I know this is a year later, but I HAVE to yap about their breakdowns. Sleep Token is Extremely calculative. Their breakdowns are purposeful and reflect the lore. For Vore, it’s a fade-out becasue he will Always be in pain and be taken advantage from in this situationship. It’s an endless cycle. For Take Me Back to Eden, it’s also a fade out because it’s All and endless cycle as well. In my interpretation of lore, Eden is personified, and in Nazareth (in their ep Two) he kills her to prove himself to Sleep; that he loves Sleep and is so sold out for her. So when he’s begging Sleep to take him back to Eden (to the life he once had) Sleep goes ??? You killed her for me. No I can’t take you back, you are Mine now. I have taken your natural life of Eden and turned it into my mechanical world of Sleep (the “bite through these wires” is referring to the wires Sleep has placed on him like a mechanical puppet so he’s begging Sleep to bite through these wires so he can return to the natural: his Eden). The fade out means that there’s no turning back, it’s a cycle, and it’s forever. So this entire lore reflects the idea that Vessel found Sleep (a knowledge, a trauma) that is so massive and inflecting that he can Never return to life how it once was so either he sits and rots in his despair, or he moves on and goes through the Massively painful and refining process of transcendence. Trauma and pain are brutal but necessary to move on and grow exponentially in your personal life, where your past life may never be accessible again and you might grieve that, but Euclid (“I must be someone new” “I know for the last time, you will not be mine so give me this night) is him moving on into the light of the future from the tumultuous relationship/trauma/experience. He’s healing and growing albeit in slight grievance of the life he lost. It’s so beautiful and the reason why this is my favorite band.
ST really do be breaking borders. Even Shaggy came to life from an animated series just to worship. Jokes aside... Anyone who can appreciate their music is a friend to me. Glad to be alive during this band's creative journey!
Regarding "are you really okay", I heard that the song is written from the perspective of Vessel's mother(which explains the old time-y and wholesome tone of the song) and therefore, vessel is the one who had hurt themselves
I giggled so much during The Summoning when you paused to say "have you ever been like listening to a metal song and suddenly they just switch to a different subgenre of metal?" Because...give it a minute and they're going to switch to a different genre of music completely.
I love your comment about how they're using the hiphop / rnb sections to tell the story, then going into the metal for the emotional parts; I've not seen anyone say that and it's very astute
the fadeouts on the album feel appropriate to the story it's telling Vore: disappearing down the throat of gods, being swallowed, the sound goes with us The Apparition: just like an apparition disappearing as quickly as it's appeared, leaving Vessel desperately wanting more, so does the music softly vanish TMBTE: the anger subsides slowly into a silent peace before the positive conclusion; I think an abrupt ending here would sound jarring
These are some good points, especially for Vore & Apparition. And I agree that TMBTE shouldn’t have an abrupt ending, but a more decisive big finish would have felt like a stronger choice, for me at least.
Dude, idk how ur channel isn't big yet. Top-tier album reaction, watched whole video in one sitting. AOTY for me so far, and I doubt that something will top it
i agree, i can only imagine he is not promoting it enough. youtube 101 is saying at some point like share and subscribe. people tend to do what they are told.
you have kitties!!! i really appreciate these album reviews, they're very cozy and it's fascinating to hear your own interpretations and takeaways -- you've illuminated some lyrics for me that made me appreciate the songs even more. definitely worth all the time you put into these videos ♡
Thank you for the comprehensive view on this album. You rock! This album has changed my view of music available now. No need for labels, just enjoy the journey. I tend to feel "are you really ok?" May be about a sibling or family member....just from the feeling of it. Or a child maybe...whatever the case, it hurts to hear. Side note: sorry you need to defend your views as it's your reaction, but Cool thing is, ST now has their own bar to top... that's SWEET! thanx again. 😊
The story of the relationship unfolds throughout all the albums and the call backs in the lyrics pull it altogether as a story unfolding. That is what makes his music so special, he spared nothing of himself for us The first verse of or rain is when he was finally able to smile at himself in the mirror. You’ll notice the change in the last songs with his resolve
I tend to skip "Are you really OK?" because I can't relate but I'm pretty aware of how well written that song is, that's why I think ST don't have a single bad song. On the contrary, while most people find "DYWTYLM" plain, boring or whatever, it totally hits me in the exact point of vulnerability, I can feel each word of that song from the first listening. The happy rhythm kinda gives a "hope of improvement" sensation and shows pretty well what can be in your head when you stop a moment to watch yourself in a mirror, both physically and mentally speaking. I'm glad to see how ST can reach out to almost any person's feelings (let's put aside the TRVE metalheads hahaha) The line in 2:17:58 is the most epic in ST discography. So haven't you ever listened to the album Sundowning or preview EPs? I find your reaction style very enjoyable, new sub!
