This Place Will Become Your Tomb

UK’s shadowy collective keep flowering at the edge of the metal universe

Sleep Token’s Vessel aims for a new high

SPINEFARM

IN JUST FIVE years, Sleep Token have become one of the most divisive bands in modern metal (if they even are a metal band). Some see their anonymous masked image as an essential part of their mystique, others view it as a cynical marketing ploy. Some see their music as a spiritual euphoric blend of soft electronics and heavy guitars, while others bemoan their songs as variations on an overused theme. Some embrace their references to gigs as ‘rituals’ or songs as ‘offerings’, while others dismiss such language as pretentious nonsense. But even detractors can’t deny that Sleep Token have a strong, individualistic sound, albeit one that oftentimes threatened to tip over into a repeated formula across their earlier material. This Place Will Become Your Tomb goes some way towards addressing this without throwing away the elements that make them such an idiosyncratic proposition in the first place.

Distraction’s looping piano motif and orchestral swells share similar DNA with Radiohead’s early 00s cut-and- paste experiments, and the dark burbling undertones of Descending aren’t a million miles away from Massive Attack. Organic Rhodes synths and a slow-hand Eric Clapton-esque guitar solo offer unexpected detours on Telomeres, a song that may be the band’s most uplifting ‘offering’ yet. Some of the deviations don’t land; the largely a cappella, autotuned Fall For Me aims for Bon Iver-style grandeur but ultimately falls flat, but the fact that Sleep Token are willing to evoke the indie-folk troubadour one moment while aping Meshuggah’s guitar tone the next is cause for celebration, not consternation. Sleep Token may be more divisive than Marmite, but initially at least, the greatest bands – System Of A Down, Slipknot, Ghost – often are. This Place Will Become Your Tomb hasn’t cemented their place among the greats quite yet, but it has brought them one step closer. ■■■■■■■■■■