Today we venture into the deep unknown of the outer cosmos. Unknown races, long forgotten human ancestors and unrealized dimensions shall unfold before us as we open the doors to a whole world of sci-fi fantasy, adventures and best of all, prog.
Ayreon is a unique musical project worldwide. Ever since I first came across this majestic phenomenon, I’ve been amazed by the amount of talent, creativity and stories put into it as well as the numerous important personalities that have crossed its path throughout the years. Going through the entire discography was long overdue, so on this year, 25 years after the inception of this jewel of Dutch prog music, I decided now was the moment to traverse all albums. Join me on a journey through time and space as we unfold the many layers of the Ayreon Universe to find the best record that master Arjen Lucassen has created.
#10. Actual Fantasy
I always thought this album kinda stood out like the sore thumb in the Ayreon catalogue. It’s definitely not a bad album. The music on display is high-quality material with plenty of creativity that would do just fine for a regular prog rock album. But for Ayreon standards it simply falls flat, and the lack of a unitary lyrical concept really pulls it away from my perception of what an Ayreon album is about. However, when putting my biases aside, it makes a fairly enjoyable listening experience that you can really get immersed into. It’s a very atmospheric and melodic piece with a lot of synthesizers and electronic effects. The idea of the album is to disconnect you from reality and immerse you in a land of fantasy, and it really does a good job at putting you under that haze where you kinda lose track of time. It also has some heavy riffs, grooves and cool drum transitions, to get some energy, dynamic and cinematics going. Each song tells a different story, some from movies or literature and others written by Arjen himself. From a vocal stand-point it is definitely not disappointing but maybe a bit one sided, with most of the vocal parts being delivered by Edward Reekers and Robert Soeterboek. As stand-out moments I would have to mention the orchestral ending of “Forevermore” and the whole electronic experimental sound-wizardry in “Dawn of Man”, a song that is not available on all versions of the album.
#9. Universal Migrator Part I: The Dream Sequencer
Released as first part of a double album, “The Dream Sequencer” might be Arjen’s most atmospheric and synthesized album. The album tells the story of a colonist living on Mars, who enters a machine simulation enabling him to revisit all his previous incarnations throughout time. Thus, the album has a cohesive concept but allows for each song to tell a different story. The music consists of soft, slow-paced prog rock. Heavy guitar riffs are scarce, even absent for some full songs, with most of the guitar parts consisting of acoustic chords and bluesy lead melodies. The sound is drenched in synthesized effects, creating a very immersive deep-space vibe that works very well with the first few songs on the album. However, as the journey back in time progresses and takes us to more Earthly events, I feel like the sound becomes less fitting for the imagery that the songs aim to represent. It probably makes more sense considering that the stories are meant to be simulations seen through the lens of The Dream Sequencer, and it feels like their own vibes also come to life at least in some songs (“Temple of the Cat”, “And the Druids Turned to Stone”). The cast of vocalists is quite interesting, featuring the likes of Neal Morse, Johan Edlund, Lana Lane and Damian Wilson amongst my favourites. I would also consider this a weak album for Ayreon standards and a bit of a drag given the 70-minute running time, but it is still an enjoyable listen, especially as background music.
#8 The Final Experiment
Compared to some later albums, the debut “The Final Experiment” actually had most of the essential Ayreon components in place and delivered at a remarkable quality. The “rock opera” concept album style that Ayreon is known for was already there, although admittedly in a somewhat rudimentary form. This one tells the story of the character who names the band, a blind minstrel from the dark ages who receives visions from the future about humanity’s demise, but is unheard and eventually perishes. It is around this story that the whole of the Ayreon universe revolves. Given the unusual concept, the musical style here juggles between cinematic, medieval folky influences, deep-space, dark and creepy sci-fi vibes and post-apocalyptic imagery, all laid down on a foundation of groovy, melodic and catchy prog metal, with some pretty remarkable solos as well. The atmosphere is shrouded in mystery and the dramatization of the vocalists is very theatrical, although the cast is composed of less-known personalities. The biggest fault here I would say is the lack of assigning roles to vocalists. Each character may be interpreted by different people, sometimes even in the same song, which gets a bit confusing. But overall, this album is quite striking, inspired and original, especially for a debut record.
