Whether you view them as boundary-breaking pioneers or a puzzle you’ve yet to solve, their influence on modern heavy music is undeniable.
With their fourth album, Even In Arcadia, the masked collective continue their unpredictable trajectory, not by discarding their past, but by building on it in bold, emotionally revealing new ways.
Following the conceptual trio of Sundowning, This Place Will Become Your Tomb, and Take Me Back To Eden, this latest chapter doesn’t so much reset the narrative, as expand it. Sleep Token have never been a band content to stay in one lane, but here, they stretch further than ever before, weaving between genres with ease, but always maintaining a distinct, unmistakable identity.
Opening track “Look to Windward” sets a dramatic tone, introducing alarm-like synths before dropping into delicate strings and a tormented vocal performance from Vessel. It’s a measured and dynamic start, gradually escalating in intensity and purpose. This ebb and flow becomes a defining feature of the record, a sonic push and pull that mirrors the album’s emotional weight and to be honest a captivating start.
Across the record, the band showcase their most confident songwriting to date. “Emergence” and “Damocles” offer huge, theatrical moments, clearly designed to dominate live stages. Meanwhile, “Past Self” and “Dangerous” veer into smoother, more groove-driven territory, carrying traces of garage, R’n’B, and electro-pop. The latter marks one of the band’s most accessible moments so far, polished, melodic, and radio-friendly without sacrificing emotional depth. A total marmite experience for your typical old-school metal head, but hey-ho!
Vessel’s lyrics, while still cloaked in metaphor, feel more exposed this time around. On “Caramel”, there’s a brutal honesty about the price of visibility, while “Past Self” delivers a raw self-inventory, blurring the line between character and creator. The sense of inner conflict is palpable, and yet it’s expressed with clarity and vulnerability, rather than a cryptic approach for its own sake. The result is some of the most affecting material the band have ever released and I’m sure sales of the album will reflect this in no time.
The title track, teased in fragments during the album rollout, arrives with familiar motifs and swelling drama. “Turns out the gods we thought were dying were just sharpening their blades,” Vessel sings, summoning a sense of grandeur without tipping into the absurd. It’s cinematic, layered, and thematically rich, all classic Sleep Token traits, but refined and elevated, if you catch my drift.
And then there’s “Gethsemane”. A slow-burning centrepiece built on mournful keys, aching hooks, and shapeshifting instrumentation. What begins as a lament transforms into something more chaotic and cathartic, blending prog rock intricacy with modern production flair. It’s ambitious but never bloated and in my opinion, one of the band’s finest moments to date.
By the time “Infinite Baths” brings the curtain down, Sleep Token have not only added another chapter to their story, but changed the shape of it entirely. Even In Arcadia is a daring, detailed, and emotionally rich album that doesn’t just continue their rise, it defines it. 4.5/5
Even In Arcadia is available from May 9th via RCA Records. Order your copy here or your local record store.
Photo Credit: Andy Ford
Oran O’Beirne
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