This Place Will Become Your Tomb

This Place Will Become Your Tomb is the second studio album by anonymous English rock band Sleep Token. Recorded at G1 Productions in Wells, Somerset, it was produced by George Lever, with whom the group had previously worked on their 2019 debut Sundowning. The album was released on 24 September 2021 by Spinefarm Records, preceded by the singles "Alkaline" in June, "The Love You Want" in August, and "Fall for Me" in September. This Place Will Become Your Tomb gave Sleep Token their first chart positions in the UK, reaching the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart and the top 20 of the Scottish Albums Chart.

This Place Will Become Your Tomb
Studio album by
Released24 September 2021 (2021-09-24)
StudioG1 Productions
(Wells, Somerset)
GenreProgressive metal, alternative metal, indie pop
Length52:01
LabelSpinefarm
ProducerGeorge Lever
Sleep Token chronology
Sundowning
(2019)
This Place Will Become Your Tomb
(2021)
Take Me Back to Eden
(2023)
Singles from This Place Will Become Your Tomb
  1. "Alkaline"
    Released: 18 June 2021
  2. "The Love You Want"
    Released: 6 August 2021
  3. "Fall for Me"
    Released: 17 September 2021

Background

This Place Will Become Your Tomb was announced on 18 June 2021, accompanied by the release of "Alkaline" as the lead single and music video.[1] In an official press release, it was claimed that the album "delves further into the enigmatic universe of Sleep Token, pushing boundaries and blurring genres, whilst retaining their signature sound".[2] On the same day, the band performed on the Second Stage at the Download Festival Pilot, where they performed "Alkaline" live for the first time.[3] This was followed on 6 August by "The Love You Want",[4] and finally "Fall for Me" on 17 September, a week before the album's release.[5]

As of October 2023, according to Setlist.fm, the song from This Place Will Become Your Tomb that Sleep Token have performed most often live is "Alkaline", which is ranked second overall; this is followed by "Hypnosis", "Like That" and "The Love You Want."[6]

Reception

Commercial

This Place Will Become Your Tomb was Sleep Token's first release to chart, debuting at number 39 on the UK Albums Chart.[7] In the midweek chart, it was slated to debut at number 11.[8] The album also registered at number 12 on the UK Album Downloads Chart,[9] number 11 on the UK Album Sales Chart,[10] number 12 on the UK Physical Albums Chart,[11] number 13 on the UK Vinyl Albums Chart,[12] and number 13 on the Scottish Albums Chart.[13]

Critical

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Daily Express[14]
Distorted Sound10/10[15]
Gigwise[16]
Kerrang!3/5[17]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[18]
Metal Injection6/10[19]
Under the Radar[20]
Upset[21]

Media response to This Place Will Become Your Tomb was generally positive. In a 10/10 review written for Distorted Sound magazine, Daniel Fella described the album as a "masterpiece", claiming that "It's unforgettable, unique and damn close to flawless ... music doesn't get much better than this".[15] Daily Express columnist Callum Crumlish gave the album four out of five stars, praising the lyrical content as the band's best yet, as well as the band's development into other musical styles since Sundowning. Crumlish's few criticisms of the release included claims that "Some of the album's songs feel a little stretched" and that "Fall for Me" feels "out of place".[14] Upset magazine also gave the album four out of five, writing that "It's full with great moments, but in between those are some jagged transitions of sounds that don't completely marry".[21]

Kerrang! writer James MacKinnon gave This Place Will Become Your Tomb a rating of three out of five. He praised the album for presenting "compelling songs that we can relate to", highlighting "Alkaline", "Hypnosis" and "The Love You Want"; however, he added that much of the record "doesn't maintain [the same] level of inspiration", claiming that "failing to recognise when to wrap up a track still proves to be Sleep Token's Achilles' heel".[17] Similarly, Harrison Smith for Gigwise complained that "the often lack of distinction between tracks ... detracts from the album's genre-blurring flow", although his review was generally positive about the range of lyrical themes and musical styles adopted.[16] In contrast, Wepea Buntugu of The Line of Best Fit suggested that "flows smoothly from one song to the next, with just enough variety of melodies to stave off monotony while still maintaining a very distinct sound throughout".[18] Under the Radar's Haydon Spenceley praised the album as "accessible".[20]