I have listened to Sundowning, but because I didn’t listen to it for a video I wasn’t paying as close attention to the lyrics, but I do appreciate that they used old lyrics to cap off the album
You know, i think the frequency of the "standard sleep token breakdown" on this album may be why i don't play this album as much as the earlier ones. I didn't know what it was about this album that didn't pull me too much, but i guess that may be why. Im not a musician so i don't really know the words for what im hearing. You gave me the words. Thanks!
"Are you really okay?" Hits so fucking hard for me. I don't personally have any experience with self harm myself, but I was surrounded by people experiencing self harm. It is so hard for me to hear this song and not cry, it's beautiful.
Thank you for this awesome review!! I enjoyed going through it with you and looking at it with fresh eyes. I wish you would have gone through their first album beforehand, because the callbacks would have hit 100x harder, especially in Euclid. But its never too late! Sundowning is an awesome album to review if you ever want to go through it I will definitely be watching! WORSHIP
I completely agree with everything you said about some songs needing more variety and complexity, but you know why that notion is completely irrelevant? Because 99% of ALL the music industry deals with the exact same "issues". It is extremely hard, close to impossible to make 12 completely unique songs and make them really good, we humans are utterly imperfect, and even hard on ourselves, never satisfied with what we've got, easily seeing faults in others while being blind about our own... And this is all COMPLETELY NORMAL, that's why this album, with all its perfections and imperfections is exactly what it is supposed to be (even though we wish it could've been something more). Hope this makes sense. Cheers.
My comment will probably go unnoticed, but I thing almost all the lyrics in all songs (on all albums) can be interpreted in two ways at the same time. The first is religious (as you said): talking to and about Sleep. And then romantic-ish: talking to and about his ex. Sleep= his toxic ex, Once you look from this perspective, every single line makes sense. Toxic relationship is all I personally see in all ST songs, with few exceptions such as Are you really okay.
HA joke’s on you thinking you’d go unnoticed. Totally agree, and as someone that grew up listening to a lot of Christian punk, I became very familiar with the question “Is this about a girl or God?”, so finding Sleep Token was a very cool inversion of that trope.
Man you hit it right on the head, about his ex Gemma. Every single song is about her and their past/present/future. I love it, but hate that I'm obsessed with it 🤣🤣
I hate Take Me Back to Eden's fade out too. Even though there's a reason for it, it's frustrating. Not saying you have to do it for the channel, but I hope you've watched some of II's offerings. Drum cams from concerts too, especially for the solo he adds during The Summoning's interlude. Feel like that's something you might enjoy. And I hope you enjoyed Sundowning. Anyway, thanks for the reactions, they were fun. Subbed.
OMG you have a cat ToT Sending virtual pats :"" Edit: Correction, you have a few kitties omg :""" The lil fellow checking out behind the curtain and you kinda looking out for where the lil floof ball is going was cute lol
I tend to do audio only. Helps me focus on the music, also TH-cam hasn’t taken kindly to using video content in these reactions, if the TOP Unplugged video is any indication.
People get too hung up on the lore, it’s about his ex, most all of the songs are. With the exception of a few like Atlantic, DYWTYLM and Are You Ok? Atlantic was the aftermath of are you really ok? It was him and this song was from his moms point of view 😢 DYWTYLM is Vessel talking to himself in the mirror he’s torn between himself and the mask he wears meaning the performer
I know you did not just cut out the entire hip-hop section of Take Me Back to Eden😒 I was willing to forgive all the other edits but not only did you edit out huge chunks of the TITLE SONG, but also somewhat trashing it? Dude. Disappointment.
