|
Introduction
Ayreon
is back. Well, he was never gone, but Arjen had some side-projects
(Ambeon, Star One) and now he finally released a new
Ayreon
album.
The Package
InsideOut once again proved their quality with an awesome package.
I’m talking about the limited edition, with the 2 CD’s and 1 DVD,
that also will be released in a normal package. The package has the
format you already know from The Flower Kings and Transatlantic
DVD’s, a hard cover book, with a forty page booklet and 2 CD’s and a
DVD. There’s only one drawback: the two CD’s are packed above one
another, so you can’t get to CD 2 without removing the first. The
booklet is filled with lyrics, liner notes and very fine artwork by
Mattias Norén (www.progart.com
), who illustrated every song. The frontcover art is great picture
from Jef Bertels, you already know from “Into The Electric Castle”.
DVD
The
DVD has some interesting features. First of all, there’s a
documentary (45 minutes) called “Inside” which gives some behind the
scenes footage. Interesting to see the recordings and the vocalists
and the shear joy they have in working with Arjen. There are a few
shorter clips: Arjen explaining the story of
Ayreon,
the concept of the album and a videoclip of Day 11. And finally Ed
Warby talks about his drums and his work on the album.
The Story
The
story of the album is really down to earth this time. No castles,
knights, spaceships or fantasy elements, but normal people. The main
character (me = James LaBrie) had an accident with his car. Nobody
knows how it happened because it was broad daylight, no obstacles
and no other cars around. The man is in a coma, meeting his emotions
and reliving his live with them, while is best friend and wife are
next to his bed. I won’t spoil the surprise by telling you the end,
but druing the last seconds Arjen proves that he’s still Ayreon.
Review
Some people have a gift and know how to use it. Arjen Lucassen is
one of them. It was already obvious on his first album ‘The Final
Experiment’ that we could expect a lot more from this phenomenon.
‘Actual Fantasy’ was a nice CD, but nothing more. The first
highlight was without any doubt ‘Into The Electric Castle’, the
album with the most variation until now. This landmark should be
known to everyone that claims to know a lot about this music style.
From then on, every album by Arjen Lucassen was compared to “Into
The Electric Castle” and until now no match could be found. There
was always the feeling that you heard it before or that it was only
a variation on the same theme. I don’t want to be detrimental to the
later albums, but they missed the little extra that a music lover is
searching for. But Arjen wouldn’t be Ayreon if he wouldn’t surpass
himself once more.
Of course there are some typical Ayreon features in “The Human
Equation”, and so there should be, because an artist must be
recognizable. But there’s more, a lot more...
After the beautiful opener “Day one - Vigil” you already get
such a typical Ayreon song “Day two - Isolation”. It could
come straight from “Into The Electric Castle”. And yet you feel a
certain potential and this has certainly something to do with the
ideal combination of vocalists. Eric Clayton (Reason), James LaBrie
(Me) and Mikael Äkerfeldt (Fear) certainly attract attention. A
Floydian piece is followed by an unequalled synth solo by Joost van
de Broek (After Forever).
“Day three - Pain” is the
first track that lifts this album to a higher level than “The
Castle”. Again the choice of voices is great. Devon Graves (Agony),
or should I say ‘Buddy Lackey’, the singer of Dead Soul Tribe and
Psychotic Waltz, together with Devin Townsend (Rage) give this song
the little extra with the brilliant musical finds. (#1)
The track “Day four – Mystery” contains the typical Aryeon
organ sounds and is just a common but very pleasant track.
“Day five – Voices” also
kicks off in a very known manner, but once Eric Clayton (Reason)
performs his part, the track goes to another dimension. This could
be considered as a leading thread running through the whole album.
The most intriguing singer is Eric Clayton (Reason). Without him,
the album would have been completely different. Also the piece with
Mikael Äkerfeldt in this track is a beauty.
The singer with the most differentiation is Agony (Devon Graves).
The combination with Mikael Äkerfeldt in “Day six – Childhood”
make it another extra special track. (#2)
‘Best Friend’ (Arjen) does an excellent job singing the track
“Day seven – Hope”, a song with a very beautiful melody that
reminds me a bit of Blackmore’s Night.
