Attraction & Legend —亚瑟王宫巅峰之作
第一章 Attraction 豆瓣上有篇电影评论里说“所有艺术最高形式的魅力,其实都是模拟性快感”[1]。 那么Power Metal可以说是典型的代表。 当然引用这个前提及进行推论其实是为了吸引眼球,毕竟这个说法似乎不太普遍适用,比如古典音乐领域就可以举证出一堆反例。 不过,确实有外粉分析说Kamelot很多歌包括这张专辑其实很erotic: “An area where Kamelot steps outside the bounds of their fellow power metallers somewhat is in terms of erotism—Rhapsody of Fire, for instance, is apparently adhering to a strict no-sex policy, lyrically speaking. Kamelot imbues many of their songs, particularly on The Black Halo, with oblique nuggets such as “how could that first time recur” and “I see her shame in my desire.” ”When the Lights Are Down” is a lengthy metaphor for sex cloaked in a veil of loneliness and betrayal, while “The Haunting” and “This Pain” drive the point home.” “Immediately we see a dialogue of opposing desires which are directly erotic and instantly create a a perfect framework for depicting tension on screen.” “Women are omnipresent in metal, in the iconography, the tales metal bands choose to capitalise on(power metal is FULL of epic romance, and any band that sings about Arthurian lit is already imbued with le sex by way of lyricism based on courtly love) and with a band like Kamelot there is a whole driving force for sex appeal here from many facets from erotic lyrics, aggressive and powerful driving instrumentation(the best part of metal imho) and Khan’s evocative and provocative performance and voice. ”[2] 并且从女性凝视(female gaze)等角度分析过March Of Mephisto和The Haunting (Somewhere In Time)两个MV里的诱惑:故事中男主角阿瑞尔(Ariel)的心灵和身体分别受到堕天使墨菲斯托(Mephisto)和恋人海伦娜(Helena)的诱惑,以及MV中对这种诱惑和矛盾的表演等。[2](友情提示,这里可能需要补习一下专辑故事的前情提示。) 此外,粉丝们都觉得乐队此前专辑中The Inquisitor和Nights of Arabia两首都色气得恰到好处。 当然,性感只是Kamelot音乐的一个方面,主要表现在这两张概念专辑里,一定程度上还是因为题材的关系,整体上他们的创作主题是Fantasy, Medieval, Philosophy。可以看到,Roy退出后,乐队还是想延续他带来的风格和元素,包括MV里的手势动作、音乐中对女声的运用、专辑封面特色等。事实上,Roy在创作、演唱与现场上散发的性感来源于他内心的纯净与自然,和对音乐极致投入的献祭般的状态,是无法被刻意模仿的。
表示开始正经的分割线
第二章 Legend
这是Kamelot乐队评分最高也最受欢迎的一张专辑,较上一张来说,旋律更为上口、riff更加激情,Roy的声音也更为醇厚有力。乐队最为著名的现场《One Cold Winter’s Night》,近半数曲目都来自这张专辑。两张专辑尤其这一张,成为了Kamelot乐队至今仍无法再次企及的巅峰,“音乐与给人以快感的思想结合便是诗”,以歌词中多次致敬过的爱伦坡的名言来形容这部史诗专辑也很恰如其分。 1. March Of Mephisto 剧情接续上一张,Mephisto在Ariel最脆弱的时候成功侵入并控制了他的思想,所以官方MV中最后的镜头表现了二者的合二为一(MV有一个全长版,内有限制级镜头)。在上一张专辑中,Mephisto和Ariel的部分都是由Roy演唱的,这张当中,Roy找来了挪威黑金乐队Dimmu Borgir主唱Shagrath客串,两人分别代表Mephisto的伪装与真实形象,他说写这首歌时脑海中想的就是Shagrath的声音,两人住的地方只有十分钟路程,自己在去拜访和邀请他时很紧张。 官方:Possibly our heaviest song to date, featuring Black Metal God Shagrath from Dimmu Borgir as Mephisto. When it was time to decide on whom to represent the true character of Mephisto, Shagrath was the only choice for us. This was one of the first songs written over a rainy and stormy autumn week in Florida during one of our four writing sessions. This song also features Jens Johansson depicting the devil's instrument with an awesome violin sounding key solo. There were several reasons why March of Mephisto was chosen as the opener; a) this piece was the first one to obtain a fully outlined song and was in many ways a reference point in the further process of writing the album. b) it sets a dark yet powerful atmosphere right away and c) lyrically it describes the peak of Mephisto 's influence on Ariel in the story.