I know it’s his opinion but I was also disappointed he cut out that entire portion cause the first time I heard it I was like DAMNNN it hits a little close to home 😅 Plus my favorite lyric in TMBTE is “No amount of self sought fury will bring back the glory of innocence”
Yupp I feel like maybe he was getting burnt out from his long session of sitting in one spot, it made me realize why youtubers don't often do full album reactions in one video, there are many benefits to doing split videos. His pausing and possibly low volume made him miss all of the changes they actually do with the music in the songs, and he was getting tired of Sleep Token sounding like Sleep Token. Was interesting.
Trust me, no one will defend cats more than I will. But the orange cat is working with half a brain cell that it shares with the other two cats in this house, and I love her very much for that exact reason
The algorithm is doing bro dirty, this is the type of reaction videos i like
this album is either “I will never be the same again” or Sex: The Musical
I know this is a year later, but I HAVE to yap about their breakdowns. Sleep Token is Extremely calculative. Their breakdowns are purposeful and reflect the lore. For Vore, it’s a fade-out becasue he will Always be in pain and be taken advantage from in this situationship. It’s an endless cycle. For Take Me Back to Eden, it’s also a fade out because it’s All and endless cycle as well. In my interpretation of lore, Eden is personified, and in Nazareth (in their ep Two) he kills her to prove himself to Sleep; that he loves Sleep and is so sold out for her. So when he’s begging Sleep to take him back to Eden (to the life he once had) Sleep goes ??? You killed her for me. No I can’t take you back, you are Mine now. I have taken your natural life of Eden and turned it into my mechanical world of Sleep (the “bite through these wires” is referring to the wires Sleep has placed on him like a mechanical puppet so he’s begging Sleep to bite through these wires so he can return to the natural: his Eden). The fade out means that there’s no turning back, it’s a cycle, and it’s forever.
So this entire lore reflects the idea that Vessel found Sleep (a knowledge, a trauma) that is so massive and inflecting that he can Never return to life how it once was so either he sits and rots in his despair, or he moves on and goes through the Massively painful and refining process of transcendence. Trauma and pain are brutal but necessary to move on and grow exponentially in your personal life, where your past life may never be accessible again and you might grieve that, but Euclid (“I must be someone new” “I know for the last time, you will not be mine so give me this night) is him moving on into the light of the future from the tumultuous relationship/trauma/experience. He’s healing and growing albeit in slight grievance of the life he lost. It’s so beautiful and the reason why this is my favorite band.
Sorry for editing it like a thousand times oops
ST really do be breaking borders. Even Shaggy came to life from an animated series just to worship. Jokes aside... Anyone who can appreciate their music is a friend to me. Glad to be alive during this band's creative journey!
Shaggy... got me lol 😂😂
My man was not really ok 😢
Thank god there was a small cat on hand
Regarding "are you really okay", I heard that the song is written from the perspective of Vessel's mother(which explains the old time-y and wholesome tone of the song) and therefore, vessel is the one who had hurt themselves
I giggled so much during The Summoning when you paused to say "have you ever been like listening to a metal song and suddenly they just switch to a different subgenre of metal?" Because...give it a minute and they're going to switch to a different genre of music completely.
I love your comment about how they're using the hiphop / rnb sections to tell the story, then going into the metal for the emotional parts; I've not seen anyone say that and it's very astute
the fadeouts on the album feel appropriate to the story it's telling
Vore: disappearing down the throat of gods, being swallowed, the sound goes with us
The Apparition: just like an apparition disappearing as quickly as it's appeared, leaving Vessel desperately wanting more, so does the music softly vanish
TMBTE: the anger subsides slowly into a silent peace before the positive conclusion; I think an abrupt ending here would sound jarring
These are some good points, especially for Vore & Apparition. And I agree that TMBTE shouldn’t have an abrupt ending, but a more decisive big finish would have felt like a stronger choice, for me at least.
I mean these are objectively good points but I feel like there are always better alternatives to fade-outs.
Dude, idk how ur channel isn't big yet. Top-tier album reaction, watched whole video in one sitting. AOTY for me so far, and I doubt that something will top it
i agree, i can only imagine he is not promoting it enough. youtube 101 is saying at some point like share and subscribe. people tend to do what they are told.
