Sleep Token Releases New Singles Ahead of ‘Even in Arcadia’
Single(s) review ★ Logan Gordon ★ @lrgordon ★ 900 words
In the past two months, alternative metal band Sleep Token has been offering fans sneak peeks into their upcoming album, Even in Acardia, with two striking singles: Emergence and Caramel.
After the release of their biggest album, Take Me Back to Eden, and all of the newfound attention that came with it, the band has been pretty quiet. Even so, Sleep Token has been gaining a lot of attention in the past two years. Music lovers who have never truly dived into the depths of heavier rock have become committed fans since finding Sleep Token.
When it seemed everything was finally dying down, fans seemed to notice things happening related to Sleep Token. At first, the band launched a new website and created new Instagram accounts. While, at first, that only created some small commotion, March 10th really ramped up fans.
That day, venues all across the United States changed their social media profile pictures to match a new logo Sleep Token created for promotional efforts. Fans of the band immediately took notice and began to make a list. From the Rocket Arena in Cleveland to the Maverik Center in West Valley City, it was never confirmed what this meant, but fans had their speculations.
All of the rumors and guesses came to an end on March 13th when Sleep Token announced a North American tour, highlighting the very venues that changed their profile pictures to support the band.
However, that wasn’t their only announcement. That same day, the band released Emergence, a teased offering that had fans on the edge of their seats waiting for.
Emergence: The First Offering
The release of Emergence was immediately huge. Fans felt transported back to 2023 when the album title single Take Me Back to Eden first hit everyone’s headphones.
The song not only highlights the soulful, raw vocals of Vessel, the lead singer, but it also has a slow beginning that is enticing. With harmonic voices and soft piano backings, the piece started soft, which only enticed listeners.
Ever so slowly, a steady increase of building layers took place. Isolated vocals turned into deep harmonies paired with electronic instruments until the hit of beats and Vessel’s lyricism.
After the song was first released, fans did have a hard time deciphering its meaning. It has always been known that Vessel almost speaks in riddles in his lyrics, but they’ve always had clear answers.
Ultimately, Emergence is about the fight between desires and responsibilities, contradictions to a strong foundation you’ve always held, and finally, just breaking free of what you’ve always been tied to. Fans have described the song’s meaning as having a feeling of being seductive, tense, and inevitable.
Past its lyrics, Emergence continues on in a back-and-forth of emotional vocals portraying different feelings with harder guitars fighting against the soft electric pianos. In a turn of events, the end of the song quickly falls from the sound of a full band playing with all of their power to a soft saxophone. While the band is known to experiment with sounds, this soft jazz instrument had its debut for the band in Emergence, and fans loved it. It perfectly tied the bow of the first offering into Sleep Token’s new era.
Caramel: The Second Offering
Sleep Token’s second sneak peek into their new album came on April 4th after being teased once on their Instagram.
In the first few seconds, Caramel has almost an eerie beginning as the notes of a xylophone ring out in a slow, jarring matter. Yet, the song quickly became a pit of truth in toxicity the band experienced.
For a little background, Sleep Token is a European band that consists of four members who have always kept their identities fully hidden. They perform in droves of robes, masks, and heavy makeup. Additionally, three of the members only go by Roman numerals. Their stage presences don’t allow even a hint of what they really look like. Still, die-hard fans of the band have taken their curiosity to another level. Some fans have found the birth names of the band members and even looked up their birth certificates.
Vessel highlights this in his lyrics while describing how he now feels like the stage is a “prison” or “beautiful nightmare.” But, at the same time, he seems almost thankful for the fans who have stuck with him while he goes through these feelings of disdain and numbness.
Caramel doesn’t seem like it's calling out fans for this behavior, but it almost seems like it's a way of letting out heavy emotions in a way that the members feel most comfortable doing. It’s all spun through a similar web of musicality like Emergence with a slow beginning to a deep dive of instruments raging with one another. The instrumentals with the lyrics have some fans tense, but others are curious to see what else the band is willing to speak about.
Even In Arcadia Releases on May 9th
With fans already gearing up for Even In Arcadia’s debut on May 9th, the attention outside of the fanbase is already hitting new heights. Not only is their tour completely sold out, but as Sleep Token plays a few festivals during shows for the album, those who have only scratched the surface of the band are excited to experience their incredible sets. And even though Emergence and Caramel already have a similar sound to songs on Take Me Back to Eden, there’s a hint of maturity and growth already peeking through that the band will undoubtedly unveil in a powerful punch on May 9th.
