Mike Dawes Tackles Sleep Token's Euclid And It Sounds Bloody Gorgeous

In quite the short space of time, Sleep Token have become renowned for their almost-elusive genre-blending sound.

The mysterious masked metallers are gearing up to release their fourth album, Even In Arcadia, and to celebrate, acoustic virtuoso Mike Dawes has tackled Euclid, from their 2023 album Take Me Back to Eden – and it sounds bloody gorgeous.

Dawes has transformed Euclid into a mesmerising acoustic track, reworking its airy piano and epic guitars to suit his masterful fingerstyle playing. Sat in an empty church, Dawes expertly unravels each element of the multi-layered song, tackling chords, melodies, and even tapping out a beat with his palm on the body of his guitar.

With a guitar capo on the third fret of his Andreas Cuntz CWG23 signature, Dawes performs with a CGDGAD tuning. And it does the job – when Dawes tackles the track’s closing piano section, his delicate plucking sounds mystical.

“I’ve been a fan of Sleep Token for quite a while since my ex-college housemate produced some of their early work,” Dawes explains [via MusicRadar]. “They have such a unique sound with stunning melodies and arrangements that translate perfectly to acoustic guitar.”

While he’s only just released an official recording of his cover, he gave it a trial run at last year’s Radar Festival, a Manchester-based celebration of prog. “After I opened for Periphery in the US, I had the opportunity to [play] Radar Festival,” he says.

“I wanted to take on Euclid just for that show, as a nod to Sleep Token, who headlined the same festival the previous year. The live response blew me away.”

The cover has also struck a chord with the band themselves, leading them to share it on their Instagram story a few days ago. “The melodies work so well in this CGDGAD tuning,” Dawes reflects. “I’ve absolutely fallen in in love with this arrangement and hope it strikes a chord with others as well.”

This isn’t the first time that Dawes has remade a prog metal tune. Last year, Dawes reworked Periphery’s It’s Only Smiles and Scarlet, with frontman Spencer Sotelo even featuring on the acoustic tracks.

Dawes’ acoustic take on Euclid is available on streaming now. You can also buy a tab of Dawes’s acoustic arrangement for £5. For details on his upcoming July tour, check out his website. Sleep Token’s new album Even In Arcadia arrives 9 May.