a new type of music that I’m just not used to. This may be the only couple of weeks I listen to it, or I may still be listening to it in 2026. It definitely makes me feel some ways when I listen to it. Sad, expansive, fun, or just sometimes make me think, which are all great things. I guess only time will tell honestly the longevity of this record. 

I will say though, I had to really let go of the idea that this was a metal record, or that what I was listening to required an… empty of my expectations before I could listen. Just let it take you for the ride. And this record, you can do it a song at a time. 

I think I’ll continue to listen to this though. It takes me to a place of inspiration. Hope it does the same for you!