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Amazing, sensational,
shocking are the first words that
reach my mouth when I'm trying to
describe the new album by Arjen Lucassen!
Whatever I say about this guy is not
enough to make clear how much I admire
his works. He is not just one of the
most talented persons around; he is
a genius and Ayreon one of the best
projects that appeared during the
last ten years. All Ayreon's albums
range from very good to masterpiece
and the new one doesn't make an exception!
Two years after
the release of "Star One",
his other project, Arjen returns with
another Ayreon album,"The Human
Equation". We all knew Arjen's
love for sci-fi stories but this time
he surprises again! In this one Arjen
invites us to explore with him the
human soul and mind. The concept story
is once again fascinating as we become
aware of the inner struggle that takes
place inside the body of the main
character (James LaBrie!), after a
car accident he had that left him
in a coma. We also meet his wife (Marcela
Bovio), his best friend (Arjen) and
his father (Mike Baker). Each of the
rest guest vocalists represents one
feeling or sense. I will not say more
about the plot so you can discover
more with listening to it.
To the musical part
now, the album is really great! All
the elements that we loved from the
previous Ayreon's albums are here.
So prepare again for a perfect marriage
of electronic and symphonic music
with progressive rock! It's true that
in the last two albums Arjen released,
he chose to follow a more aggressive
and "heavy" path (of course
the result was impressive!), but the
new album is a come back to the sound
of the first four albums, especially
to that of "Into the Electric
Castle". But, this time he also
makes a step forward, so the music
is now more "progressive"
than ever before! We have a big variety
of songs, from melodic power hymns
to very beautiful acoustic ballads.
Each track of the album has a different
taste and feeling and something special
to discover. I tried so hard but I
cannot find a weak moment. You will
be impressed by how many instruments
(violin, callo, flute etc.) and different
sounds can someone listen here and
by the amazing job that Arjen did
in putting all these together! The
result is so unique…! The performance
by the vocalists that take part in
this project is great, too. On this
album Arjen decided not to use any
of the singers that had used before,
but once again many big personalities
make their appearance. The synthesisers
and keyboards have a leading role
again and the production is excellent
for one more time (I would have been
surprised if it wasn't so!). Ed Warby
did a great job on the drums, too.
A special reference must be made to
the participation of the "great"
Ken Hensley in "Loser"(one
of the best songs of the year!). Maybe,many
will be discouraged by the length
of the album (for me it's an advantage,100
minutes of awesome music!) but Ayreon's
albums are not for "easy"
ears.
In conclusion, Arjen
did it again. He created a perfect
and very emotional album that combines
rock, classic, jazz, electronic and,
I don't know what else, music. I'm
sure the fans have already bought
it. Those of you, fans of progressive
rock or any other open minded listeners,
who haven't tasted any of his previous
works yet, I must say that inside
the "chest", with the name
Ayreon marked on it, there is a big
"treasure" to be found!
Thank you Arjen! |
