Sleep Token – Sundowning
Having a band remain anonymous is not a revolutionary thing by any means. Daft Punk, deadmau5; even in the world of metal, most famously Slipknot and Ghost have claimed fame behind masks.
That being said, there is still something captivating and exciting about bands that exist to the listener solely as a musical entity. No names, no external paradigm, just the music. The lack of distractions tends to heighten the intensity of the music, similar to sensory deprivation. Combine all of that with the dizzying genre-crossing music of Sleep Token, and you’ve got yourself one hell of an interesting music act.
Since announcing themselves to the music world in 2017, Sleep Token are loyal worshipers to a deity referred to as “Sleep” (although according to them, there is no real translation). Lead by vocalist Vessel, who dons a mask that looks like if Guy Fawkes had lived in the lost city of Atlantis, Sleep Token reject the concepts of influence and genres, quoted in an interview saying, “Life is dark. Life is bright. Life is ugly. Life is beautiful. Don’t get lost in genres; they’ll only disorientate you. Music is for everyone.”
But for those of us who enjoy having some form of classification, Sleep Token mix together progressive and technical metal, with indie electronic ambience.
On their debut full-length Sundowning, it becomes a lot easier to understand. Some tracks hit hard and heavy like progressive metal should, such as “Gods” and opening track “The Night Does Not Belong to God”, while others build and reconstruct themselves into different shapes and sounds. It’s a strange thing to say that the album shares similarities with artists such Bear’s Den, Manchester Orchestra, Perfect Circle, and new-era Bring Me the Horizon, but after listening to “Offerings” which swings into the extremely soft “Levitate”, you quickly realize it’s both a confusing and captivating album.
In this ever growing musical landscape, it questions what it means to be a “metal” band, making the case for it being more of an aesthetic and theme, rather than a specific sound. Sundowning has the maturity and roundness of an album that was put out by a veteran band as a way to push themselves in a different direction, even though it is only a debut.
The album often ditches the double bass pedal, dropped guitar chords of most metal songs, and instead replaces it with resonating synthesizer chords and soft, clean, yet powerful vocals. The pop forward hits “Sugar” and “Take Aim” are great examples of that. And whoever lives behind the mask of Vessel has an amazing voice that continues the theme of juxtaposition. It can be distant and fragile, or upfront and aggressive whenever necessary.
Sundowning is a phenomenal listen overall, and the 12-track effort makes it easy to enjoy as background music, or more closely as an experimental metal album. And even if you don’t buy into the whole anonymous, mask-wearing aesthetic of the band, there is something to be respected about releasing an album that is not structured based on singles and hits, but rather on its unity and ability to surprise, entertain, and encourage plenty of replays.
Listen to the full review of Sundowning and other new releases on the In No Particular Order podcast. Head to their website for more.