#7. The Theory of Everything
2013’s “The Theory of Everything” is a somewhat peculiar piece. 90 minutes of material running through just about every musical element that Arjen has explored throughout his career, deliver the only story that doesn’t connect with the tapestry of intertwined sci-fi adventures of the Ayreon universe, but stands separated on its own. Consisting of over 40 tracks, many shorter than 2 minutes, with uninterrupted music flowing from one track to the next, it gets a bit difficult to keep focused throughout the full duration of the record and although the material is very impressive and diverse, I feel it’s a bit less memorable than it could be compared to other Ayreon works. Folky, acoustic moments, fast prog rock passages of impressive technicality, challenging solo sections, electronic influences, symphonic components and heavy riffage all come together in this piece. The story definitely holds an element of surprise and many unexpected twists of plot, presenting an introverted, socially inept Prodigy’s attempt to uncover an Equation that probably should not be uncovered. And of course, it’s great to see all the fuss going on around him, with everyone else having their own agenda regarding his talents. The cast is very interesting, with Tommy Karevik as The Prodigy and among others, Miachael Mills and Sara Squadrani as some of my favourite vocalists on the record.
#6. Transitus
Released just a few months back, “Transitus” is probably the most unexpected Ayreon album of the lot, from many perspectives. First off, it seemed to pop up out of nowhere without anyone expecting it, and it was initially supposed to be a side project. Also, it is the first album in a long time that doesn’t feature Edd Warby on the drums. Beyond that, the album itself is probably the most theatrical of the lot. It has a surprisingly strong symphonic component due to the extensive use of choir, sometimes singing in latin, as well a remarkably bombastic orchestral touch. The story is probably the most hectic one that Arjen came up with thus far, such that it requires a narrator and a comic book to support part of the story allowing the music to still breathe. Narrating the beginning of each song is none other than the legendary English actor Tom Baker, and the cast of vocalists is also quite lit, featuring Tommy Karevik, Cammie Gilbert, Simone Simmons, Paul Manzi, Michael Mills and so on. Also, in terms of story, it leaves behind the sci-fi theme in favor of a narrative in different plains of existence between the living and the dead. It’s a ghost story, in to embed the ghostly atmosphere into it, Ex Libris vocalist Dianne van Giersbergen (ex-Xandria) also makes some particularly striking appearances. But as a downside, I feel like trying to cram so many different elements over such a complex storyline results in many of the talented personalities in this record being somewhat undervalued and some of the moments in the story feeling a bit forced. However, it’s a brilliant record that keeps the Ayreon sound and character very much alive!
#5. Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator
The second part of the “Universal Migrator” double album strikes my fancy far greater than the first one. This might actually be the heaviest and most technically impressive Ayreon album. “Flight of the Migrator” presents our colonist on Mars entering the Dream Sequencer once more, to see the birth of the Universe and travel through time and space in search for human life. Despite not being so much of a rock opera with characters, it actually connects many of the Ayreon stories that came both before and after its release, and it also has a truly amazing cast of vocalists. It’s a heavy/power metal montage on the vox, featuring incredible vocalists like Russel Allen, Bruce Dickinson, Timo Kotipelto, Fabio Lione, Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear and Andi Deris from Helloween. The music also aims towards the direction of many of these bands. I would say this particular album brings together prog-power metal with classic heavy metal and even pure rock’n’roll influences, especially when it comes to the spectacular display of solos. And unlike in Arjen’s rock operas, each vocalist takes the spotlight in full for the whole duration of a song presenting a phase in this cosmic journey. While the songs all deliver more or less the same musical elements, they differ greatly in emotion, atmosphere and energy, from hyper-speed excitement (Through the Wormhole) to epic anthems (Dawn of a Million Souls) and dark, dramatic atmosphere (Through the Black Hole). It’s amazing how despite a slightly shorter run-time for an Ayreon album and the lack of an actual opera approach, this album ticks all the expected boxes and places itself in the center of Arjen’s maze of interconnected stories.
#4. 01011001
The “Planet Y” story is one that I’ve become very fond of since it was my first encounter with this amazing musical phenomenon, along with its later released prequel, “The Source”. This is arguably one of the longest, darkest and most philosophical journeys in the discography. Over 100 minutes of music present not one, but two races driving themselves into the dirt due to their dependency on machines, and it also turns out that we as humans, are just puppets of a superior race. So that’s not very pretty. But the deep space ambiance, element of wisdom and the silver lining in the end makes it much more than a dark depressive story about extinction. It is a search for meaning in life and a mission to overcome stasis in the attempt to remember emotion. While “01011001” (binary for Y) carries many of the heavier elements of Ayreon music, it has a certain numbness to it which relates so well to the concept, making it one of the more atmospheric albums. Riffs and drums are well contained while both electronic elements and folky touches constantly find their way into the mix. The characters are all named “Forever” on the main narrative flow but we are also given glimpses of humanity in a few songs and as the album nears its end, the two action plains converge beautifully. On vocals we have many important names like Floor Jansen, Anneke van Giersbergen, Daniel Gildenlow or Hansi Kursch just to name a few. And to top it off, there’s a guitar solo from the one and only Michael Romeo!
