Sleep Token is a British collective of anonymous musicians, they worship a Deity named “Sleep” which appeared to the singer “Vessel” in a dream. “Sleep” resides in the unconscious of all living things, tied to the plethora of emotions you feel, happiness, melancholy, anguish, and ecstasy.
The group serves this deity with offerings, claiming their performances and creation to be offerings. I’m no deity but I can confirm their music as holy offerings. I first discovered this band through a friend back in 2019, just before the release of their album “Sundowning”. I was immediately blown away by the contrast and rich texture they are capable of creating within their art. From the slow, soulful, and gloomy atmosphere of “Nazareth” to the harsh and destructive sound of “Gods”, they consistently represent a variety of powerful emotions within their music, something that I’m sure resonates with others as much as it does with me.
I hold them very close to me and have followed them ever since I found them. Every new track is a gift and I am yet to be disappointed. This is in part to their confidence when it comes to experimenting and pushing themselves, a trait I value and appreciate in times when music can feel stale. Every last track is a journey and opens your eyes to introspection, no matter who you are I’m sure there will be words and sounds that connect with you.
Sleep Token has recently blessed us with five new songs, released over the last few weeks. These songs came out of nowhere and have immediately established themselves as massive hits, and hope for what is to come. I want to take the time to talk about these songs and my personal feelings on them.
“Chokehold” was the first song to release, and as previously stated there was no indication of its arrival. The lyrics detail a man who views himself as a blade, a possible cause of damage and violence with no purpose, however when finding his partner he finds purpose in becoming their “sacred guardian”, he is immediately put to test, insinuating issues and bad situations arising. The chorus exclaims “you’ve got me in a chokehold” the man feels completely bound and potentially controlled by this person. Despite the dark and troubled times ahead of them he promises that he will endure them, seemingly unfazed, “Beneath the stormy seas, above the mountain peaks, it’s all the same to me, it makes no difference”. This brings to light the history of the speaker, devoted to a fault, he may value even the most brutal and negative relationship over being alone, an unfortunate position people can find themselves in today. The guitar is very low and dreary for the opening allowing space for the vocals and adding a feeling of unease, Piano comes into play with a creepy-sounding melody just before the breakdown. The drums kick in with a constant symbol crashing and the guitar bounces from low to high, the high pitch being somewhat grating, all of these elements come together for the chorus that hit you with a wall of sound, everything is present including synths to add a further layer of overall distortion to the sound. Overall the song aligns itself with the overall theming of the band by presenting the lows and highs, the melancholy and mad, and of course the beauty that can be created from them.
The Summoning was the second track to release, coming one day after Chokehold, another welcome surprise, and whereas Chokehold told us to expect, The Summoning immediately delivered. This quickly garnered popularity from new and old fans and created quite a large ripple in the music scene, and it’s no surprise why. You’re immediately met with an extremely “chuggy” guitar sliding over the top of fast and meaty drums, drawing every ounce of your attention. As the guitar takes a backseat the vocals kick in, low and angry as though spoken through clenched teeth, “I’ve got a river running right into you. I’ve got a blood trail, red in the blue”, the instruments pick back up as Vessel goes high, his voice sounding holy and uplifting “Raise me up again, Take me past the edge” before going right back to the low for “I want to see the other side”, a small instrumental begins before the final “See the other side” exclaimed in a guttural scream. Upon hitting the latter half of the song we get a calming section, synths emit this constant wall of warping sound accompanied by a soft but haunting voice, revising the holy theming found earlier, a piano begins to joyfully play along before the final section of the song. No one was prepared for this and the general reaction is the same across the first-time listeners, shock and awe hit when the music switches to a funk interlude I can only describe as “disgusting, in a good way”, the bass and synths create this amazing electronic sound while the drums precisely keep the beat. Large gaps of silence is used to give way for the vocals and keep the emphasis on the short bursts of sound, this carries on until the previous elements of the song rejoin for a grandiose finish. The lyrics insist on the view of someone as divine, wishing to be theirs and to be shown the “other side” of this person.
This song absolutely blew everyone away, it brought us in with the similar sound of a previous fan favorite “The Offering” and astounds us with funk towards the end, reassuring everybody that Sleep Token are forever experimenting and providing the best that they can.