2. When The Lights Are Down 曲目故事内容是“With Ariel's will nearly under Mephisto's total control, the fallen angel brings Ariel a beautiful young woman named Marguerite, who looks and speaks like Helena. Ariel seduces Marguerite and the two sleep together, which completes Mephisto's manipulation of Ariel”,所以继March Of Mephisto之后,这首里的歌词as one marching on应该是一种双关,主语既是Ariel又是Mephisto,就在Ariel向往虚无(死亡)时,Mephisto实现了对他的控制。故事里的替身梗和亚瑟王的骨科情节有点相似,可能是有意借鉴(此外,上一张专辑里Helena的自杀可能除《浮士德》外还同时借鉴了《哈姆雷特》)。从情绪和节奏上来说,可以认为这首歌是全专高潮。 从阿瑞尔视角来看,这首歌其实是紧接上一张专辑结尾snow之后的,而snow里的moments disappear其实是对之前那首on the coldest winter night里moment of belief的颠覆,并且snow连同其前面两首已经将阿瑞尔对海伦娜由爱恋到愧疚悔恨到出于极度悲痛而否定的矛盾情绪推进到了爆发点。到了这一首,in the silence of the darkness we unite,除了表面意思,其实还暗指上一张专辑中wander里面暗示出他自杀意图的From ashes we were born In silence we unite一句,以及Cause when the lights are down she'll take me away与into the void都可以看出他对死亡的向往。所以如果只听节奏,你会觉得很燃;如果了解剧情,你会觉得这是一首小黄歌;如果深入体会歌词,你会感受到主角内心的绝望,阿瑞尔虽然诱惑了酷似海伦娜的玛格丽特,但他知道只有死亡才能让他与海伦娜再次结合。 Every move you make creates your destiny,是继上一张专辑中farewell之后,本张首次出现的阿瑞尔对命运的思考,这是个一边开车一边谈人生的曲目。O come all ye faithful通常出现在福音歌曲中,用在此处,配合上一首歌MV和每次现场中Roy的牧师造型,效果很神奇。 看乐队现场,总觉得这首歌甚至整张专辑,Roy每次唱起来应该都是带有痛苦的,那些甜蜜的痛苦贯穿于整个故事,尽管他通过这个故事得到治愈,那些刻骨铭心的爱与恨甚至是对死亡的向往已经刻在了他的灵魂里。 官方:Ariel is starting to believe that his rejection of Helena has altered his life path for good and his perception of good and evil is changing. Another sleek performance by "The Lord Of The Board” Jens Johansson. Khan: "As a point of pure curiosity I have to mention that since I was a little kid I have listened to and enjoyed Jan Johansson's recording Jazz på Svenska (Jazz in Swedish). My mother had the LP in her collection and was playing it all the time. It's mainly a plain piano/bass/drum jazz recording dealing with Swedish folk songs in a way that still thrills me today. Jan Johansson was Jens Johansson 's father, and in addition to Jens being a tremendous musician and a living legend in the genre I find his participation on The Black Halo particularly cool due to above mentioned facts." 3. The Haunting (Somewhere In Time) The Haunting就是一个不娶何撩的故事,海伦娜已经像一棵荆棘钉在阿瑞尔心上,所以他面对这个酷似海伦娜的少女玛格丽特时,也是充满了怜惜、抗拒与眷恋的矛盾。阿瑞尔固执地坚守着对逝去挚爱海伦娜的执念,否认内心已然对玛格丽特产生的情愫。故事上一章,阿瑞尔在梦中看到海伦娜Walking on the icy face,此处,少女对她爱慕的阿瑞尔说到Like ice on a lake of tears I'll take you through,这是一个先弄死女主,再暴虐男主和女二的故事。根据Roy的采访,有可能除了《浮士德》之外,这一段情节还略微受到了西班牙文学《风之影》的影响(纯属推测)[3]。MV的视角略有不同[4],初看时感觉很中二和恶俗,看完分析再去看,确实感受到了满满的seduce,Simone的角色是堕天使送来诱惑阿瑞尔的少女玛格丽特,是Roy说过的femme fatale[5],所以会秀一下事业线,而Roy扮演的阿瑞尔起先脑海中反复出现记忆中一袭白衣的海伦娜(innocence),而后幻想中红纱纹身裸背的海伦娜(desire)在镜头的层层推近下越来越震撼……The haunting的现场有很多版本,还是觉得Simone和Roy搭档最有默契和化学反应,音色也最为匹配,尽管后来Roy唱不了了,Fabio能唱,Tommy也能唱,但却都唱得平淡直白,唱不出Roy表达的那种矛盾,可能是因为他们都缺乏对故事人物的代入感,所以哪怕他们的嗓音甚至外形很像Roy,但终究不是Roy,不是Ariel。I've gone too far to begin all anew with someone like you。 官方:One of the few songs with direct lyrical reference to Goethe's original Faust-story. Simone Simons from Dutch up and comers Epica portrays Marguerite who appears as a second and last chance for Ariel to find true love again. She reminds him of Helena, but more afraid of the possible risk of being hurt and cause pain again than the opportunity of finally finding peace, Ariel rejects her.
