即使在阿卡迪亚也是一个大胆的睡眠代币新循环的开始

从英国Alt的阴影中努力。地下进入售罄的竞技场

Rumour has it that Even In Arcadia is the beginning of a bold new cycle for Sleep Token. Working their way from the shadows of the UK alt. underground into sold out arenas – with a feverishly anticipated first Download Festival headline scheduled for next month – the anonymous collective have thus far captivated audiences with their sprawling blend of melody, menace and mystery. Metalheads gravitate to their crushing riffs. TikTok buzzes for their sexy R&B rhythms. Even seasoned industry insiders have debated whether mysterious, perpetually-masked frontman Vessel might really be the alter-ego of a known superstar like James Arthur or Bastille’s Dan Smith.

有传言说，即使在阿卡迪亚也是一个大胆的睡眠代币新循环的开始。从英国Alt的阴影中努力。地下进入了售罄的竞技场 - 急剧预期的第一个下载节日标题定于下个月 - 匿名集体迄今为止吸引了观众，他们散发着旋律，威胁和神秘感。金属头会吸引他们的即兴即兴即兴。 Tiktok的性感R＆B节奏嗡嗡作响。甚至经验丰富的行业内部人士都在辩论神秘，永久掩盖的主唱船只可能真的是詹姆斯·亚瑟（James Arthur）或巴士底尔（Bastille）的丹·史密斯（Dan Smith）等著名超级巨星的反对。

Having completed a logical first-three-album arc with 2023’s mesmerising Take Me Back To Eden, however, they step into the sun here with more warmth and colour than anyone imagined.

在完成了2023年令人着迷的逻辑第一三和弧形弧线之后，我带回了伊甸园，但是，他们以比任何人想象的更温暖和颜色进入阳光。

A little context is key. Vessel and his bandmates don’t give interviews. There is no bio bulging with hyperbole to accompany this album launch. Even traditional music videos have been eschewed in favour of low-key, screensaver-like animations. Filling that void, an ever-growing legion of ‘worshippers’ have analysed every element of their output, from music and lyrics, to artwork and the members’ gradually-evolving masks. The mythos is already impenetrably dense. Vessel is the earthly mouthpiece for the ancient deity ‘Sleep’. Individual songs are ‘Tokens’ offered up in his name. Their imagery has incorporated Norse runes, undersea creatures and demonic sigils from the goetic grimoire Ars Goetia. Thematic threads can be unpicked – darkness and sensuality, trauma and the subconscious – but true fulfilment comes from fans building worlds of their own.

一个小上下文是关键。船只和他的乐队成员不接受采访。这张专辑发行没有夸张的生物隆起。甚至传统的音乐视频也被避开了低调，类似于屏幕保护程序的动画。填补了不断增长的“崇拜者”军团的空白，分析了他们的输出的每个元素，从音乐和歌词到艺术品，以及成员逐渐发展的面具。神话已经很稠密。船只是古老的神“睡眠”的尘土烟嘴。单个歌曲是以他的名义提供的“令牌”。他们的图像结合了野人符文的北欧符文，海底生物和恶魔般的sigils。主题线程可能是未挑选的 - 黑暗和性感，创伤和潜意识 - 但真正的成就来自粉丝们建立自己的世界。

‘I wanna’ be a provider…’ Vessel sings on Even In Arcadia’s seventh song. ‘Your outer shell, your secret insider… Your guiding hand, your final decider…’ Is he expressing his devotion to some unknown dependent, or is he addressing the listener directly, acknowledging and accepting that his music has become the lens through which a generation have come to process their deepest melancholies and darkest desires? We’ll probably never get the answer. And that’s half the fun.

“我想成为一名提供者……”船只在阿卡迪亚的第七首歌中唱歌。 “您的外壳，您的秘密内部人士……您的指导手，最后的决定者……”他是对某些未知依赖的奉献精神，还是他直接向听众讲话，承认并接受他的音乐已成为一代人已经通过这些镜头来处理他们最深的忧郁症和最黑暗的欲望？我们可能永远不会得到答案。那是一半的乐趣。

What we do know is that Even In Arcadia is an album unlike any they have delivered before. There are ten tracks here, for one thing, rather than the customary twelve. Album art is more intricate with a colour-reversed grey flamingo against pink vegetation. And they’ve ‘divided’ their faithful, after online treasure hunts, with the introduction of competing clans House Veridian and Feathered Host, each with a distinctive logo, colour scheme and, eh, Instagram account.