After a two week gap we were greeted with “Granite” a return the nice and slow side of Sleep Token, the song opens with a calm yet eery synth melody before being accompanied by soft bass and claps, a very subdued sound that fills the background. The vocals come in and match the instrumental with a soft and soothing tone, “Sulfur on your breath, granite in my chest” a very somber way of portraying what I believe to be a danger, sulfur is associated with fire, explosions, and destruction, the idea of someone having sulfur on their breath implying that they are aggressive and destructive with their words. This is further exemplified by the granite in the singer’s chest, a heavy chest referring to a burden and feeling of repression, presumably caused by fear of speaking against the other person. “you’ll never have to talk about it, you never want to talk about it” clearly showing the submission of the speaker despite the continuing pain and issues this causes them. The chorus doesn’t change the tempo or the instrumentals and continues “Between the second-hand smoke and the glass on the street, You gave me nothing whatsoever but a reason to leave,
You say you want me, but you know I’m not what you need, But I am” The speaker is recalling all of the fights and damage that have been dealt to each other, fully acknowledging that there was never any real reason to stay, and despite all of this the speaker chooses to ignore this and falsely believe themselves to be what their partner needs. The drums get faster and the vocals are more clearly spoken as the speaker rises to what I view as a sort of confession. “Never mind the death threats, parting at the doorway Rather be six feet under than be lonely” this is self explanatory, admitting that both of them would rather remain in the broken relationship than be alone. “And if you had a problem then you should have told me, before you started getting all aggressive and controlling.” This line I feel to be the granite the speaker has weighing them down, the exact thing they wish they felt safe enough to say but cannot. The chorus is repeated before a large pause, the instrumentals remain and are pushed to the back again before exploding into a heavy cacophony, the classic chuggy guitars, the harsh synth drones and the fast and hard drums, soon after the chorus is repeated over the top of the sound before the song fades out.
Much like Chokehold, Granite focuses on a broken and toxic relationship, implementing the calm and the explosive, representing both very prominent sides of the relationship. Granite emphasises the emotional burden that this has on people and the unfortunate pain caused by fear and a lack of ability to remove themselves from their situation together, an oversight of self preservation, and a possible infatuation and prioritization of the wrong things.
Only one day after the release of Granite came Aqua Regia. The name meaning “royal water” a chemical compound often used to dissolve gold. Aqua Regia is a very solemn and sincere song, carrying you along with spacey vocals and charming piano. The song opens with cold and echoing synth, we get a tease of the piano and we enter the first verse. I find interest in the second part of the verse, “These days I’m a circuit board, integrated hardware you cannot afford” The speaker refers to themselves as a circuit board, comparisons of people to robots are often done negatively, emphasising a lack of soul and emotion, which is strange within the context as the vocals are very soft and soulful. Another thing to note is gold being a primary component of circuitry, referencing the title of the song. “The perfect start to a perfect war. Putting down the roses picking up the sword” Gold is representative of and associated with greed and wealth, historically the cuase of many conflicts. I believe the latter part shows the speakers willingness to abandon the prospect of love in order to fight for themself, this may be in relation to the toxic relationship described by previous songs. The drums pick up as we begin the second verse “Well, my past is a holy book. A call from Olympus, ringing off the hook” Personally I believe the comparison of a holy book is to represent the speakers past as something they can look back on and read throuh in order to reveal important lessons, actually learning from the past. “And these days I’m a picture frame. Screaming at the sunshine, singing in the rain.” Referring to yourself as a picture frame implies that you have become a part of someones past or memory, whether it be a case of no longer being with them or simply as a reminder. The second part shows a clear swap of the speakers mentality, whether an ability or inability to identify and act appropriately to a situation. I’m torn between two interpretations, the first has the speaker learning that the relationships they believe to be good for them are not, and thus responds negatively (screaming at the sunshine) and has gained the ability to accept and appreciate the loneliness they where scared of (singing in the rain). The second could simply highlight the backwards way they think, refusing the sunlight of leaving the relationship while reveling within the chaos that is the rain. The piano is beautifully introduced to have us drift along the chorus. “Aqua regia. Oxytocin running in the ether. Silicon ballrooms. Subatomic interactions if it’s all good.” I believe the speaker is adressing the current situation when it comes to relationships and connections, the silicon ballroom being a metaphor to electronics and possibly dating apps being the modern day equivelent to a ballroom, a place of social interaction and courting. Oxytocin is a hormone that produces empathy and attatchment, a vital component of love and attraction, the ether referring to the internet, a large and open space where these emotions are sent, possibly being lost. “Gold rush, acid flux .Saturate me, I can’t get enough” I see this as an acceptance of a cycle, in which people partake in the gold rush, searching for love, and eventually face the acid flux of the Aqua Regia, having the relationship dissolve. The speaker is clearly caught in this loop, I imagine this is meant both negatively and positively for different reasons. The instruments retreat and an acoustic guitar briefly fills the melody of the piano as we hit a small bridge, the lyrics that jump out at me are “Oh, when I am done dancing to alarm bells. No wonder my ears are still ringing.” It is inferred that the alarm bells are notifications, presumably from dating apps, and even when the speaker stops using the apps it is still on the brain, pointing at the addicting nature of dating apps. Another possiblity is that even when the speaker has removed himself from the previous toxic relationships he is still influenced by them, a potential trauma that has stuck with them. Everything returns for the final chorus, and as the final word is spoken the music cuts off.