4. Soul Society 结束了阿瑞尔的爱情悲剧,专辑开始进入辩证反思,对应《浮士德》的大世界。Soul Society,阿瑞尔理想中构筑的完美世界与对自身遭遇的困惑,对精神的追求与人性本质,先前对毕生追求的笃定信念与此刻对结果的怀疑,均形成强烈的反差。表现理想段落的和谐旋律加上出现的婴儿笑声(Baby Alena,可能是Helena未出世的孩子,由吉他手的女儿扮演)等,确实营造出乌托邦似的效果,后来Nightwish的song of myself有异曲同工之妙。有外粉根据这首歌背景当中的警报声分析过故事可能发生的年代。 官方:The last song written for The Black Halo. The original idea was based on a very Spanish sounding piece that was eventually changed quite a bit. We kept the flowing acoustic guitar idea and “heavied” out the rest. From this point on most of the story takes place in Ariel's mind as he slowly learns to understand that the control over his life lies in his own hands although he fully believes there must be more to it than what we could possibly know with our clearly limited capacities as human beings. Thomas: "The midpart features my little girl Annelise giggling and laughing. This was done to give a hint of the life that Ariel would never know." 当我好奇地向Roy询问到这首歌的开头和中间部分,Ariel的低语内容,他的回答是“It’s a wild mixture of asking questions like «do you believe in God?», children laughing and expressions of frustration and wonder. It’s all merely there to illustrate my train of thoughts regarding these issues from my childhood and on. ”(那是对诸如“你信仰上帝吗?”此类提问、孩童欢笑和表达挫败与疑惑的一次广泛混合。这些在此仅是为了表明我从童年时代就开始的关于这些问题思考的心路历程。)[6] 5. Interlude I: Dei Gratia 阿瑞尔准备摆脱墨菲斯托的控制,前往教堂进行祈祷,划火柴点燃蜡烛,拉丁语祷告,歌名意为Grace of God,歌词英文版: Nothing new under the sun To the stars through the thorns At first seek the kingdom of the god Remember the death before war 官方:Ariel makes a final attempt to connect with the God he learnt to know as a child. 6.Abandoned 故事至此,阿瑞尔已然失去了他所重视的一切——挚爱海伦娜、追求真理的希望以及与上帝的联系,可能因为涉及精神信仰,传递出的阿瑞尔的困惑、痛苦与无助很能引起共鸣,普遍认为是Kamelot最具代表性的一首ballad,Roy充满磁性的声音与大提琴相得益彰,基本可以说是他最具感染力的曲目。Fabio能把Center Of The Universe的高音唱出狂想曲的激昂,但只有Roy能唱出他创作的阿瑞尔的柔情与深沉,矛盾与痛苦,困惑与思考。与其说他能进入故事角色,不如说是作品角色代入了他的特性。专辑版演唱从容舒缓,现场版演唱情绪更为强烈。 官方:We hadn't written a piano ballad since Siége Perilous which we felt was a perfect atmosphere to go for. The midpart features Mari as Helena with a variation on Helena 's Theme. The orchestra and choir singers were fantastic on this piece where they musically portrait the wild and growing river that symbolizes obstacles in Ariel's quest for truth and inner peace. Lyrically, The Mourning After was the consequence of Lost & Damned. Abandoned represents the same in relation to 'The Haunting (Somewhere In Time)'. Thomas: "Chilling performance from my cohort Khan on this one folks. I remember sitting in the studio when this track was recorded thinking 'man that is incredible!'" Kamelot — Abandoned歌词翻译
