Sleep Token’s New Single “Caramel” is an Emotional Testament to the Pitfalls of Fame

There’s apparently a high price to pay for worldwide stardom — especially if you’re trying to reach the summit of fame while maintaining some anonymity along the way. It happened to Slipknot decades ago, then Tobias Forge and Ghost, and now we’ve got Vessel and Sleep Token.

The drama’s been bubbling for a while and now with the release of the band’s new single “Caramel” off their forthcoming album Even In Arcadia, we can now take a look into the personal struggles that were almost part and parcel with Vessel’s fame.

If you’re looking for a loud and raucous metal banger, you’re not gonna find it here. In fact, “Caramel” dips heavily into Sleep Token’s more poppy side of things, going full-on reggaeton at times with its rhythms. There is a brief moment where things get loud with a sudden breakdown at about 3:25, but it’s short lived, giving way once again to the track’s poppy throughline.

But more than the music, whether you hate it or not as a metal fan, is the lyrics. Vessel used this track to air his grievances with fame and share how numerous invasions of privacy he’s endured since Take Me Back to Eden blew up have affected him. It’s a song of an artist’s heartbreak in an age of toxic parasocial relationships. To illustrate what I mean, I’ve included the full lyrics below the song’s music video.

Sleep Token’s Even In Arcadia will be released on May 9, but you can preorder your copy today.

Sleep Token “Caramel” Lyrics (courtesy of Genius)

[Verse 1]
Count me out like sovereigns, payback for the good times
Right foot in the roses, left foot on a landmine
I’m not gonna be there tripping on the grapevine
They can sing the words while I cry into the bassline
Wear me out like Prada, devil in my detail
I swear it’s getting harder even just to exhale
Backed up into corners, bitter in the lens
I’m sick of trying to hide it every time thеy take mine

[Chorus]
So stick to me
Stick to mе like caramel
Walk beside me till you feel nothin’ as well

[Verse 2]
They ask me, “Is it goin’ good in the garden?”
Say, “I’m lost, but I beg no pardon”
Up on the dice but low on the cards
I try not to talk about how it’s harder now
Can I get a mirror side-stage?
Looking sideways at my own visage, gettin’ worse
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
I guess that’s what I get for trying to hide in the limelight
Guess that’s what I get for having 20/20 hindsight
Everybody wants eyes on ’em, I just wanna hear you sing that top line

[Pre-Chorus]
And if you don’t think I mean it, then I understand
But I’m still glad you came, so let me see those hands

[Chorus]
So stick to me
Stick to me like caramel
Walk beside me till you feel nothin’ as well
I’m fallin’ free of the final parallel
The sweetest dreams are bitter
But there’s no one left to tell

[Bridge]
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 dancin’ along to the rhythm
This stage is a prison, a beautiful nightmare (Too young to get bitter over it all)
A war of attrition, I’ll take what I’m given (Too old to retaliate like before)
The deepest incisions, I thought I got better (Too blessed to be caught ungrateful, I know)
But maybe I didn’t
(In these days of days) Tell me, did I give you what you came for?
(I wish it all away) Terrified to answer my own front door
(I thought things had changed) Missin’ my wings in a realm of angels
(But everything’s the same)

[Outro]
So I’ll keep dancin’ along to the rhythm
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
But maybe I didn’t