Octavarium

梦剧场合唱团 / 第八乐章

1985年9月Berklee音乐学院的学生吉他手John Petrucci、鼓手Mike Portnoy、贝斯手John Myung兴起了组团念头，于是又招募了键盘手Kevin Moore与主唱Chris Collins成立了The Majesty，后来主唱换人、团名也以加州一间拆毁的戏院为名，于是梦剧场乐团正式诞生。1989年首张专辑“When Dream And Day Unite”发表，音乐方向确立为深受皇后、创世纪合唱团前卫风格与重击金属(Thrash Metal)双重影响的新金属。

1992年主唱再度更换为James Labrie并录制了销售上的突破性专辑“Images And Words”。1999年Jordan Rudess代替了第二任键盘手Derek Sherinian，于是形成现在看到的梦剧场乐团。

“Octavarium”已经是梦剧场乐团的第8张专辑；也是该团1986年成军20年的纪念作品。20年出8张专辑并不算多，可是他们为每张专辑都不遗余力举办大型巡回表演，所以在新重金属圈，可算数一数二的代表团之一。

“Octavarium”的发行有两项目标：平衡2003年专辑“Train Of Thought”带给乐迷沉重的金属感，据John Petrucci表示“Train Of Thought”是梦剧场乐团出版过乐风上最重的专辑，而“Octavarium”带大家回到早期一点的乐团风格，有重击金属也有前卫风格的歌曲。Mike Portnoy补充另一项目标，以往他们的歌曲以长时间作品为主，每首歌似乎叙说着一段传说或事件，这样的曲式也成为一种公式，所以“Octavarium”要挑战此一公式，让歌曲更为精简。 "I Walk Beside You" 和 "The Answer Lies Within" 都在5分钟之内，的确会令梦剧场乐团以往乐迷小小惊讶。Mike Portnoy再说道“这两首歌前者听来更像受到酷玩乐团影响；后者有U2的影子”。不过 "Panic Attack" 、 "The Root Of All Evil" 晦暗、沉重的曲式绝对让乐迷觉得还是大家熟悉的梦剧场乐团；最后两首 "Sacrificed Sons" 与 "Octavarium" 更是回到以往该团擅长的叙事鸿篇之作，不过尝试了以前未曾使用的管弦组伴奏，尤其长达24分钟的标题曲更将成为该团代表作之一。

by Tammy La Gorce

Prog rockers Dream Theater tallied 19 years as a band with the release of Octavarium, but in listening you're apt to suspect otherwise. As a collective they remain as tight as they were on 2003's obsessively dark Train of Thought (like all music-school outfits, they've exacted an all-for-one formula that doesn't allow a single player more than his share of swagger), but a post-hardcore edge -- call it a leap into 2005 -- has invaded their pledge of allegiance to theatrical heavy rock. Hear it on "I Walk Beside You" and "The Answer Lies Within," both of which, at under five minutes, play like charming haikus from a band known for its epic poetry, and also on the orchestra-backed 20-plus-minute final cut, which skips around from Pink Floyd to Rush to Black Sabbath influences, stopping off every so often at a place fans of My Chemical Romance might find familiar. As with all the band's discs, guitars loom large and both doom and redemption seem no further than the next twisted verse. What's changed is Dream Theater's commitment to carrying on their reputation as underground progressive rock's classicists, and it seems well-timed.