Paradoxmani的漫遊

十年前的1999年，來自美國東岸的夢劇場Drean theater，發表了第五張錄音室專輯Metropolis Pt.2 : Scenes from a memory。這是一張氣勢雄渾，概念極其完整的前衛金屬作品。樂手大都有受過學院派的訓練，例如頗負盛名的茱莉亞音樂學院，因此，極其複雜與旋律性高的編曲，是這一張專輯最讓人激賞之處。在93年的專輯影像與文字Images and Words中，有一首"Metropolis, Pt. I: The Miracle and the Sleeper"，整張專輯是那首曲子的續篇。夢劇場用組曲的方式，完整描述一個名叫尼可拉斯的男子，透過催眠的方式去尋找他的前世，這裡面包含了愛情、謀殺、背棄信仰等。Thgough her eyes是整個劇本的終章。

雖然這是很不像夢劇場典型風格的作品，還曾被學長笑說像鄉村樂，但極其芭樂與悠揚的旋律，是很難讓人從記憶的風景中抹去的。

Music my Dream Theater
Lyrics by John Petrucci

Nicholas:
She never really had a chance
On that fateful moonlit night
Sacrificed without a fight
A victim of her circumstance

Now that I've become aware
And I've exposed this tragedy
A sadness grows inside of me
It all seems so unfair

I'm learning all about my life
By looking through her eyes

Just beyond the churchyard gates
Where the grass is overgrown
I saw the writing on her stone
I felt like I would suffocate

Inloving memory of our child
So innocent, eyes open wide
I felt so empty as I cried
Like part of me had died

I'm learning all about my life
By looking through her eyes

And as her image
Wandered through my head
I wept just like a baby
As I lay awake in bed

And I know what it's like
To lose someone you love
And this felt just the same

She wasn't given any choice
Desperation stole her voice
I've been given so much more in life
I've got a son, I've got a wife

I had to suffer one last time
To grieve for her and say goodbye
Relive the anguish of my past
To find out who I was at last

The door has opened wide
I'm turning with the tide
Looking through her eyes