7.This Pain 阿瑞尔的痛定思痛,由此前的困惑质疑发展到内省,意识到是自己离别时的疏忽导致了海伦娜的死亡。lust应该意指对真理的追求,I see her shame in my desire,应该是指海伦娜觉察到他因欲望而堕落进而为此感到羞愧。这首歌的背景里出现了雨声,暗示了季节,最后出现狼的叫声,有外粉认为可能表明阿瑞尔在这一阶段度过了一段离群索居的生活。 官方:Towards the end of his life Ariel sees the connection between his actions and losses. He understands that the answers he's seeking cannot fully be given in life and that some of the choices he has made will continue to haunt him till the end of it. Khan: "An intense and straight through rocker propelled by a dead cool verse riff and a low-voiced suggestive chorus. The main parts of This Pain were created in a hotel room in southern Spain in February 2004. We had some spare time in connection with an appearance at the Atarfe Vega Rock Festival and it's the only song on the album that literarily was written 'on the road.'" 8.Moonlight Moonlight是与墨菲斯托紧密联系的一个词,上一张的The Edge of Paradise里,阿瑞尔在幻觉中看见了月光下的墨菲斯托,在墨菲斯托伪装成天使降临的Descent Of The Archangel里有Bathed in moonlight,此张里墨菲斯托控制阿瑞尔时的When the Lights are Down出现beneath the moon,至此,阿瑞尔在月光的掩护下前去与墨菲斯托对决,唱到Moonlight falling over me Sail on where the shadows hide,可见moonlight具有代表混淆的意象。 阿瑞尔意识到死亡正在降临,月光黑暗而又美丽,“消逝”令他同时感到惊恐和着迷。 在阿瑞尔寻找墨菲斯托的航行当中,再次出现了故事最初海伦娜劝说他需要航行寻找真理时的旋律。 官方:Ariel senses that death is creeping upon him, and like the moonlight can be somewhat dark yet beautiful, the idea of no longer existing both scares and fascinates him at the same time. Khan: "This entire tune actually sprung out of the first midpart tried out for March of Mephisto. We didn't totally fall for it in that context and put it aside until the end of the last songwriting session, where it eventually it took form of a song on its own. Funny enough (having evolved from a rejected bridge on a different song) it contains one of my favorite midparts on the record." 9. Interlude II: Un Assassinio Molto Silenzioso 以画外音的形式描绘出此时充满决心的阿瑞尔。 歌词的英文翻译: Once upon a time there was a man With his eyes towards the moon And he wonder to himself: "Will love come soon?" And does something else exist In a frozen heart? Except the thought Of a very silent murder 官方:The scene is a smoky and dark cabaret in a slightly sleazy part of town. A strong smell of spirits abound as the sultry singer foretells our main character's fate. Thomas: "Cinzia Rizzo nailed this performance! Being of Italian descent we were very fortunate to have her for the role. The Karma Gods have spoken again! The words in the title translates to; A Very Silent Murder." 10.The Black Halo 阿瑞尔与墨菲斯托的对决。他毫无畏惧的拥抱死亡,因为他发觉墨菲斯托已经成为了自己思想的一部分。他揭穿了墨菲斯托的谎言,并指出自己对海伦娜与玛格丽特的欺骗皆因魔鬼的诡计,就像俄狄浦斯悲剧。 We all know when our time has come This is where I will linger on,他知道自己想要在这一刻停留,而他与墨菲斯托的契约即将达成。 Nothing can take my faith away一句,曾出现在上一张曲目Lost & Damned中,上一次是面对海伦娜,faith指的是自己的追求,这一次是面对墨菲斯托,faith指自己的意志、领悟与信仰。 Life fades to black from silver grey,暗示了阿瑞尔的死亡。 