Take Me Back To Eden

''Take Me Back to Eden'' is the third studio album by anonymous English rock band Sleep Token. It was released on 19 May 2023 by Spinefarm Records. While initial reviews were mixed, the album eventually received numerous accolades and featured on several well-known best of 2023 lists. It also became a commercial hit and was Spotify's most streamed metal album of 2023.

Background

Sleep Token released the first two songs from their third album, ''Take Me Back to Eden'', as singles. "Chokehold" and "The Summoning", released on 5 and 6 January 2023, respectively. These were followed on 19 and 20 January by "Granite" and "Aqua Regia", respectively. 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. "The Summoning", in particular, became one of Sleep Token's most popular songs to date, reaching number one on the Spotify Top 50 Viral Songs chart, as well as receiving over one million views on YouTube within two weeks. 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, number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, and number two on the ''Billboard'' Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart.

''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''". "DYWTYLM" was issued as the sixth pre-release track from the album on 23 April 2023.

As of January 2025, according to setlist.fm, the two most performed songs from ''Take Me Back to Eden'' are "Granite" and "The Summoning", at rank 6 and 7, with 113 performances each. Followed by "Chokehold" at rank 8, and "Rain" at rank 9.

Composition

The album was produced by Carl Bown, in their first collaboration after having worked with George Lever on their previous recordings. The album combines elements of various genres including funk, electronic, pop, R&B, alternative metal, progressive metal, djent, metalcore, and blues.

Critical reception

''Take Me Back to Eden'' received polarized 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".

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. 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".

'' 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 heyneed to". 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".

Accolades

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

On 22 August 2024, ''Take Me Back to Eden'' won the Heavy Music Award for Best Album of the Year.

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

Track listing

;Notes
*"DYWTYLM" stands for "Do You Wish That You Loved Me".

Personnel

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

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

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{{Sleep Token

2023 albums
Sleep Token albums
Spinefarm Records albums
Albums produced by Carl Bown