On April 4, Sleep Token released their second single, “Caramel,” for “Even in Arcadia.”
There seems to be a divide with the album’s release, as teased with the releases of the Instagram pages Feathered Host and House Veridian.
With the release of “Emergence,” whose colors were green and gold, the single was in honor of House Veridian. And now “Caramel,” whose colors are gold and cream, is in honor of Feathered Host.
“Caramel” would be teased numerous times by North Carolina meteorologist Chris Michaels, who was contacted by Sleep Token to give clues to the next single on EIA. He released the first teaser on March 29 on his Instagram Page. Michaels would then go on to give another teaser, saying, “Developing 3/31. 8 AM.”
He would receive backlash from fans who were impatient for the song’s release. This agitation became more apparent when, on the 31st, a new teaser was released saying, “Plan(t). 4/2. 8 AM EDT.”
Fans would go after Michaels, questioning his integrity. They wondered if he was genuinely working with Sleep Token. He would respond to this saying, “Do you guys actually think that I/my station would tarnish my own credibility and that the label/the band would allow me to cloutbait and clickbait?”
As a response to the backlash, Sleep Token’s official Instagram would give the last teaser that day, saying, “Prepare. 4/4. 8 AM.” This was considered a hush-up for the impatient fans who were going out of their way to disrespect Michaels.
After Sleep Token’s response, many fans would go to Michaels’s page to apologize for the behavior of that side of the fandom. Michaels would respond by saying, “Don’t blame yourself. 99.5% of the fandom overrides all the backlash I was given. Thank you for allowing me to have this experience with you.”
Addressing the Fandom
Like every fandom, Sleep Token has endured toxicity, like when fans became parasocial. In a threat to their anonymity, Vessel, II, III, and IV’s addresses, names, birthdates, etc, have been doxxed.
This caused many to believe that after “The Teeth of God” tour in 2024, they would no longer make music. However, this wasn’t the case, and the song “Caramel” directly responds to the behavior some of their fans displayed. Vessel goes out of his way to say in the song, “Every time they try to shout my real name just to get a rise from me. Acting like I’m never stressed out by the hearsay.”
Sleep Token, like most artists, takes inspiration from real-life experiences. However, from my examination of their music, the personal experiences have always been up to the interpretation of the fans.
“Caramel,” however, was fully direct, and it was needed. Since the members were doxxed in 2023, some of the fandom has forgotten about it or even chosen to ignore it since, at the time, people went out of their way to call out those who said his real name and shut them up when trying to talk about it.
On TikTok, a video was posted of Vessel pointing at someone in the crowd, spitting on the stage and flipping them off. It was revealed later that this was because the person had screamed his full name to get his attention.
The top comment when writing this says, “I am still VERY MUCH attracted to angry vessel. although those guys were disrespectful, seeing vessel like that something is wrong with me.”
It’s normal to find someone attractive, especially if they’re known for making songs that are considered “baby-making metal.” Still, the behavior of sexualizing someone frustrated and angry with the way that they’re being treated is disgusting. People who comment these things are gross.
Celebrities are still human and should be treated with as much respect as any other stranger, but we have to remember that we don’t know them. Their identities aren’t a game for us to decipher like the lore of their story.
However, this argument has been said over and over again, so I’ll spare you from my frustrations with the toxic side of the fandom.
Lore Review
Before teasing “Caramel” after the release of “Emergence,” Sleep Token’s YouTube channel had, seemingly accidentally, added “Sugar” to their song list for “Even in Arcadia.”
While some took it as a mistake made by the YouTube channel, others began to dissect what that could mean in terms of the lore. “Sugar” was a single for “Sundowning,” released on October 10, 2019. The album was the first official album that Sleep Token had released, and because of this, it raised a lot of eyebrows.
Upon the release of “Caramel,” the main image for “Sugar” on Spotify, which used to be a symbol of the language that these characters wrote in, had changed.
“Sugar” was a song addressed to Sleep and Vessel’s relationship, saying, “You play a twisted game. But I know in a way. You need to complicate it.”
This relationship between Vessel and Sleep is new but still toxic. However, in this part of the story, Vessel doesn’t see that, saying, “Sugar, I’ve developed a taste for you.” Sleep rots him from the inside out and consumes him in a way that no one should be able to break through.
“Caramel” is a song that is supposed to be the opposite of “Sugar.” In “Caramel,” Vessel says, “So stick to me. Stick to me like caramel. Walk beside me till you feel nothin’ as well.” “Caramel” is supposed to be sticky, raw and hardening. Vessel realizes that Sleep will do everything they can to have him come back. But he’s not the Vessel they once knew him as.
“Too young to get bitter over it all. Too old to retaliate like before. Too blessed to be caught ungrateful, I know. So I’ll keep dancing’ along to the rhythm.” This is saying that Vessel can’t react the way he used to. He needs to change, harden, crystalize and break out of the shell that he once had. But he needs to keep the facade up.
There’s an inner turmoil with Vessel throughout the song. Melancholy where the song starts as a lullaby, which is carried out through the song as it gets heavier, then has a beat that is heavily influenced by Reggae, then picks up with the drums as he flows into a rap-like sound that Vessel has demonstrated time and time again. Then, it progresses into a new brassbeat sound, beautifully shown by II. The song has a progression of the beat that slowly files out at the end, returning to the lullaby.
As discussed previously, this song honors Feathered Host, whose tagline is “The cycle must end.” This is Vessel realizing that he can’t continue how it was. He can’t just endure, like House Veridian’s tagline, “The house must endure,” instructs him to.
Throughout the song, it seems that Vessel wants to believe that Sleep can change and that he is frustrated with himself for thinking that it is possible, saying, “The deepest incisions, I thought I got better. But maybe I didn’t.” Vessel wants to believe that people can change, even Sleep, who has hurt him time and time again, and that he is getting better at moving on and becoming a new person. He’s questioning himself and his ability to keep up the facade.
This is where I believe that he’s making Sleep believe that he’s still a devoted worshiper and is still their vessel. He says, “This stage is a prison, a beautiful nightmare… A war of attrition, I’ll take what I’m given… The deepest incisions, I thought I got better…” He doesn’t think that he can keep up the facade of being the perfect vessel. He believes that his plan to break away from Sleep is fruitless and that he should give in.
Sleep Token’s official store is showmehowtodanceforever.com. This, to me, talks about his struggle; he wants to go back to how things were before, and he wishes that he could turn back the clock. The store name shows that. He wants to get going, and I feel like this is exemplified through the lullaby sound we hear throughout the song.
It seems to me that Vessel is a ballerina in a jewelry box, forever spinning. When the song ends, the lullaby abruptly ends, reminding me of someone snapping shut the box, trapping Vessel.
While speculating on the lore is fun, don’t get me wrong; I like writing about what something could mean. However, this song, in its eternity, is a warning. Vessel wants to be left alone, but with the growing popularity of Sleep Token, thanks to platforms like TikTok and Instagram, going from a couple thousand views on Spotify to nine million in 3 years is jarring.
I don’t blame Vessel for making a song like this. And this message isn’t just for the Sleep Token fans, it’s for any fan of any artist. These celebrities are people, and we should treat this as a lesson to calm down and back away for a minute and reflect.
Vessel doesn’t want the fans to stop liking him, something I kept seeing online, but once he leaves that stage, we too should leave.