Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

梦剧场合唱团 / 六级内部乱流

经过1999年的专辑“一个记忆的场景”(Metropolis Pt.2 : Scenes From A Memory)、2000年将专辑概念搬上纽约演唱会舞台以及该演唱会DVD (Metropolis 2000：Scenes From New York)、2001年CD(Live Scenes From New York)的发行，成立于纽约长岛的五人团体梦剧场(Dream Theater)以无比的野心经营着长久以来摇滚艺人、乐团较少碰触的概念式钜作，展现出他们恢弘的气度。

梦剧场合唱团曲风深受皇后(Queen)、创世纪(Genesis)、平克佛洛伊德(Pink Floyd)等团前卫、古典的影响，因此虽仍以九○年代后重击金属(Thrash Metal)为主干，但是却较同类型团体音乐上更富旋律、内容更具叙事性。

2002年梦剧场合唱团推出双CD专辑“Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence”，制作人仍由团中的鼓手Mike Portnoy与吉他手John Petrucci共同担任，录音混音工程师Kevin Shirley曾和史密斯飞船、黑乌鸦等团体合作过。

新专辑分为两部份，第一张CD五首歌"The Glass Prison"、"Blind Faith"、"Misunderstood"、"The Great Debate"、"Disappear"一开始即以密集鼓点带听者进入重击金属的世界，内容上也维持一贯言之有物的方向，例如"The Great Debate"以二十一世纪生物科技重要课题“复制人”的研究展开争论，歌曲进行类似匆促合唱团(Rush)风格；慢板的"Disappear"空间感不禁令人想起平克佛洛伊德。第二张由标题曲"Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence"长达四十二分钟的八段组曲所构成。序曲以庞大管弦与键盘交替再加入吉他、鼓，到"About To Crash"先是缓缓的钢琴接着就是熟悉的D.T.风格，不过键盘、吉他双向行进对美国前卫摇滚的爱好者而言并不陌生，冥河合唱团(Styx)可算其中佼佼者。从"War Inside My Head"到"The Test That Stumped Them All"，梦剧场合唱团再以一连串狂乱的吉他、鼓、James LaBrie高音主唱表现精神与内心的冲突使主题达到高潮；"Goodnight Kiss"、"Solitary Shell"的转折明显舒缓了紧绷的精神状态。超过九十分钟的双CD“Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence”透过管弦、键盘编曲的旋律化与探讨内心、环境、社会的内涵让金属乐脱离它原本只为愤怒喧泄的范畴。
by Robert Taylor

The godfathers of progressive metal have been amazing and delighting their dedicated fans since the late '80s. Throughout their impressive and unlikely career they have continued to push themselves and the genre into new and challenging directions. While arguably hitting their peak with 1994's Awake, the band continued to grow with each new release (save for perhaps Falling into Infinity). Their previous studio effort, Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory, was a milestone in their career, finding all of the band's best attributes amalgamated into a fully realized whole. Although "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" may not be another magnum opus, it is still another fine addition to their impressive discography. The band continues to explore new directions, but the results are not always consistent on the two CD's worth of material. Their overall sound is heavier, for better or worse, than it has been and they make some interesting compositional and lyrical choices, but their usual afflatus is missing. Petrucci in particular seems content to recycle his already-established pyrotechnics, which mostly come off as ostentatious and often out of place. With the exception of the high-octane "The Glass Prison," disc one is made up of more experimental tracks, with influences such as Radiohead and Tool being explored. The band also offers up one of their only political tracks in "The Great Debate," which deals with stem cell research. Disc two is comprised of the eight-part "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" epic and is more in line with their traditional approach. The "Overture" incorporates a full orchestra with surprisingly effective results and is the recording's standout track. Keyboardist Jordan Rudess gets more of an opportunity to demonstrate how valuable he is to the band's compositional and sonic depth. Fans of Pantera may cry foul when they hear "The Test That Stumped Them All," but this is meant more as a tribute than the blatant thievery it appears to be. While each member of Dream Theater has proved to have a more sophisticated and mature side -- as evidenced by side projects such as Transatlantic, Platypus, Liquid Tension Experiment, and Mullmuzer -- they understand where their proverbial bread is buttered. So exists Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, an intentionally pretentious, somewhat juvenile, but undeniably likeable recording. Despite the nearly impossible task of satisfying their mostly youthful fan base while still nurturing the band's natural maturation process, Dream Theater has mostly managed to deliver once again.