Who are they?
The British band Sleep Token released their fourth album on May 9, 2025. The band is known for its unique sound, incorporating multiple genres of rock into each song.

Sleep Token is a mysterious band, concealing the identities of its members. The lead singer, who goes by the name “Vessel”, covers his identity with black body paint and a mask that consists of the band’s logo, which is an energy rune. The other members go by “II”, “Ⅲ”, “Ⅵ” and the Espera. All members of the band use masks and long cloaks or dresses to conceal their identities.

To know their identities is seen as a violation, as mentioned in multiple songs, as it takes away from the band’s mission. They are representatives of the entity Sleep, and each song is an offering, or a Token, to this deity. This is where the name Sleep Token is derived from. “Our identities are unimportant… Vessel endeavors to keep the focus on His offerings”, stated Vessel in an interview with Metal Hammer.

The new album
The title of the album, “Even in Arcadia”, holds a strong significance, Arcadia referring to the idyllic and mythical region of Arcadia in ancient Greek mythology. Arcadia was a place of pure and unspoiled natural beauty and became a symbol of natural harmony, a peaceful and simple existence. However, from this mythology stems the Latin phrase, “Et in Arcadia ego”, meaning “even in Arcadia I am,” used to say that even in places as idyllic as Arcadia, some things, such as death, are inevitable. This juxtaposition is greatly explored in the album.

In the song “Even in Arcadia”, they sing about judgement day and the coming end. It implies that the end has been inevitable and inescapable, exemplified in this line specifically, “It seems that even in Arcadia you walk beside me still”.

Another important significance here is the use of Greek mythology references as well as biblical ones, with the song “Gethsemane:, referring to the biblical garden of Gethsemane in which Jesus was betrayed by the disciple Judas. This range of references, as seen in other albums as well, may imply that the entity of the Sleep is an even more overarching entity than the gods of recognized religions.

Over the last two months, the band has released three singles off the album before the official release date— “Emergence” on March 13, “Caramel” on April 4, and the latest, “Damocles” on April 25. All three songs have taken critics and listeners by surprise. Each song tells its own story about the members.

“Emergence” reveals the personal feelings of Vessel. It is a song about stepping into something new and the scars of the past. It embodies Vessel’s emotional struggle, delving into the idea of shedding a past identity and confronting an inner turmoil. Lines such as “Come on, come on / Out from underneath who you were” serve to demonstrate this idea directly.

“Damocles” refers to the ancient parable of The Sword of Damocles, a tale of the fragility of success and holding great power and influence. In the story of Damocles, he is given a taste of the life of a king, with a host of doting servants and the finest foods. However, just as he truly began to enjoy it, he looked up to see a sharp sword dangling from a single strand of horsehair just above his head.

The opening of the song “Damocles” contains the lines “Well, I’ve been waking up under blades / Blue blossom days”. This refers to the ephemeral beauty of the height of fame (blue blossom days), but the looming feeling that it could all be stripped away in a moment (waking up under blades).

“Caramel” refers to the duality of fame— sweet but also potentially cloying. This is vividly demonstrated in lines such as “Right foot in the roses, left foot on a landmine” and “This stage is a prison, a beautiful nightmare”.

In both “Look to Windward” and “Caramel”, the band sings of a “war of attrition”. Attrition is a process of gradually reducing the strength of someone or something through sustained attack or pressure. This is a common method of warfare, the point being to weaken not only the physical strength but also morale of an opponent.

The repeated use of this reference in the album may harken back to the idea of shedding an identity— although not of one’s own accord but rather due to continual pressure from an outside influence, such as the pressures of fame or the constant efforts of some to uncover the band’s identities beneath the masks. This is also seen in other songs such as “Emergence” and “Damocles”.

The idea of identity is also explored in “Past Self” and “Infinite Baths” explores specifically losing one’s identity and drowning in the relationships one holds with others and the influence from outside oneself.

This idea of a relationship’s effect is also explored in “Dangerous”, implying that a relationship can be just that, dangerous. The lyrics of “Provider” imply a sort of desire to be consumed by the relationship, wanting to be somebody’s everything. “Gethsemane” discusses betrayal in love and fighting not to lose it.

The “Even In Arcadia” album’s motto is “The Cycle Must End.” The use of this phrase, paired with the lyrics in songs such as “Emergence” and “Even in Arcadia”, reminds listeners of the words of Vessel in his interview with Metal Hammer, in which he stated, “Life is fleeting and this too shall pass. But for now we praise Him”.

Nailed it or failed it?
In the eyes of many, the band nailed the album’s execution. The deep metaphors, lore, and immersive storytelling create an emotional experience and feeling in the audience.

“The album is mesmerizing,” Scott Pilon, a rock music enthusiast, said.

Publicly, there has not been much criticism of the album itself, although some have said that “Caramel” is not exactly their favorite song on the album. It has reached the top 10 hit singles in the UK Official Top 40 Singles Chart.

Overall, the album is a hit, and in no way is it a failed album. Well done, Sleep Token.

The band has released three previous albums, including “Take Me Back To Eden”, which earned them the Billboard Music Award for Top Hard Rock Album last year, for which they were up against popular hard rock artists such as Falling in Reverse, HARDY and Bring Me the Horizon.