Take Me Back to Eden

Take Me Back to Eden
Studio album by
Sleep Token
Released19 May 2023 (2023-05-19)
StudioTreehouse, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK
Genre
Length63:26
LabelSpinefarm
ProducerCarl Bown
Sleep Token chronology
This Place Will Become Your Tomb
(2021) 		Take Me Back to Eden
(2023)
Singles from Take Me Back to Eden
  1. "Chokehold"
    Released: 5 January 2023
  2. "The Summoning"
    Released: 6 January 2023
  3. "Granite"
    Released: 19 January 2023
  4. "Aqua Regia"
    Released: 20 January 2023
  5. "Vore"
    Released: 16 February 2023
  6. "DYWTYLM"
    Released: 20 April 2023

Take Me Back to Eden is the third studio album by anonymous English rock band Sleep Token. Produced by the band's frontman Vessel with Carl Bown (the first time the band had produced a record without their previous producer George Lever), it was released on 19 May 2023 by Spinefarm Records. The album serves as the final part of a trilogy, also featuring the group's first and second albums, Sundowning (2019), and This Place Will Become Your Tomb (2021).

Six songs from Take Me Back to Eden were released as singles: "Chokehold", "The Summoning", "Granite", "Aqua Regia", "Vore" and "DYWTYLM".

While the album received divided reviews from critics, it debuted at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart and in the top 20 of the United States.

Background

Sleep Token released the first two songs from their as-yet untitled third album, "Chokehold" and "The Summoning", on 5 and 6 January 2023, respectively.[1] These were followed on 19 and 20 January by "Granite" and "Aqua Regia", respectively.[2] The slew of releases led to a rapid increase in popularity for the band, who grew from having reportedly "less than 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify at the beginning of January" to having over 1.58 million by the end of the month.[3] "The Summoning", in particular, became one of Sleep Token's most popular songs to date, reaching number 1 on the Spotify Top 50 Viral Songs chart, as well as receiving over 1 million views on YouTube within two weeks.[4] It was also the band's first song to register on the official UK and US charts, reaching number 14 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart,[5] number 26 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart,[6] and number 2 on the Billboard Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart.[7]

Take Me Back to Eden was officially announced on 16 February 2023, alongside the release of fifth single "Vore". The album was described in its announcement as "Part 3 of a trilogy, a spectacular chapter-closer in the ongoing Sleep Token saga, a saga that kicked off in earnest with debut album Sundowning".[8] "DYWTYLM" was issued as the sixth pre-release track from the album on 23 April 2023.[9]

Composition

The album combines elements of various genres including funk,[10][11] electronic,[12] pop,[12][13][11] R&B,[13] alternative metal,[14] progressive metal,[13] djent,[12][11] metalcore,[11] and blues.[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic60/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
Blabbermouth.net8/10[16]
Clash5/10[17]
Kerrang!4/5[18]
The Line of Best Fit6/10[19]
Metal Hammer[20]
Metal Injection6.5/10[21]
MetalSucks4.5/5[13]
NME[22]
The Skinny[23]
Wall of Sound10/10[24]

Take Me Back to Eden received polarizing reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 60, based on seven reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[15]

In a five-star review for the NME, Emma Wilkes described the album as "an ambitious, emotional monolith of a record, with all the hallmarks of future classic status", praising its "unpredictability" and adoption of multiple musical styles.[22] In a four-star review for Metal Hammer, Dannii Leivers described Take Me Back to Eden as "a record that not only expands the band's universe and continues to prod metal's boundaries, but considers what it means to be human", proposing that it is "Sleep Token's strongest effort to date".[20]

Clash writer Ims Taylor claimed that while "Some moments are impressive", Take Me Back to Eden is "An album let down by over-indulgence", suggesting that the record features too many songs that "stretch on longer than [they] need to".[17] Similarly, Elliott Burr of The Line of Best Fit complained that Take Me Back to Eden "tends to drag along with bread-and-butter formulas", concluding his 6/10 review by suggesting that it "may not be revolutionary in its music or pantomime, with some evident missteps".[19]