Sleep Token so good. And they have made me cry on a few occasions. Your reactions and analyses are fantastic.
Excellent review! Wish this 2.5 hour review was longer :). Thanks for taking time to dive in deep into the album.
you have kitties!!! i really appreciate these album reviews, they're very cozy and it's fascinating to hear your own interpretations and takeaways -- you've illuminated some lyrics for me that made me appreciate the songs even more. definitely worth all the time you put into these videos ♡
You’re the first to note the presence of the cats in my videos, and for that you have earned my appreciation and respect
51:47 - Gods from Sundowning :)
Wow, just gonna say that I'm busy and can't watch this just yet, but I'm looking forward to this! Thanks for the upload!
Thank you for the comprehensive view on this album. You rock! This album has changed my view of music available now. No need for labels, just enjoy the journey. I tend to feel "are you really ok?" May be about a sibling or family member....just from the feeling of it. Or a child maybe...whatever the case, it hurts to hear. Side note: sorry you need to defend your views as it's your reaction, but Cool thing is, ST now has their own bar to top... that's SWEET! thanx again. 😊
The story of the relationship unfolds throughout all the albums and the call backs in the lyrics pull it altogether as a story unfolding. That is what makes his music so special, he spared nothing of himself for us
The first verse of or rain is when he was finally able to smile at himself in the mirror. You’ll notice the change in the last songs with his resolve
2:22:02
It could also be a reference to the song from their first EP "one" called "when the bough breaks"
I can't explain it but I'm just in love with this guy. I enjoy your reactions and your input on the potential meaning of the songs.
I tend to skip "Are you really OK?" because I can't relate but I'm pretty aware of how well written that song is, that's why I think ST don't have a single bad song. On the contrary, while most people find "DYWTYLM" plain, boring or whatever, it totally hits me in the exact point of vulnerability, I can feel each word of that song from the first listening. The happy rhythm kinda gives a "hope of improvement" sensation and shows pretty well what can be in your head when you stop a moment to watch yourself in a mirror, both physically and mentally speaking.
I'm glad to see how ST can reach out to almost any person's feelings (let's put aside the TRVE metalheads hahaha)
The line in 2:17:58 is the most epic in ST discography. So haven't you ever listened to the album Sundowning or preview EPs?
I find your reaction style very enjoyable, new sub!
I have listened to Sundowning, but because I didn’t listen to it for a video I wasn’t paying as close attention to the lyrics, but I do appreciate that they used old lyrics to cap off the album
yesss. Loved watching the reaction keep it up! Nice seeing you read into the lyrics too
I wanna sit down and yap with this dude so bad. Immediate subscription because I feel like I’m on FaceTime with my bestie just yappin
The drummer's precision and energy are off the charts 🤘
and just now Nick Thurl Mavromatis dropped a banger 🔥 You gotta react to it!
he just put out an interview with drumeo where he talks about how he develops his fills and stuff
You know, i think the frequency of the "standard sleep token breakdown" on this album may be why i don't play this album as much as the earlier ones. I didn't know what it was about this album that didn't pull me too much, but i guess that may be why. Im not a musician so i don't really know the words for what im hearing. You gave me the words. Thanks!
If you like that siren sound form the guitar then you would probably really like the DOOM OSTs
Oh I’m a huge fan of the DOOM OSTs
"Are you really okay?" Hits so fucking hard for me. I don't personally have any experience with self harm myself, but I was surrounded by people experiencing self harm. It is so hard for me to hear this song and not cry, it's beautiful.
enjoyed it a super lot. s tier and super unique. super glad I came across your channel! 🤘Next reaction - Nick Thurl end up dead 😍
The lyrics are so deep and thought-provoking. Their songwriting is top-notch 🤘
Thank you for this awesome review!! I enjoyed going through it with you and looking at it with fresh eyes. I wish you would have gone through their first album beforehand, because the callbacks would have hit 100x harder, especially in Euclid. But its never too late! Sundowning is an awesome album to review if you ever want to go through it I will definitely be watching! WORSHIP
I completely agree with everything you said about some songs needing more variety and complexity, but you know why that notion is completely irrelevant? Because 99% of ALL the music industry deals with the exact same "issues". It is extremely hard, close to impossible to make 12 completely unique songs and make them really good, we humans are utterly imperfect, and even hard on ourselves, never satisfied with what we've got, easily seeing faults in others while being blind about our own... And this is all COMPLETELY NORMAL, that's why this album, with all its perfections and imperfections is exactly what it is supposed to be (even though we wish it could've been something more). Hope this makes sense. Cheers.