官方:With reclining physical powers, Ariel confronts Mephisto with what he perceives as a breach of the contract he signed in Part I (Epica). Moreover he welcomes death which he no longer fears due to the discovery of Mephisto being part of his own mind. Thomas: "The Black Halo features many of the techniques that have given us our sound. Amongst these you find the significant 5/4 time signature that we have used on songs like Karma and III Ways to Epica in the past, whilst the way the choir carries the chorus with it's echoing canon is a structural “newbie” on the Kamelotian design-board." 11. Nothing Ever Dies 阿瑞尔在临死前顿悟到他毕生追求的真理,并感受到了满足,按照契约,墨菲斯托将收取他的灵魂。后三首的歌词信息量很大,几乎每句话都体现了哲学思辨。经过上一张专辑和本专前半部分对剧情的构建和推动,至此,终于得以在本曲及下一首曲目中从不同侧面阐述阿瑞尔顿悟到的真理,体现他所到达的境界。本曲内容包含了阿瑞尔对宗教的质疑,再次体现出“he is spiritual but not really religious”。 There is a god in each society一句与上一张曲目Iii Ways To Epica中Maybe God is the melody音阶基本一致。可以说,对上帝的讨论是专辑的暗线。 love is the only truth是对上一张中love means nothing to me的颠覆。 官方:Ariel's last reckoning with organized religion as such. The opening guitar riff was the very first idea we had although the song barely made it for the album. Hindsight we're very glad it did. 12. Memento Mori 内容是阿瑞尔在面对死亡时的感悟,最后,海伦娜做为天使呼唤他的名字,将他的灵魂带往天堂,完成了“永恒的女性,引领我们飞升”这一过程。歌词与原著和宗教、心理学等内容相关联,至今仍是Kamelot最长也最为深刻的单曲。这是一首可以随着时日而体会得越来越深入的歌,this is a song of life 。背景音效和歌词都表明了季节再次转为冬季。专辑版前半部分Roy的演唱透露着平静与透彻,又带着一层悲伤,07年的现场版则表现得更为惨烈了一些。 When you close your eyes mementos of summer Retrieves your mind Like a drizzle afternoon cleans the air,阿瑞尔终于获得了他毕生追求的平静与和谐。 When the winter blows you're glad you remember You really tried,照应上一张曲目Farewell中的“I seek peace of mind at least and to know I did my best”一句。 The more we know the more we yearn Cause we're so alone,照应上一张首曲Center of The Universe中的求知与孤独。 官方:Memento Mori starts with a melancholy piano part that sets up our longest song to date; the finale to the Epica saga and the The Black Halo story, not the last song on the album however. One last time Shagrath returns as Mephisto to unite with Helena (Mari) in Ariel's tormented yet finally clear mind. The moral to the song is stated in the chorus; 'I am the God in my own history'. Given that we all possess the means to do good and evil, and differ between them. We also control our own destiny to a great extent. We wrote this song in Norway together in the late winter of 2004. Like with many of our songs, Memento Mori began as a spontaneous idea that evolved very naturally in spite of the fact that it may have taken a few more bottles of red wine than usual to get through. 13. Interlude III: Midnight - Twelve Tolls For A New Day 说话的角色是 Gatesville 市长,具体剧情待考。上一张专辑的解读中已经写过,这首对专辑曲目进行了倒放,并再次出现了火焰与钟表声,似乎在暗示所有的故事均发生于一场梦境之中,也揭示出阿瑞尔的故事是新年夜里上演的一场戏剧(如同《浮士德》的结构),同时以新年寓意终结与重生,以及循环所象征的永恒。《The Black Halo》的隐藏引子与此interlude应该分别是一对情侣观看演出的前后——冒雨前往剧院和散场后在雪地诉说新年祝福。专辑结尾的bonus track名为Epilogue,与Prologue呼应,并且有提到雨转雪的歌词—When rain will turn to snow。 