Sleep Token release Even In Arcadia; their first major label release on RCA. Destined to be on of 2025’s biggest releases; are they in the big leagues now?

Release date: 9th May 2025

Label: RCA

Format: CD / Vinyl / Digital / Cassette

WILL YOU HALT THE ECLISPE?

From the off, Even In Arcadia feels big. It feels like a huge event that we are getting this new album. With three songs released as lead tracks, there is loads to uncover.

Look To Windward opens the record in a pensive tone. Gentle synths subtly layer repeatedly as Vessel helps build the tension on vocals. In true Sleep Token fashion, there is a barrage of guitars just around the corner. In the opening, it feels very ‘on the nose’ but it is the only way the song can go…and you want it to go that way. It is a blistering opening four minutes. When the verse comes in, the opening line is so evocative; ‘I’ve got eyelids heavy enough to break diamonds.” The refrain, ‘Will you halt this eclipse in me?’ is prevalent throughout.

Even after the first track, there is so much to unpack. One thing is for sure, this is a brilliant opener and one that showcases what Sleep Token are all about. Lead single, Emergence, follows. It sits perfectly in the running order of the album. That loungy/jazzy ending offers a brilliant dynamic.

PAST SELF

Past Self has a hip-hip infused beat. It canters along with the vocals taking centre stage. The prophetic outlook of coming to terms with the past and where the future goes is in question.

And you know I deliberate on cutting out the demons
I still need a dark side, they just need a reason.

Dangerous keeps the hip hop tone in the beat with throbbing bass and synths forming the bedrock of the song. A few signature ‘woops’ are thrown in for good measure. When the guitars come in, they form a monolithic wall of sound.

Upon first listen, this writer was not sold on Caramel. However, repeated listens and hearing it as part of Even In Arcadia, it is one of the finest pieces here. Like Dangerous, the rolling bass (which owes plenty to drum’n’bass techniques) consumes. As the song builds to its crescendo, it erupts in an unholy swell of noise. Monstrous guitars and smashing drums absolutely batter the senses. Then, Vessel screams. Like, really screams. It feels very unnerving. For such a sweet song title, it feels like a bitter conversation between two characters.

EVEN IN ARCADIA

The title track of the album is placed at the centre of Even In Arcadia. ‘Have you been waiting long for me?’ asks Vessel. There is so much drama in the mix. You can hear a bit of Tool in how the soundscapes are created and there is a whole host of blossoming synths that rise and punch out. What is also stark here, is the removal of vocoded vocals for a stretch. Naked vocals sound more intense in this sense and the production makes it sound like Vessel screams into the void. By definition, Arcadia is a vision of rural peace and harmony. The title track resists the urge to explode, instead opting for that sense of calm.

Provider has some clever wordplay around the idea of ICU/I see you that works well. A more standard rock feel creates a feeling of comfort before another off kilter rhythm is wrapped in organ and erratic synths. Provider fades out, again resisting the urge to bludgeon. Damocles was the last of the lead tracks from Even In Arcadia; like Provider, it adopts a more standard ‘rock’ feel in its tempo and makeup. As far as anthems go, this track could be a real sleeper. When Sleep Token headline Download Festival in around a months time, this could be a huge singalong.

GETHSEMANE

The run of songs in the middle of Even In Arcadia are very tight. There is also the aforementioned feeling of a little more calm. By contrast, Gethsemane and album closer, Infinite Baths, take up approximately a quarter of the albums’ run time.

Gethsemane is an epic piece. A higher register in the vocal column and riffs that feel more technical weave together masterfully. Lyrically, it tugs at the heart strings once again.

What might be good for your heart
Might not be good for my head
And what was there at the start
Might not be there in the end

Infinite Baths closes out Even In Arcadia in even more epic fashion. Like Take Me Back To Eden, motifs from the duration of the album are placed into a closing track from and album. Whilst Take Me Back To Eden was not the album closer, it does album bring the album full circle. Infinite Baths also has a few guitar licks that evoke Pink Floyd’s Shine On You Crazy Diamond in its mid section.

Infinite baths
Bursting colours when you laugh
Well, I have fought so long to be here
I am never going back

BURSTING COLOURS

Bursting colours is just what Even In Arcadia does. There is darkness in spades throughout, however there are plenty of lighter moments here. Those that enjoy the heavier side of Sleep Token’s bent will revel in Infinite Baths’ extremely heavy guitars as the song moves along its path.

Even In Arcadia cements Sleep Token as main players. The fact they have top billing at Download Festival 2025 shows how far they have come. From humble beginnings and smaller labels to majors, Even In Arcadia will satisfy the lifers as well as pull in new fans. The production value is first class, and the way the songs are crafted is genius. This is a bold, cinematic, expansive experience. Expect Sleep Token to take over the World.

Sleep Token headline Download Festival 2025. You can buy tickets for Download 2025 HERE.

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