Cool dude, subbed.
My comment will probably go unnoticed, but I thing almost all the lyrics in all songs (on all albums) can be interpreted in two ways at the same time. The first is religious (as you said): talking to and about Sleep. And then romantic-ish: talking to and about his ex. Sleep= his toxic ex, Once you look from this perspective, every single line makes sense. Toxic relationship is all I personally see in all ST songs, with few exceptions such as Are you really okay.
HA joke’s on you thinking you’d go unnoticed. Totally agree, and as someone that grew up listening to a lot of Christian punk, I became very familiar with the question “Is this about a girl or God?”, so finding Sleep Token was a very cool inversion of that trope.
Man you hit it right on the head, about his ex Gemma. Every single song is about her and their past/present/future. I love it, but hate that I'm obsessed with it 🤣🤣
they're music has helped me through some tough times. Forever grateful for their art😍 Btw would love to see you react on end up dead by Nick Thurl
Check out Gods off of Sundowning for screams out the gate and for entire verses.
TMBTE is vessel’s journey Euclid is the fans journey so yeah the epilogue is a good way to look at it
I hate Take Me Back to Eden's fade out too. Even though there's a reason for it, it's frustrating.
Not saying you have to do it for the channel, but I hope you've watched some of II's offerings. Drum cams from concerts too, especially for the solo he adds during The Summoning's interlude. Feel like that's something you might enjoy. And I hope you enjoyed Sundowning. Anyway, thanks for the reactions, they were fun. Subbed.
they almost satirize Christian worship music, Euclid is a good example, I love it
New sub! 🎉
OMG you have a cat ToT
Sending virtual pats :""
Edit:
Correction, you have a few kitties omg :"""
The lil fellow checking out behind the curtain and you kinda looking out for where the lil floof ball is going was cute lol
If you listen to their first album (the sundowning), the song GOD is the only other that sound a bit like VORE
When will you do a review of ST’s Sundowning album?
I probably won’t, because I listened to it on my own time and very much did not expect these videos to do as well as they have
I wonder if you've pulled up just the audio version of the songs or if you watch the visualizer/MV that some of the songs have :o
I tend to do audio only. Helps me focus on the music, also TH-cam hasn’t taken kindly to using video content in these reactions, if the TOP Unplugged video is any indication.
@@talllankyguyunderstandable thank you for the answer ~
People get too hung up on the lore, it’s about his ex, most all of the songs are. With the exception of a few like Atlantic, DYWTYLM and Are You Ok?
Atlantic was the aftermath of are you really ok? It was him and this song was from his moms point of view 😢
DYWTYLM is Vessel talking to himself in the mirror he’s torn between himself and the mask he wears meaning the performer
god, am i really going to subscribe because of a Windows 2000 joke 😂
You tell me
#sleeptokenreaction
👋🙂
I know you did not just cut out the entire hip-hop section of Take Me Back to Eden😒 I was willing to forgive all the other edits but not only did you edit out huge chunks of the TITLE SONG, but also somewhat trashing it? Dude. Disappointment.
I know it’s his opinion but I was also disappointed he cut out that entire portion cause the first time I heard it I was like DAMNNN it hits a little close to home 😅 Plus my favorite lyric in TMBTE is “No amount of self sought fury will bring back the glory of innocence”
Yupp I feel like maybe he was getting burnt out from his long session of sitting in one spot, it made me realize why youtubers don't often do full album reactions in one video, there are many benefits to doing split videos. His pausing and possibly low volume made him miss all of the changes they actually do with the music in the songs, and he was getting tired of Sleep Token sounding like Sleep Token. Was interesting.
I don't appreciate the cat comment saying they didn't have much of a brain for your info cats are very intelligent. So I hope you are just joking. ...
Trust me, no one will defend cats more than I will. But the orange cat is working with half a brain cell that it shares with the other two cats in this house, and I love her very much for that exact reason