As mentioned in the title, Sleep Token’s brand new album has caused quite the divide across heavy music. Heck, it’s caused quite the split opinion here at Overtone. So, we decided to do something we rarely get the chance to do and have multiple people review the same album! Join us in checking out the cult-like prog band’s third release!

Joe: Okay, so I’m not doing the main portion of this review, Max is. They’re his favourite band and he wanted someone a bit more objective and impartial to also comment on it. I have to admit I’ve never quite ‘got’ them before, outside of ‘Hypnosis’.

I have to admit, I still feel the same. There’s a couple of okay riffs and heavy parts spread thin across the whole album. And even then, the parts don’t quite measure up to good, heavy sections in sub-genre-leaders like BMTH and Spiritbox. The heavy riff and scream in TikTok sensation ‘The Summoning’ is an album highlight, and I don’t get the hype around the ‘horny jazz’ outro. Even the death metal-esque ‘Vore’ felt decidedly meh.

It’s a boring indie-pop album masquerading as a metal album at times. If you like it, more power to you, but in my opinion this is massively over-hyped and okay at best. I’d give it a 4/10 overall.

Now, I’mma stop insulting all the diehard Sleep Token fans, and pass you over to one…

Max: The amazing cult band Sleep Token released their album Sundowning in 2019 which fully demonstrated the pure talent of this band and last than two years after their second album, they are back with their best album yet, Take Me Back To Eden. Encapsulating numerous genres and emotions throughout an album whilst keeping every track cohesive and functional can be challenging, but in the review below we will explore how Sleep Token do.

Before we go any further, it is important to note that I am a huge fan of this band, so my opinion might be a little weighted to one side. However, there’s another take on the album above, so that a more balanced opinion can be gained on the entire album.

Starting hard with ‘Chokehold’, whilst it starts slower it quickly builds into quite an intense song with some heavy guitars and technical drums. However, it keeps the vocals clean throughout, building to a very nice change to the chorus for the outro with a held note. This song is very good and is a very standard song for them. This was quite a nice and safe intro to an album that has definitely been a little more explorative than any of their earlier music.

Now for where the album starts getting a little more interesting. The title track starts out in quite an airy and swells before getting into the heavier guitars and then changing into a solo and then straight back into the swelling chorus. And almost straight after this, a relatively intense breakdown for Sleep Token. All of this is within the first three and a half minutes of a six and a half minutes song. Then it changes to a strange funky end, which feels like a completely different song. This was definitely a highlight!

The next two songs, ‘Granite’ and ‘Aqua Regia’, fall back into the more expected Sleep Token style. That isn’t to say they are bad songs but they definitely feel a little more expected and understandable than other songs on the album, especially with what is yet to come. It is most certainly a nice respite.

Next up, ‘Vore’. This really is the first massive change of pace for Sleep Token as Vessel screams for a large portion of the song which was mental and really started showing off just what Sleep Token is capable of. This then continues with lots of the later songs but they still explore other genres.

In terms of the majority of the rest of the album, there is so much going on and I realize that if I continue to waffle no one will ever read this to the end. But there are two things that I want to say. This album is genuinely phenomenal, at least to Sleep Token fans that have been here for a while, with all of the references to earlier songs and the constant development and improvement of everything they are good at whilst still making sure that the album is accessible to everyone who might not have ever listened to them before. This I know for a fact as I have shown this album to a number of people and they all have at least half of the album that they love.

And, finally, ‘Ascensionism’ and ‘Euclid’ are absolutely beautiful and have completed something in me that was started with ‘The Night Does Not Belong to God’, making this album have a truly important nature in my heart. I genuinely believe that if people give this album a go, they will see that this band really has perfected their art and are one the best bands around at the moment. From me 10/10

So, who do you agree with more? Is it good or not worth the hype? Let us know on our social medias! The average tots up to 7/10, but for something so praised by a lot of people that does seem a tad harsh. Let’s go with 8/10, that seems fair!