官方:This last interlude depicts Ariel's moment of Death. Right before he dies he sees Helena coming towards him. His life files past and takes the listener back to the very beginning – Part I of Epica. We then flow directly into a scene where the Mayor of Gatesville gives a speech at the little town's celebration of the New Year coming up. The title reflects the thought of something dying being the basis for something new being born, as well as the idea that all life or energy is an eternal constant. 14. Serenade
这是一个虐死男主,让他和女主团聚再治愈一下的故事。本曲虽然主题是治愈,实际效果却像回忆杀一样补了一刀,令人对整个故事更加耿耿于怀。前奏有一种冰雪消融、冬去春来的感觉。 终曲是对整个故事的治愈,整个故事又何尝不是Roy对自己的治愈。他在故事中死去了一次,终于得以放下前尘往事,继续前行。 官方:At the outskirts of the concept we find Serenade which is an inversion of the opening cut on Epica; Center of the Universe and in the same way not really part of the story itself. It's a euphoric hymn to hope and harmony, life and the will to live it to the fullest while we are here. Love & Wonder, Life & Death…
大结局部分偏向前卫金属,初听觉得有点松散单调,情节和旋律都不如前半部分抓人,似乎应该更加激昂或是恢弘悲壮一点,然而其实细品起来,每首都是不同段落,围绕专辑主题润物无声又意蕴深远,有歌德原著的风格。 可以说,整个结局部分已然超越了叙事形式(并未摒弃),转变为深层的哲学思考,Nothing Ever Dies、Memento Mori和Serenade,三首曲目蕴含了丰富的信息与多个主旨,是思想精华所在,Memento Mori是乐队前卫风格的杰作,后半部分的震撼犹如一把冰冷的火焰。 目前不想展开细说,因为觉得一时半会儿写不好,大意可参考前情提示第二章人物简介中的概括总结。简言之,从上一张“Love means nothing to me”到此处“Love, love is the only truth”,从上一张“She has no mountain to be climbed”到此处“You took me higher Than the mountains I have climbed”等等歌词的前后照应,我们可以看到阿瑞尔多次情绪转换之后与此前的巨大反差;从开篇的激昂、中途的忧郁与狂乱,到末章的平静,可以看到由激情执著到深刻辩证后的思想升华。 以Memento Mori平静而透彻的感悟,连同Serenade劫后余生般的回顾与致敬来结束这部史诗是一种更为高雅的方式,阿瑞尔终于找到了他的真理,得到了他的救赎与平静,只留下他的故事令人唏嘘,Roy自己的经历同样如此,some day we may come to peace ...l'm still the god in my own history。
PS. 本专辑所对应的《浮士德》第二部没有序曲,但第一场具有序曲的意义。一直觉得本专辑也该有个引子,原来果然是存在的,戏中戏形式与《浮士德》结构对应。“There is a short hidden track (1:20) in the pregap. Rewinding from "March of Mephisto" on some CD players reveal a couple entering a theatre and being told that they have "just made it to the second act", referring to The Black Halo as the second album in a two-part concept.”--wiki 试听: 网易云试听链接 优酷试听链接 关于封面,Roy Khan explained in an interview, “The cover artwork is the reference to Helena, who died in the first part, and in portraying her lying in the river but with her eyes open as a symbol of being a still visibly alive force and good spirit within Ariel, or main character.” References: [1]https://movie.douban.com/review/4552263/ [2]《Female Gaze and Metal Iconography》 [3]http://www.metal-rules.com/metalnews/2007/06/11/roy-khan-of-kamelot/ [4]http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNzM1NzU2OTI4.html?sharefrom=iphone [5]http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzEwMzAyNTg3Mg==.html [6]https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404248240970190649#_0 [7]https://music.douban.com/review/8797505/
(初稿2017 增补于2021)