Sleep Token - Take Me Back To Eden (2LP)

Sleep Token’s third album, Take Me Back To Eden, arrived on May 19, 2023 via Spinefarm Records, and it felt like the moment this cult grew teeth. The rollout was pure theater. “Chokehold” dropped without warning in early January, then “The Summoning” followed the next day and lit up timelines. Streams spiked, fan forums melted, and the conversation jumped from niche metal corners to mainstream feeds. You could feel the ground shift, not because the band changed who they were, but because this record finally caught up with the scale of their ambition.

What makes Take Me Back To Eden sing is how confidently it moves between extremes. “Chokehold” is patient, almost devotional, built on piano, a low throb of bass, and a vocal that swells from whisper to gale. Then “The Summoning” kicks the door. It stomps, it swerves into a slinky, almost funk-coded passage, and it makes the jump feel natural. That gear shifting becomes the album’s language. The band’s anonymity helps the myth, sure, but the real hook is how they sew R&B glide to djent weight without turning it into a gimmick.

The middle run is where the palette really opens. “Granite” leans on trap-leaning percussion and vaults of synth, the guitar carving in at just the right tumultuous moment. “Aqua Regia” flips the script again, a piano-led piece that moves like late-night jazz in a dark room. The drums sit back, the melody strolls, and Vessel’s phrasing turns confessional. It is the kind of left turn that made people call this band genreless, though the word undersells how carefully these songs are stitched. Then “Vore” hits, and it is feral. Blast beats, serrated guitars, a throat-scraping vocal that brushes black metal. It does not sound like a band hedging bets. It sounds like a band trusting their gut.

For me, “Ascensionism” is the key. It plays like a three-act short film, shifting from hushed electronics to crunching riff to a climactic swell that feels earned. The storytelling is in the arrangement as much as the lyric. “DYWTYLM” brings the temperature down again with a glossy, synthetic shimmer and a hook that sticks. The sequencing keeps the tension coiled, then releases it in waves. Sleep Token learned a lot from the flow of Sundowning and This Place Will Become Your Tomb, and here they push that arc further. You can sit with headphones and trace the lines, or you can let it move through you and it works just as well.

The title track stretches out, a multipart odyssey that ties strands together. It feels like the curtain-raiser before the fall, the point where themes of devotion, surrender, and control are most explicit. “Euclid” then closes the circle with a parting glow, more hopeful than the artwork might suggest, like stepping out of a dark theater into dawn. None of this lands without Vessel’s voice, which carries real drama without chewing the scenery. The production gives him air when he needs it, then surrounds him with crunch and sub when the drop comes. It is a big record that still leaves space for detail, the kind you only notice on the third or fourth spin.

Reception was swift and loud. The album pulled in strong notices from NME, Kerrang!, and Metal Hammer, and the surge spilled into the real world. By the time the band sold out London’s OVO Arena Wembley in December 2023, these songs already felt like rituals. It helps that the writing never stoops to easy grandstanding. Even the heavy parts feel earned, the quieter ones feel lived in. There is plenty here for guitar heads to chew on, but also for listeners who come from R&B, pop, or post-rock. That cross-pollination is a big part of why the fanbase widened so quickly.

If you are crate-digging, Take Me Back To Eden vinyl is the way to feel the depth of this mix. The low end blooms, the pianos have weight, and the dynamics breathe. Sleep Token vinyl has become hot property, with variants that tend to disappear fast, so if you buy Sleep Token records online, keep an eye on restocks. Sleep Token albums on vinyl also reward side-by-side listening, since the sequencing is such a part of the storytelling. I’ve even seen copies tucked into the featured shelf at a Melbourne record store, proof this thing traveled far beyond the usual circles. However you find it, whether through a local shop known for deep-cut vinyl records Australia collectors love, or a late-night click, this is a record that rewards commitment. Put it on, let the room go quiet, and see where it takes you.