3. The Human Equation
This is one that I haven’t gotten into until very recently, even after Transitus came to life. Despite the fact that it’s been released in 2004, I feel that “The Human Equation” feels as fresh as an album released yesterday. It’s easily the most dramatic of Ayreon’s stories, a monumental psychological journey through all the depths of human emotions, dealing with repressed memory, trauma, inner conflict, facing fears and many phenomena that people usually avoid to acknowledge in their own real lives (I should know). It is a masterpiece as much as it is a life lesson. The cast of vocalists is simply phenomenal, featuring legends like James LaBrie, Michael Akerfeldt and Devin Townsend along with Marcela Bovio, Irene Jansen and even Arjen himself in one of the main parts. This enables an incredibly diverse vocal and emotional palette ranging from sweet and tender female vocals all the way down to death growls. And as far as the composition goes, there’s really nothing missing. Very memorable themes and chorus lines flood the songs while powerful riffage, infectious groove and outstanding energy make it a proper metalhead’s favourite (again… I should know). All the while, prog elements are much more present than in other albums as well as symphonic touches (violin and cello parts are absolutely gorgeous) and acoustic sections. I’m also particularly keen on the flute sound on this one, much more prominent and striking than on other albums. And to really make it shine, the unexpected ending quickly merges this story with all the others, giving it an entirely different dimension in the grand scheme of Ayreon things.
#2. The Source
“The Source” is very likely the most complete work when it comes to displaying everything there is to display about what the name Ayreon actually means. This is the one album you should play to anyone who hasn’t heard of this project before. Lyrics, music and story are all some of the finest that Arjen’s ever done. The album ticks the “heavy” box quite well with a powerful accent on riffage, it’s got amazingly catchy melodies, solos and probably some of the catchiest sing-along songs in history. Yet it maintains a menacing and slightly bitter undertone, heralding of what’s to come and it also deals with many different emotions presented in challenging situations. It’s an up-and down rollercoaster of triumph, hope and exploration interlaced with moments of loss, fear and inner doubts. Presenting the Alphans, ancestors of the Forever, on their quest to save their race from computer-initiated apocalypse, it reaches a cosmic scale of imagery and adventure but also allows many moments of personal emotion and turmoil come into view. We once again have great use of cello, violins, flute, electronic synth sounds and a pretty sweet touch of progressiveness, making the album interesting, engaging and diverse from a creative standpoint. And it balances all the different elements in a unitary cohesive flow. Vocally, it is an absolute delight, featuring the likes of Floor Jansen, Simone Simons, Russel Allen, Michael Mills, James LaBrie, Tommy Karevik, Tommy Rogers, all incredible vocalists who play their parts exquisitely, with a powerful flare of drama. Looking from every possible analytical viewpoint, The Source is the ultimate Ayreon album, flawless in its entirety… but in the end, there could be only one.
#1. Into The Electric Castle
Probably as an overcompensation for Actual Fantasy being rather underwhelming, Arjen somehow made his third studio album, “Into The Electric Castle”, into a masterpiece the likes of which you hardly ever encounter, one of those timeless legends that never lose their God-like status. One hour and 44 minutes of flawless universe juice expressed as sound-waves take you far beyond your material surroundings into a place “of no-time and no-space”. This is one of the ideal musical works to completely and fully disconnect you from reality and immerse you so deeply into the ambience of the world it creates that you feel connected into the story. It’s probably the most classic prog-rock sounding album, which normally wouldn’t click that well with me since I have a preference for the more modern sounds, but it just breathes so much life, emotion and surreal magic that none of my biases seem to matter. The bluesy solos are so expressive, the drums have a subtle yet striking sense of groove and the main themes, as well as the lyrics are so inspired and spot-on that they just stick with you for days. When it comes to building characters, it’s definitely the most evolved Ayreon story, diving various character archetypes, presented through representatives of different human cultures, all mashed together in one unearthly landscape and forced to work together by a superior being. And it’s not exactly shabby on the vocal department either, with a cast composed of Anneke van Giersbergen, Fish, Damian Wilson, Sharon den Adel, Edwin Balogh, Jay van Feggelen, Edward Reekers and last but not least, Arjen Lucassen, the crazy hippie without whom this exquisite collection of art, skillfully crafted throughout the decades wouldn’t even be a thing. Truth is he’s a genius like no other. Only one thing left to say… Remember Forever!
