Systematic Chaos

梦剧场合唱团 / 彻底混沌

他们不需倚靠亮眼的主流排行撑腰，就足以成为80年代中期以降、最重要也最具代表性与影响力的前卫金属乐团，同时是自1970年前卫摇滚高峰期后，在商业上表现最成功的乐团之一。经过20年的洗礼，仍在主流大厂全力护航下持续发表新作。Dream Theater在这金属摇滚势微的年代中，依然拥有广大乐迷支持。不仅各团员的高超演奏技巧赢得专业杂志优选乐手，更难能可贵的透出学院派温和风趣气质，演出具有多样性与新鲜感，概念式的运作方向谱出实验性乐章。

几位毕业于波士顿Berklee音乐学院的高材生，吉他手John Petrucci和贝斯手John Myung在练团室认识鼓手Mike Portnoy后，说服他加入乐团，随后Petrucci邀请他高中时期乐团的成员Kevin Moore来当键盘手，Chris Collins则接下主唱一职，尘埃落定后，DT便告羽化成型。起初五人是以Majesty之名四处走唱，1986年Chris因创作理念跟其他团员有差异而离团，随后请来Charlie Dominici入替。渐渐的打出知名度，却被同名为Majesty的爵士乐团告称盗用团名，最后Dream Theater才正式启用为乐团名字。十余张的录音室以及现场收音特辑，仍让他们在新世代摇滚乐坛中占有十分重要的一席地位。

转换东家入籍Roadrunner厂牌，发表全新大碟“Systematic Chaos”，发行首周即稳坐全美流行专辑榜＃19和英国摇滚榜季军，成为DT创团以来商业销售成绩最优的作品。Mike指出此张专辑“重击带劲且具相当技巧性和强大活力的声韵，是张戏剧性极强以及破坏力高的作品。”，散发浓烈故事情节的“In the Presence of Enemies”，在吉他簇拥下浮现，讲述一个人在死亡当下将灵魂卖给黑暗使者，同时报复将他真爱谋杀的罪人…曲折的故事情节藉着澎湃激昂乐音呈现，加总长达25分钟，切割上下集分置片头与片尾，强韧的张力不时紧扣聆听着的心；首支强势主打“Constant Motion”，暴冲出的金属吉他飙速演出，鼓躁霸气在心中激起波波不安涟漪，描述着心理与精神层面的歌，触及引发广泛讨论的躁郁症、强迫症等病变；“Repentance”则别出心裁的串连乐界多位大哥级的声音，包括：Slipknot主唱Corey Taylor、吉他界黄金师徒组合Joe Satriani和Steve Vai、Megadeth贝斯手David Ellefson、瑞典死金Opeth主唱/吉他手Mikael Åkerfeldt、摔角明星Chris Jericho、前辈Yes主唱Jon Anderson…等人。此张CD+DVD影音珍藏版，特别收录长达90分钟的新专辑制作花絮纪录片。


by Greg Prato

Few bands in the history of rock have warranted the "either you love them or hate them" tag as much as Dream Theater, as fanatics consider them musical geniuses, while detractors sneer at their bombast. Either way, there's no arguing that the group has built a large and loyal following over the years by doing things their way, and with little to no help from radio or MTV. And on their tenth full-length overall (and first for their new label, Roadrunner), 2007's Systematic Chaos, the quintet sticks to the prog metal game plan that they've followed since their inception. In true Dream Theater fashion, the gentlemen are not ashamed to show off their chops -- as evidenced by the album opener, "In the Presence of Enemies, Pt. 1," in which James LaBrie's vocals do not kick in until after the five-minute mark. Elsewhere, "Forsaken" proves wrong those who say that Dream Theater is all about instrumental gymnastics and not songwriting, at least momentarily, while "The Dark Eternal Light" features some nifty Pantera-esque riffing from John Petrucci. Additionally, "Repentance" is one of the album's four ten-minute-plus, mid-paced epics, and features a prerequisite of countless extended prog suites and spoken word passages. Unlike other veteran rock acts that attempted to update their sound with the times (and failed miserably), Dream Theater has admirably stuck to its guns through thick and thin -- much to the delight of their legion of admirers -- and they continue to do so on Systematic Chaos. And for that, we salute you with a flurry of flawlessly sweep-picked arpeggios. [The 2007 CD/DVD edition features the entire album remixed for 5.1 Surround on an included bonus DVD.]