Image courtesy of Kerrang!
Whether it be to curate a unique persona, focus listeners’ attention on the music, or to maintain a semblance of privacy in the limelight, for decades, musicians have concealed their identities. But few have wielded anonymity as artistically and purposefully as Sleep Token, a masked, London-based project led by the enigmatic Vessel. Slowly but surely, Sleep Token has grown from an underground progressive metal band into the biggest cultural phenomenon to hit the metal scene in years.
Following in the footsteps of Slipknot — arguably the most famous masked metal band — Sleep Token embraces spectacle. Since its formation in 2016, the band has cultivated a genreless, cinematic storytelling style that centers emotional vulnerability, intense spiritual devotion, and an ethereal brand identity. The main vocalist and primary composer, known to the world as Vessel, embodies this ethos fully. Stripped of a name or face, Vessel’s lack of persona centers his vocals, dissolving any artificial barriers between his art and audience and allowing us to experience the band’s music freely, unrestrained by surface-level preconceptions.
Over the years, Sleep Token has gathered a fervent and diverse fan base due to its unwavering commitment to both music and mystique. Each of the band’s first three albums, culminating with “Take Me Back to Eden” in 2023, builds upon a sweeping mythology. Framed as offerings to the deity Sleep, each song on the album is part of a grander story: one that follows a dark, toxic, and spiritual relationship in which Sleep promises Vessel glory and redemption in return for his devotion. “Take Me Back To Eden,” now a modern metal classic that propelled the band into the metal mainstream, was a discographical climax and emotional closure to a long and turbulent relationship with Sleep.
“Take Me Back To Eden” defined the sound that people now know Sleep Token for: genre-pushing experiments that stitch rhythm and blues, trap percussion, rap cadences, and atmospheric metal together into songs that are both disorienting and hypnotic. Vessel’s distinct voice and delivery make even the most abstract or whimsical lyrics sound like gospel. While the metaphors and imagery may not always immediately make sense, his delivery carries an emotional weight that lingers, and fans have grown to love taking the investigative, impassioned journey through each new release. Of course, one does not need to be immersed in the lore to appreciate these tracks’ musical and lyrical power; Vessel has made it clear that he wants people to engage with the music on their own terms — there is no right or wrong way to listen.
Needless to say, “Even in Arcadia” — riding on the success of “Take Me Back To Eden” — was highly anticipated in both metal and non-metal spheres, detailing the trilogy’s thematic aftermath. At the heart of this album is hope and healing, which was a departure from Vessel’s previously emotionally fraught gestures to Sleep. “Even In Arcadia” showcases Vessel, for the first time, singing out of character about his real-life pain and anguish, his unhealthy relationship with Sleep mirroring his mental health struggles in a toxic relationship.
The first single, “Emergence,” is a clarion call back to “Take Me Back To Eden,” a metal-centered track with dark electronic elements and a cathartic saxophone solo that got the core metal fanbase excited for more. However, “Caramel,” the second single, snuffed out all hopes of another simply metal-centered record — but it was a gift in disguise. On paper, a track that merges segments of danceable reggaeton with blackgaze metal should confuse, divide, or even drive fans away. But for many, “Caramel” represented an inevitable but exciting evolution of Sleep Token’s musical vision, leaning into the message behind the mask. This track goes out to the toxic fans who gatekeep the band’s music and invade the members’ privacy, inciting anguish and distress for them as musicians. Other standouts like “Dangerous” and “Provider” also lean more into pop and R&B elements while still carrying the band’s signature seductive heaviness.
My personal favorite track is “Gethsemane,” which is the most vulnerable track Vessel has written. The song unwinds in three musical acts, like a devastating confession whispered in the dark; Vessel faces Sleep, laying out his bitter heartache in lyrics like “I was your robot companion / You were my favorite color.” Vessel’s gut-wrenching lyrics are heightened and transformed by the underlying medley of genres, jumping from math rock to progressive metal to alternative R&B. There is an intimacy and excitement in this track that, to me, rings of oral tradition — he blends different genres to evoke a shared, emotional narrative.
The negative critical reception of “Even in Arcadia” exemplifies the growing disconnect between music critics and everyday listeners. When professional reviewers are handed the mic, their responses are all too often disappointingly disingenuous, mocking Sleep Token’s genre fusion as a threat to modern metal rather than a milestone. Instead of engaging meaningfully with the band’s sonic choices, many critics have defaulted to lazy one-liners and sweeping statements that more reflect their inability to read the room than the quality of the music itself. Meanwhile, on social media, listeners across musical genres tell a different story. Rap, pop, electronic, and metal fans alike resonate with the emotional power of “Even in Arcadia,” speaking volumes more to the band’s incredible ability to invite and unite new listeners.
Time after time, we see highbrow music critics tear down records that are eventually recognized for their incredible and revolutionary impact on the masses and the music industry. But with the irreversible rise of social media and streaming platforms, people no longer need to go through critics to determine what music they like. Now more than ever, good taste is no longer dictated by the voices of the few, further empowering artists to innovate and transcend genre boundaries.
By following its own blueprint instead of bending to industry pressures, Sleep Token has made a case for artistic sovereignty in an era when identity, expectation, and genre all feel increasingly fluid. Before the album’s release on May 9, fans noticed that Sleep Token owns the creative rights to “Even in Arcadia,” and the band’s label, RCA Records, handles everything else, from marketing to streaming and distribution. Through its immense influence, the band has managed to run its operation on its terms, even behind masks.
Sleep Token never set out to be at the forefront of modern metal or to make metal more palatable. It was never a conventional metal band to begin with, but what eventually shot Sleep Token into the limelight was a calculated evolution of its production style combined with fearless experimentation. “Even in Arcadia” is not a step back or departure from the band’s metal roots — it is an expansion, and one that anyone can come to “worship.”