Given how passionate Sleep Token are about their aesthetic as a band, it's not surprising they'd venture into something like a graphic novel with excellent results on the art front. Where fans may be disappointed is that Teeth of God doesn't directly answer any questions about the lore of the band's personas themselves.
Instead, what we get here is an apocalyptic, cosmic horror story told only in stunning visuals (no dialogue whatsoever) across four chapters, each of which concludes with a cryptic note from a narrator figure. Some light is shed on the nature of the mysterious creatures featured in the visualizers for each of the tracks on the Take Me Back to Eden album, such as the reaper-like figure from the title track and the gun-toting colossus from The Summoning. These beasties show up for some of the comic's more action-heavy moments.
With Teeth of God retaining the band's penchant for being obtuse with their lore, it won't be the most accessible piece of work for casual audiences. But if you enjoy cosmic horror with fever-dreamy visuals (think Annihilation, Bloodborne, or Dead Space), you may find this experimental offering enjoyable.
Dark and cryptic with gorgeous illustrations. I loved this slice of cosmic horror. I probably wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t a Sleep Token fan or isn’t aware of at least some of the lore behind the band. Hoping for a follow up book in the future!
“In these final dimming days I know only the solace of a promised end. I have become the ultimate witness. I have been saddled with the heavy blessing of seeing the unraveling of everything and I can do nothing but wait for it to unravel me too. But I live still within this temple of untampered flesh and I will spend what blood still beats through it to barter one last time with the tangled threads of fate. If I must, I will march through the eye of death and meet it with eyes of my own.”
I read this in December & didn’t realize it was available to rate/review on here! It was really cool and interesting, I liked it! They’re my favorite band and this is a very fun concept, I hope they do another one in the future :)
[I finally get to see them in September!⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ ]
I admit this is not something I would pick up were I not a fan of the band’s music and lore. But I appreciated the art to its fullest and let the story sweep me away like that wave the Director describes at the end of episode 1. If you expect this to answer questions about the album lore, forget about it. The lack of text leaves it open to interpretation and the Director’s log is all you need to keep up with the story. Beautifully done!
SPOILERS AHEAD
It’s also really amazing to see the TMBTE creatures “coming to life” on paper, the runes, the tentacles and other themes from the albums and videos. “Diamonds in the trees” on the logo of those who went underground, the rune tattoo’s on the bodies of the blindfolded people…I was zooming in on every little art detail hungry to find more. The apotheotic high path to the moon reels in symbolism and caught me by surprise. “Ascensionism” beautifully done despite the horror. Had to think of the “Journey” videogame.
People online seem to be complaining about the cursive, but as a millennial, I had no problem with that. Once you figure out the Director’s handwriting (could it be Vessel himself who wrote this?!), you can make out everything with only little difficulty. And the fact that the handwriting changes at the end is a great way to tell the story. Again, that symbolism!
The size and quality of the book itself were a big disappointment upon arrival. I guess I expected something different for that price point, but that’s probably because I had to pay an astronomical amount to get it shipped to Europe. I don’t regret getting this piece of ST merch, but if you’re not a fan of cosmic/Lovecraftian horror, you might want to pass on this one.
Pros: Pleasantly cryptic and mysterious plot. Illustrations were gorgeous. They invited the reader to linger on the panels to really take in the scene. Used horror elements tastefully. It also incorporated a lot of well known Sleep Token artwork, specifically from their TMBTE album. I loved that they gave some of the figures a name (The Reaver from The Summoning, The Drowned Lord from Chokehold, The God Mother from the title track, etc.) As the plot progressed, I liked how The Director slowly gets lost in the madness of the unknown. The ending was so ominous and bizarre, well known tenets of the band’s ethos.
Cons: mainly aesthetic. I could have gone without the chicken-scratch handwriting in The Director’s logs and letters. It made reading them more difficult than it needed to be. Thankfully, I had the screenplay companion book on hand. Which was also in a difficult reading font (I think it was Old English.) I also felt it was too short. I would have loved more information about the world they were in. Did they see the lunar anomaly coming or was an instant?
Overall, I thought it was a solid first effort of using this form of media to expand on the Sleep Token universe. Very interesting. Hope they make another one. (Don’t use Sumerian Comics next time, though. The rollout was an absolute disgrace.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This graphic novel has amazing art. I hope to find the correct timing and playlist to match it. If you're a fan of Sleep Token and want to dive more into the lore, enjoy!
There are no words throughout the art and you can focus on what's happening. There are hand written pages from "the director" which may be difficult for some to read (as an elder millennial, I had no issues).
For a graphic novel with no dialogue I found the story gripping and eerie. It holds a mirror to human violence and is a beautiful work of art that reflects on the inevitability of our own demise.
vessel you've got a huge brain and this had me mesmerised but a star has been deducted for near illegible handwriting
so much fun for fans of the band, probably not worth it for people who aren't into them, but that's to be expected. it was amazing to hear vessel's voice in the words on the page, and the art is stunning!!
I AM THE TEETH OF GOD I AM THE TEETH OF GOD I AM THE TEETH OF GOD I AM THE TEETH OF GOD
After 5 months of waiting, I finally got my hands on gorgeous cosmic horror (one of my favorite genres) c/o of my favorite band. Docking 1 star because the font used in the Director’s letters was absolutely heinous.
A fantastic Apocalyptic tale that shows the collapse of a surviving group that will leave you on the edge of your seat until you end up closing the book. The one take away that is making me not give it a five star is the cursive writing in the journals of the book, it is very hard to read sometimes.
I am confused but this also makes perfect sense for something Sleep Token would release.
The art style is soo cool as well. I understand now why people were saying the writing is hard to understand. I took a couple of read overs of some parts and managed to grasp most of it (a few words I'm still not sure on but I'm gonna try and work them out at a later date). I did have the slight advantage of having a teacher whose writing was very close to this so I have some experience in deciphering but it does take a lot of focus!