Systematic Chaos

日本でも多くのファンを魅了するプログレッシブ・メタルの先駆者、Dream Theaterの9thオリジナル・アルバムにしてロードランナー移籍第1弾！バンドは2006年9月にNYのAVATAR STUDIOに集結し、ベテラン・エンジニア/ミキサーのポール・ノースフィールドを迎えて本作を制作。これまで通りマイク・ポートノイとジョン・ペトルーシが共同プロデュースを務め、7曲をフィーチャー。そのうち1曲は25分にも及ぶ大作！ある種過酷なほど複雑で、技術的に完成度が高く、そしてシンプルに壮大・・・20年以上にも渡り界中のファンから愛されている彼らの妥協なしのプログレッシヴ・ロックがここに凝縮。ヘヴィ・メタルを壮大な境地へと誘う、前人未踏の域にまで達した傑作!!

「このアルバムは俺たちが今まで達成してきた全ての要素が詰まっている。ミュージシャン精神、頭を打ち砕くようなリフ、壮大でプログレッシブな大作、胸をしめつけるメロディーにフォーカスしたんだ。俺たちには世界で最もヘビーで熱狂的なファンがいる。彼らはこのアルバムをきっと気に入ってくれるだろう。」 マイク・ポートノイ（dr）

While 2005's OCTAVARIUM notched back pure chops for a somewhat more song-oriented treatment, Dream Theater return to their hyper-progressive roots with SYSTEMATIC CHAOS. Opening track "In the Presence Of Enemies Pt. 1" launches the group's ninth studio album with fevered riffing and scorching guitar/keyboard runs. The fearsome fivesome do, however, make efforts to pace themselves a bit more during the vocal sections (as with "Forsaken").

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.] ~ Greg Prato