Accolades

At the end of 2023, Take Me Back to Eden was included in a number of music publication's end-of-year lists:

Publication List Rank Ref.
Alternative Press 5 Best Albums of 2023 (Readers' Vote) #5 [25]
Alternative Press 50 Best Albums of 2023 (Writers' Vote) unordered [26]
Kerrang! 50 Best Albums of 2023 #3 [27]
Metal Hammer 50 Best Metal Albums of 2023 (Readers' Vote) #1 [28]
Metal Hammer 50 Best Metal Albums of 2023 (Writers' Vote) #4 [29]
Metal Injection Top 20 Albums of 2023 #5 [30]
NME Best Albums of 2023 #21 [31]
Revolver 5 Best Albums of 2023 (Readers' Vote) #1 [32]
Revolver 30 Best Albums of 2023 (Writers' Vote) #1 [33]
Rock Sound Top 50 Albums of 2023 #1 [34]

On August 22, 2024, Take Me Back to Eden won the Heavy Music Awards Best Album of the year.

On December 12, 2024, Take Me Back to Eden won the Billboard Music Award for Best Hard Rock Album.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Vessel. While II is listed as a writer for some songs, that is referring to the drum tracks, which he wrote and performed.[citation needed]

Take Me Back to Eden track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Chokehold"5:04
2."The Summoning"6:35
3."Granite"3:45
4."Aqua Regia"3:56
5."Vore"5:39
6."Ascensionism"7:08
7."Are You Really Okay?"5:06
8."The Apparition"4:28
9."DYWTYLM" (Shortened for Do You Wish That You Loved Me)4:00
10."Rain"4:12
11."Take Me Back to Eden"8:20
12."Euclid"5:13
Total length:63:26

Personnel

  • Vessel – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, synthesizers, production
  • II – drums
  • Carl Bown – production, engineering
  • Ste Kerry – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Take Me Back to Eden
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[59] Gold 100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Sleep Token Share Two New Songs With "Chokehold" + "The Summoning"". Spinefarm Records. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Sleep Token Releases Two New Songs "Granite" & "Aqua Regia"". PM Studio. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  3. ^ Childers, Chad (4 February 2023). "Sleep Token is Now No. 1 on Spotify's Top 50 Viral Songs Chart". Loudwire. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  4. ^ Schaffner, Lauryn (19 January 2023). "Why Is Everyone Talking About Mystery Band Sleep Token?". Loudwire. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40: 27 January 2023 - 02 February 2023". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs: Week of February 25, 2023". Billboard charts. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Hard Rock Digital Song Sales: Week of January 28, 2023". Billboard charts. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  8. ^ Alderslade, Merlin (16 February 2023). "Sleep Token confirm brand new album Take Me Back To Eden, release new single Vore". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  9. ^ Wilkes, Emma (23 April 2023). "Sleep Token debut emotional new single 'DYWTYLM'". NME. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  10. ^ Wilkes, Emma (18 May 2023). "Sleep Token - 'Take Me Back To Eden' review: masked heroes pushing rock to its extremes". NME.
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  12. ^ a b c "SLEEP TOKEN - 'Take Me Back To Eden'". RockZone (in Spanish). 18 May 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d Heilman, Max (16 May 2023). "Review: Sleep Token Continues to Push Boundaries on Take Me Back To Eden". MetalSucks. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  14. ^ Hobson, Rich (December 20, 2023). "The 10 best alt metal albums of 2023". Louder Sound. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Take Me Back to Eden by Sleep Token Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Reviews – Take Me Back To Eden". Blabbermouth.net. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  17. ^ a b Taylor, Ims (19 May 2023). "Sleep Token – Take Me Back To Eden". Clash. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
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