一聽音樂網

It was only a matter of time before some sort of introduction to American audiences came about, especially following the band's successful tour of the States, so Rykodisc did the honors with this excellent compilation — if there's one thing anyone needs to get from the duo, it's unquestionably this. While there's no chronological order to the collection, and the sequencing and arrangement from the original albums are unfortunately if inevitably lost, the choice of songs to feature is completely spot on. The biggest gap is the lack of anything from the self-titled debut and the Garden of the Arcane Delights EP, including the track the collection takes its title from. As such songs would jarringly stand out sonically from the rest, though, it's an understandable omission. Nearly every undisputed highlight from the band is included, covering both Perry's and Gerrard's contributions in equal measure. "The Host of Seraphim" here forms the centerpiece of an album rather than the start, and two new tracks help to round things out — while they aren't among the most deathless numbers the band has created, they're still worth listening to. "Bird" piles on the ambient jungle noises and animal calls and cries, but is saved from neo-New Age bathos by both its arrangement and the central combination of drumming and Gerrard's singing, here a touch lighter than normal. "Spirit," in contrast, predominantly features electric guitar and strong bass pulse, feeling a bit like a number from the very first album heavily stripped down with a new tension and beauty. Perry's singing suits the performance well, another excellent effort.

Dead Can Dance(以下簡稱DCD)-死神之舞，這個在黑暗中婀娜多姿起舞的樂隊，以最大的可能表現了黑暗樂風獨具特色的魅力，即無限優美的施律，不食人間煙火的主音空靈飄蕩和中東色彩的神秘樂聲層層浸染于西塔琴落寞的抽泣中，響板孤獨而輕盈的點擊，使你置身于明暗世界。 真正靈魂的東西是隱藏在音樂中深厚的文化和宗教底蘊以及不可避免的縹緲黑暗的氛圍。

DCD于1981年成立于澳大利亞，成立之初，除了兩位核心舞者，主音Lisa Gerrard, 吉他手Brendan Perry之外，還有兩位成員Paul Erikson和Simon Monroe. Brendan Perry在這之前一直是澳大利亞著名朋克樂隊the Scavengers的主音吉他手。而在82年前不久，Brendan Perry和Lisa Gerrard決定前往倫敦發展，不到一年，他們就和英國最著名的獨立唱片公司4AD簽了約。1984的春天，他們將以前四年寫的一些作品集結成了一張同名專集發行。年末時，又為4AD旗下另一樂隊的首This Mortal Coil的首張專集“It’ll End in Tears”, 貢獻了兩首作品。自1985年的一張EP“Garden of the Arcane Delights”之后，DCD發行了他們的第二張專集“Spleen and Ideal”，在英國拿到NO。2的同時，也為他們建立起了對宗教的瘋狂熱愛。

隨后的幾年，兩張出色的專集 “Within the Realm of a Dying Sun” 和“ Serpent’s Egg”的發行 不僅使DCD成為電影配樂的熱門，Lisa Gerrard也開始涉足影壇。1900年，DCD發行了他們的第五張專集Aion，也是在這一年，DCD在美國開始了他們的第一次巡演，獲得了相當大的好評。因此在1991年一張類似于精選的“A Passage in Time”在美國首次發行。而93年秋天發行的 “Into the Labyrinth ”無論在美國還是歐洲都取得空前成功。DCD在巡演中的LIVE專集“Toward the Within”于1995年發行。DCD的世界性巡演則是在他們的最后一張專集“Spiritchaser”發行之后。