“Take Me Back To Eden” by the anonymous English rock band Sleep Token is a spectacular conclusion to their trilogy of albums over the years.
The band, originally known for their popular song “The Summoning” has become very popular over the past few years but despite their relatively new popularity, the fact that their music may be coming to a stop, whether temporary or not, is a mystery. Their latest album “Take Me Back To Eden” is the last album in their trilogy of albums, marking the end of an era and the possible beginning of a new one.
The album itself is amazing and truly shows the range of music that the band is capable of. The band uses a mix of all sorts of genres such as metal, pop, jazz, and techno to name a few, forming their signature sound. The album has a sort of eerie ethereal feel to it and is worth a listen even if it isn’t your typical preferred music genre. The entire album does an amazing job of covering a variety of complex emotions and situations with powerful lyrics and strong vocals.
Other than the band’s amazing vocals and blend of genres, they also utilize complex imagery within their lyrics that draw you in. In addition, many twisted biblical allusions are included in some of their songs that add to the songs and their deeper meanings.
“Take Me Back To Eden”
“Take Me Back To Eden” is by far one of my favorite songs on the track. It is the second to last song on the album and represents someone’s deep want to go back to a form of perfection and innocence before corruption. In the song they also tackle subjects of self-destruction, desire for validation, and regret and want for acceptance. Other than the meaning of the song, the lyrics are all very pretty and the song itself just sounds amazing and switches genres multiple times, often not seen in just one song.
“The Summoning”
“The Summoning,” one of the songs that quickly brought attention to the band, is another song that is definitely note-worthy on the tracklist. This song was more specifically one of the heavier metal-sounding “screamo” songs on the track. This song covers the idea of being summoned to something, as the title portrays. The lyrics in this song use amazing imagery to represent being summoned to something or someone of a higher power. “The Summoning” tackles a variety of feelings during this “summoning” period but especially emphasizes the connection and indescribable feeling and purpose of finding someone important to you.
“Granite”
“Granite”, along with “Take Me Back To Eden”, are amazing examples of the diversity in music that the band has. The song “Granite” is an alluring yet haunting song, and left me taken aback with all of of its emotion. The cryptic song tells the story of a struggling relationship that is characterized by unease and a sense of suffocation. Like some of the other songs, “Granite” is also about the deep connection that an individual has to someone, despite their problems, and how they would rather be dead than be lonely. The song tackles the feelings of extreme desperation in the relationship and frustration with the situation along with longing for the person they are having issues with.
“Rain”
One of my absolute favorites “Rain” tells the story of finding redemption through someone else.
In the lyrics, rain is used as a metaphor for transformation and it washes away all of the individual’s past emotions. In the song, the person who is “redeeming” them seems to be a sort of savior to the person and a leading them to the right path.
All of the songs in “Take Me Back To Eden” are absolutely beautiful and worth a listen. The whole album is quite genre-fluid, and beautiful but crushing. The album does an amazing job of covering varying emotions and has amazing vocals. “Take Me Back to Eden”, though potentially a dangerous and soul-searching listen, is a journey that is definitely worth going on.