A good chunk of time passes until the middle of February, enough time had passed for people to believe the previous four songs to be all we would recieve as a taste of the upcoming album, however Vore was dropped and was not expected. Taking a bit of time before releasing Vore may have been a tactical move made by Sleep Token as the song massively differs from the previous, despite The Summoning having it’s fair share of heaviness it is nothing compared to Vore, it opens up with extremely distorted guitar, soon after the drums come thundering in, quickly accompanied by extremely harsh metal screaming. The lyrics detail a clear pain felt by the speaker, literally being screamed out, “My life is torn, my bones, they bleed. My metaphors fall short in the end”. The instruments calm down for a second to allow an extrmely agressive yet subdued “Are you in pain like I am? Are you in pain like I am?” almost whispered in the background. “Will we remain stuck in the throat of gods? Will the pain stop if wе go deeper?” One thing to note here is that the speaker stops referring to the other person as you and begins referring to the both of them as “we”, signifying a unification and bond. Vore is a term used to describe the fetish of being eaten, usually swallowed whole by someone or something, in this context it doubles as both a literal meaning in being vored by the gods and a metaphorical meaning of being the voice of god. “Walls of flesh, so warm again. We step into my suffering. My only need, welcome me in. Welcome me in” the walls of flesh refer directly to the throat of this god, the speaker actively begging to be welcomed in. Within the context of the relationship the lyrics double up as an act of intercourse, being “swallowed whole” by the partner, feeling the warmth of the “walls of flesh” further showing the creation of the “we” that the speaker now refers to them as. It’s a very dull and vulgar way to speak about intercourse, I believe emphasising both the degree of lust and infatuation the speaker feels. “There is always something in the way. I wanna have you to myself for once” the speaker wishes for nothing other than full ownership of the object of their obsession, their partner.
Overall I believe the song to be portraying the speakers determination to be consumed whole by the thing they desire most, calling out multiple times to god incinuates the speaker views this as a way of reaching a highest point, almost transcendental for them. Being wrapped up in obsession can be a dangerous game and I feel like the speaker has disregarded the past and all of their doubts, deciding to fully commit to the idea of the relationship, “will the pain stop if we go deeper”.
I struggle to properly express my love for Sleep Token, their music has become a very prominent part of my overall music taste and a common part of my life because of this. Very few bands speak to me on a similar level, a perfect blend of musical experimentation and deep cutting lyrics. Even if it is not the case I feel as though I have lived through and experienced everything that is sang about, a testament to their ability to create emotionally wrenching lyrics, accompanied by extremely competent, refreshing and rich instrumentals. The band seems to progress at astounding speeds and I’m always excited for what will come next. The duality of the music, the constant ebb and flow of the sad and happy, the light and the dark, a focus of their music I find extremely seductive. I believe Sleep Token are producing some of the most real and raw commentary on modern emotional and social situations. I know that within their catalogue of songs there is something that anyone can relate to, I just hope that the music is as theraputic and soothing as it is to you as it is to me.
Hopefully you give them a listen and the well deserved appreciation, the new album comes out on May 19th, maybe you’ll end up as excited as I am.
And remember:
Worship!
Continued Culmination 
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