Sleep Token’s single Caramel is the best song of 2025, according to The New York Times.
In a new piece put together by veteran music critic Jon Caramanica, the UK masked pop-metal outfit are number one on a list of the best tracks of the past 12 months.
Caramanica calls Caramel, the second single from this year’s Even In Arcadia album, “a huge, gloriously silly and brutally effective amalgam of abandoned styles ripe for reinvigorating – rap metal, dream-prog, pop-reggaeton, backpack hip-hop, cosplay rock, metalcore and more”.
Sleep Token are the only metal band to make the New York Times list, and in topping it they find themselves above the likes of Drake, Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber.
The band put Caramel out on April 4, ahead of Even In Arcadia’s release on May 9. The single was preceded by a bizarre promotional campaign that saw the band drop hints through American weatherman Chris Michaels, who’s been known to sneak the titles of metal songs into his reports.
The New York Times recognition rounds out what has been a banner year for Sleep Token. The week after it came out, Even In Arcadia reached the top of the US Billboard 200 album charts. In June, they headlined Download festival in Donington for the first time, topping the bill in front of 80,000 people alongside Green Day and Korn. Then, from September to October, the band toured North America on a completely sold-out run of headline shows.
Last month, it was announced that Sleep Token have been nominated for a number of Grammy Awards. Emergence, Even In Arcadia’s lead single, was put up for Best Metal Performance, and Caramel was nominated for Best Rock Song. Drummer II could also take home a trophy in his own right for taking part in a cover of Black Sabbath’s Changes, which was recorded live at Ozzy Osbourne’s final show Back To The Beginning and had Yungblud on vocals.
The Grammy ceremony will take place on February 1 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles: the same venue where Sleep Token wrapped up their North American tour in October.
Last week, it was announced that Sleep Token are getting an official colouring book. The company Rock N’ Roll Colouring helms the project, having previously made colouring books for such rock and metal heavyweights as Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Motörhead, Thin Lizzy and Cannibal Corpse. Copies are now available to buy via Eyesore Merch.
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