我们所知道的是，即使在Arcadia，也是一张与他们以前交付的任何专辑。一件事，这里有十个曲目，而不是习惯十二。专辑粉艺术更为复杂，颜色为粉红色的植被，颜色为灰色的火烈鸟。在在线寻宝之后，他们在引入了竞争氏族的Veridian和羽毛主持人之后，“分裂”了他们的忠实忠实，每个人都有一个独特的徽标，配色方案以及EH，Instagram帐户。

Musically, they’ve split their fanbase, too. Lead single Emergence teased a shift away from the more contemplative, atmospheric, post-rock foundation of previous releases to a bigger, poppier production, full of hip hop grooves and stray saxophones, with heavier metallic elements used sparingly for relief. Caramel went further, deploying their trademark xylophone-style synths in service of an R&B anthem boasting their biggest chorus yet – and even fewer crunching six-strings. Damocles tripled-down with a gorgeously soulful, piano-led ballad that was barely ‘rock’ at all.

从音乐上讲，他们也分开了粉丝群。铅单一出现嘲笑了从以前的发行版的更沉思，大气，后摇滚后的基础转变为更大，弹出的生产，充满了嘻哈凹槽和流浪萨克斯管，其金属元素较重，以备浮雕。 Caramel走得更远，部署了他们的商标木琴风格的合成器，为R＆B Anthem提供了他们迄今为止最大的合唱，甚至更少的六弦。达马克尔斯（Damocles）以一首美丽的，钢琴领导的民谣几乎没有“摇滚”的曲折两倍。

Hitting ‘play’ on the full album, it’s clear that although Sleep Token aren’t trying to alienate anyone, neither will their progress be stalled for fear of leaving some OG fans behind.

在完整专辑中打了“ Play”，很明显，尽管Sleep sopken并没有试图疏远任何人，但由于担心会留下一些OG粉丝，他们的进步也不会停滞不前。

Near eight-minute opener ‘Look To The Windward’ serves as a bridge connecting their more wounded earlier sounds with the swaggering new direction. It’s probably also the strongest track on offer: a compelling sonic journey from internalised soul-searching via painful metamorphosis to glowing rebirth. ‘Past Self’ shrugs off old skin with a jaunty, loose-limbed beat and optimistic lyrics about ‘walking an inch above the pavement’. ‘Dangerous’ builds the tension through high-strung synthwork and shapeshifting vocals before reaching a smashing crescendo. The gorgeous title-track  feels pivotal, with soft-pressed keys completely overwhelmed by Vessel’s awesome vocal before opening into a sharply defined soundscape (featuring no traditional rock instruments) that’s arguably the most subtle and heartbreakingly effective this version of the band have ever been.

接近八分钟的揭幕战“向风向看”，是一座桥，将他们受伤更早的声音与摇摇欲坠的新方向联系起来。这可能也是提供的最强轨道：从内在的灵魂搜索通过痛苦的变形到发光的重生的引人注目的旅程。 “过去的自我”耸了耸肩，耸了耸肩，以简洁的，宽松的节拍和乐观的歌词“在人行道上方走一英寸”。 “危险”在达到粉碎的渐进式板条之前，通过高压力的合成作品和变形的人声建立了紧张。华丽的标题轨道感觉很重要，柔软的钥匙完全被船只的令人敬畏的声乐所淹没，然后打开了鲜明定义的音景（没有传统的摇滚乐器），这可以说是该乐队有史以来最微妙且令人心碎的有效性。

Indeed, what’s holding Even In Arcadia back, is the sense on so many other songs that they need to find space for traditional heaviness. Understandable, perhaps, from a band about to confirm themselves as Monsters Of Rock on Donington’s hallowed turf, and you could argue it fits with a theme of discovering the dark side of paradise. But, at best, the pattern of only layering in guitars halfway through songs seems unimaginatively formulaic. At worst, it feels downright disjointed. 

的确，即使在阿卡迪亚后卫，也是如此，这是他们在许多其他歌曲中的感觉，他们需要找到传统沉重的空间。也许可以从即将确认自己的乐队确认自己的洛克（Rock）上的洛克（Rock）上的洛克（Rock）上，可以理解，您可以说它符合发现天堂的黑暗面的主题。但是，充其量只有在歌曲中途仅在吉他中进行分层的模式似乎没有想象力的公式化。最糟糕的是，感觉完全不连贯。

Whether the hardcore Sleep Token audience see that as a valid criticism, or whether they are willing to

顽固的睡眠象征观众是否将其视为有效的批评，还是愿意