Accolades

At the end of 2021, Distorted Sound magazine ranked This Place Will Become Your Tomb as the third best album of the year, behind only Trivium's In the Court of the Dragon and Spiritbox's Eternal Blue.[22] Kerrang! ranked it at number 48 in its list of the 50 best albums of 2021, with Emma Wilkes hailing the release as "emotionally vivid" and praising all three singles plus "Hypnosis" as highlights.[23] Metal Hammer ranked the album at number 14 in its end-of-year list.[24] Eight writers for the magazine included the album in their top 20 lists, five of whom ranked it in their top 10.[25] In a feature published shortly after the release of the first four singles from Take Me Back to Eden in January 2023, Metal Hammer included "Alkaline", "The Love You Want", "Fall for Me" and "Hypnosis" in its list of Sleep Token's best songs.[24]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Vessel1 and Vessel2, except where noted

O
No.TitleLength
1."Atlantic" (914 M | 500 F | 0.00394990 NL)4:53
2."Hypnosis" (1824 M | 989 F | 0.00164579 NL)5:35
3."Mine" (2734 M | 1495 F | 0.00724147 NL)4:56
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."Like That" (3644 M | 1992 F | 0.00296242 NL) 3:34
5."The Love You Want" (4554 M | 2490 F | 0.00329158 NL) 4:23
6."Fall for Me" (5464 M | 2988 F | 0.00658316 NL)Vessel12:26
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Alkaline" (6374 M | 3485 F | 0.00263327 NL) 3:34
8."Distraction" (7284 M | 3983 F | 0.00329158 NL) 4:22
9."Descending" (8194 M | 4480 F | 0.00460821 NL)Vessel14:38
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Telomeres" (9104 M | 4978 F | 0.006254 NL) 5:07
11."High Water" (10,014 M | 5475 F | 0.00691232 NL) 5:13
12."Missing Limbs" (10,924 M | 5973 F | 0.00460821 NL)Vessel13:20
Total length:52:01

Personnel

  • Vessel1 – vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion
  • Vessel2 – drums
  • George Lever – production, engineering, bass
  • Sky Van Hoff – mixing, editing, synthesisers, programming

Charts

2021 chart performance for This Place Will Become Your Tomb
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[7] 39
2023 chart performance for This Place Will Become Your Tomb
Chart (2023) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 37

References

  1. Childers, Chad (18 June 2021). "Mysterious Band Sleep Token Unveil Creepy 'Alkaline' Video, Announce Second Album". Loudwire. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  2. Carter, Emily (18 June 2021). "Sleep Token unveil new single Alkaline from upcoming second album This Place Will Become Your Tomb". Kerrang!. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  3. Law, Sam (18 June 2021). "Download Pilot 2021: The Big Review". Kerrang!. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  4. DiVita, Joe (6 August 2021). "Sleep Token's New Song 'The Love You Want' Is Haunting + Beautiful". Loudwire. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  5. Howkins, Jessica (17 September 2021). "Sleep Token release new music video for 'Fall For Me'". Distorted Sound. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  6. "Sleep Token Tour Statistics". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  7. "Sleep Token Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  8. "Official Albums Chart Update Top 100: 27 September 2021 - 03 October 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  9. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100: 01 October 2021 – 07 October 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  10. "Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100: 01 October 2021 – 07 October 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  11. "Official Physical Albums Chart Top 100: 01 October 2021 – 07 October 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  12. "Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40: 01 October 2021 – 07 October 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  13. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100: 01 October 2021 – 07 October 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  14. Crumlish, Callum (24 September 2021). "Sleep Token - This Place Will Become Your Tomb review: Powerful introspective melodies". Daily Express. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  15. Fella, Daniel (20 September 2021). "Album Review: This Place Will Become Your Tomb – Sleep Token". Distorted Sound. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  16. Smith, Harrison (22 September 2021). "Album Review: Sleep Token – This Place Will Become Your Tomb". Gigwise. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  17. MacKinnon, James (22 September 2021). "Album review: Sleep Token – This Place Will Become Your Tomb". Kerrang!. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  18. Buntugu, Wepea (21 September 2021). "Sleep Token embellish their mystery with the distinctive This Place Will Become Your Tomb". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  19. Morin, Max (21 September 2021). "Album Review: Sleep Token This Place Will Become Your Tomb". Metal Injection. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  20. Spenceley, Haydon (14 October 2021). "Sleep Token: This Place Will Become Your Tomb (Spinefarm)". Under the Radar. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  21. "Sleep Token – This Place Will Become Your Tomb". Upset. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  22. Weaver, James (15 December 2021). "Distorted Sound's Top 100 Albums of 2021". Distorted Sound. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  23. Wilkes, Emma (10 December 2021). "The 50 best albums of 2021". Kerrang!. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  24. Hobson, Rich (26 January 2023). "The 10 best Sleep Token songs". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  25. Hobson, Rich (20 September 2022). "Metal Hammer writers' top metal albums of 2021". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  26. "Offiziellecharts.de – Sleep Token – This Place Will Become Your Tomb" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
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