Sleep Token - Even In Arcadia (May 9th 2025) • Page 6

I gotta be honest, I really liked the last record but about half of this is unlistenable. I like the singles and the last two songs. Some of the lyrics here are a massive distraction. The songs on Eden were a lot tighter and got to the point, whereas every song on this record feels like it could have about a minute and a half of fat chopped off. Bummer.

I will say the mix on this is better than the last record. Each layer feels more distinct and dynamic.

 

Sad for me to say it but my first listen was pretty underwhelming aside from a few moments. Was not expecting this album to be as singular, piano-driven, and mid-tempo as it is. gethesmane is the clear standout imo, that riff that comes in halfway though is great. Wanted more of that

feels like every song is trying to be the finale song on American idol

 

Gethsemane sounds so different from the rest of this album. It sounds like midwest emo riffing while he's switching back and forth between a Bon Iver/Patrick Stump impression.

 

Gethsemane is my favorite track on the album. So interesting and refreshing.

 

Been following this band since 2019 and it's been super interesting to watch their popularity explosion throughout the years. More importantly, I have always been impressed with their artistic progression between albums without sacrificing their mysticism.

This to me, on an instrumental level at least, feels less like an evolution and more like a continuation of Eden. All the moments that felt above and beyond felt like detours and flashes instead of structurally integral passages (especially on Gethesmane, sorry gang). I completely understand why they did this considering this is the type of sound that got them as big in the first place and filled a very specific niche in the musical landscape. I only hope it means they compensate for the safety with a more groundbreaking record in two years.

That's not to say there are points on this album that I don't enjoy! I love the chorus of Damocles and the songwriting on Dangerous. I also kinda love the title track and how it breaks up the record into two distinct halves, and Infinite Baths is also a big highlight considering how silly the name of the song is out of context, that ending absolutely crushes.

Overall, I'm not gonna write this band off just yet, but I don't think I'm gonna listen to this album again until the day before I see them in September. I hope everyone else has a great time with this record because in the end, that's what actually matters, not the opinion of some random guy on the Internet.

W O R S H I P

 

I feel like I'm in a weird camp with this band where I come for the melody and the heaviness is cool I guess. There's a lot of bands doing heavy, but when it mixes melodically is when I'm vibing the most with this. Example: second rapping verse in Emergence.

 

When it comes to heaviness, Sleep Token is fine. It's not where they shine. I love that EIA is going deeper into Vessels pop and R&B skills. Some moments on this feel like they are evolutions from the EP days.

 

I fear that some TikTok reaction fans(?) are going to be upset at their perceived lack of "watch me over exaggerate physical reactions to this heavy part:

 

lol I spent way too much time last night watching that reaction dude Metalbirb lament about how he went to a listening party for this album and intentionally stood in a spot where he couldn't hear the album well so it wasn't totally ruined for his first time listen video he was going to make.

 

LOL I saw that too. A few minutes in I was like what is the point of this video.

 

I do like a good reaction video, but it's mostly the ones where people understand music theory/production/etc better than me and I learn something because they hear something in a way that I don't. Purely reaction ones where they're like, "OHHH this part is FIRE!!!!" and it's just them bobbing their head for 3 minutes don't really do it for me, though sometimes it's a good way to discover a new band, or to kind of keep my ear to the ground of what people are into these days.

Feels like Lorna Shore's To the Hellfire created a whole subgenre of reaction videos and songs written to shock people doing reaction videos. That sucks.

 

Absolutely, everyone needs like a "twist" it's so weird. I like Key of Geebz, just a Hawaiian dude vibing with music.

 

Yeah he's probably my favorite, because he literally picks stuff out in songs I've listen to tons of times and points something out I never noticed before.

 

I've avoided all the youtube and streamers and etc podcasts and stuff, but admit I am a sucker for music reaction vids to songs or bands that I like lol. I too like the ones where the person reacting gets into technical stuff that I didn't know or knew but didn't really know know, like that Charasmatic Voice woman does sometimes.

But I will say that I do enjoy watching some of the "OMG" reactions because they can be really fun, especially when it's a song I already like lol. I've watched so many reaction videos to SOAD and Rage and etc, and watching folks who didn't previously listen to them start rocking out is a lot of fun tbh lol. That Alex Hefner reacts dude's video for Mary on a Cross is just him having the time of his life lol. That LayedBak guy's reactions to some Rage and SOAD songs is fun too.

 

LayedBak and other hip hop related creators reacting to rock and metal is such a guilty pleasure of mine.

 

lol yeah hip hop/rap people listening to rock/metal is a huge guilty pleasure of mine too. The first channel I found like this was Lost In Vegas. They have a video where they are losing their minds listening to Opeth's Blackwater Park that is one of my favorite reaction videos ever. Ones where they hear Coheed's Welcome Home for the first time, or Deftones are also a good time.

 

That's so fair. It feels like they've moved from a heavy band with pop elements to a pop band with heavy elements over the last few years which can help contextualize their place in the music world right now.

 

Ghost and Sleep Token topping the Billboard Album Charts in consecutive weeks will be wild

 

Yes TMBTE is their opus but I’m enjoying this a lot.

 

Gethsemane is 100% the stand out. Also like the opening and title track.

Overall, liked it a whole lot more than the singles suggested i would.

 

I think the 3 singles are great anchor points of the album. I was iffy on Damocles but that chorus is undeniable, especially when the distorted guitars come in.

 

Damocles is awesome, probably my favorite of the singles, but I wonder what it would have been like this Gesthemane as the last single.

 

First listen was confusing but closing with Gethsemane & Infinite Baths really brought the album to an insane close. Definitely a grower for me but second listen already has me loving the songs I was iffy to.

And my PO arrived today, so able to spin this as well as listening on digital. Gotta hold on to these ST release days. Who knows how many we have left…

 

2nd listen, this time in my car, was infinitely better for me too as I had time to digest it more.

 

at a wedding today and we got to chatting with the videographer about the new album, what we like and didn't like, etc. fun to have a discussion about Sleep Token in the wild