The combination of the voices does a great job on “Day eight –
School”, but the highest prize goes to the classical sounding
bridge together with the interaction between “Pride” (Magnus Ekwall)
and ‘Reason’ (Eric Clayton).
The only instrumental on this album “Day nine – Playground”
is a brilliant, nostalgic song. If it was meant to make everybody
reminisce their schooldays, then it succeeds completely. Clever
piece of music.
Although it’s not really a typical Aryeon track, “Day ten –
Memories” only gets to me from the quiet piece with ‘Passion’
(Irene Jansen) and ‘Reason’ (Eric Cayton) on.
The single “Day eleven – love”, a most enjoyable track, very
well sung by every one but an extra feather on the hats of ‘Love’
(Heather Findlay) and ‘Passion’ (Irene Jansen).
The best track on ‘The Human Equation’ is, without any doubt,
“Day twelve – Trauma”. Only the beautifully built tension would
do, but the real kick comes after 3 minutes and 15 seconds: the
vocals of ‘Reason’ (Eric Clayton) with a mini guitar solo, and after
that ‘Fear’ (Mikael Äkerfeldt) who joins in at the right moment and
brings the track to a climax on the right moment with a supergrunt.
And that’s why grunts were invented. Not to roar for a whole bloody
album (really pathetic) but to give that little extra at the right
moment. High class!!! (#3)
‘Love’ (Heather Findlay) opens “Day thirteen – Sign” in a way
that no one else is capable of. Goosebump time!!. That’s what
Arjen’s art is all about. Knowing who has to sing when and use the
vocalist in a style that is best for him. This is a Heather moment
like no other. “Top Notch” Mostly Autum. But also the great
guitarsolo in combination with the violin deserves to be mentioned.
After that the level of the song goes down a bit.
‘Me’ (James LaBrie) gets a typical Dream Theater part in “Day
fourteen – Pride”, a heavy rock song. But this track is an
exception, because on the rest of the album, James sings very
laidback and quiet, really the way I like him the most. Superb
judgement by Arjen.
The three strongest voices (Fear, Agony & Reason) open “Day
fifteen – Betrayed”, a quiet track, with a strong chorus sung by
Eric Clayton (Fear). It contains a very beautiful middle piece with
amongst others the synth solo by Martin Orford. The song ends with
an acoustic guitar and a very modest James LaBrie (Me).
The didgeridoo opens the most folky track “Day sixteen – Loser”.
This exceptional strong track creates a fantastic atmosphere thanks
to the combination of folk and metal. It reminds me of the Scottish
Highlands, Fish, Tempest and Skyclad. And once more, the strong
figures of “Rage” (Devin Townsend) and “Father” (Mike Baker) get a
lot of credits. But the abolute highlight of this track is the organ
solo by Ken Hensley. His typical Uriah Heep organ sound sounds
better than ever. Oh, guys, where have all those good times gone?
But Arjen knows how to bring back these feelings. This is almost
scary. And of course it’s one of the songs with the little extra.
(#4)
“Day seventeen – Accident”
opens again in a Floydian way with a very Bowie-sounding Eric
Clayton (Reason). The voice of Marcela Bovio has been mixed to the
background which gives a very special effect. A piece of drum’n bass
is used, just before the guitar solo and the synth solo by Oliver
Wakeman, to emphasize the musical variation. Also a snatch of
Zeppelin (“No Quarter”) passes in review. This track is another tip.
(#5).
Quite a lot of instruments are hidden in “Day eighteen –
Realization”, even some classical ones. This track opens as a
Focus song to change into a rock song in real Dream Theater style.
Arjen (Best Friend) and Marcela Bovio (Wife) give an explanation in
“Day nineteen – Disclosure” but I keep the details for the
listener to discover. The same for “Day twenty – Confrontation”
that also has a more narrative purpose than a musical character.
These are good songs, but no super tracks, but they are essential to
understand the concept.
I
almost forgot to mention drummer Ed Warby. I can be very brief about
him. You were right Arjen. THE Ayreon drummer is Ed Warby and no one
else!
The expectations for the new Aryeon album were very high. After the
super album ‘Into The Electric Castle’ we had to wait and see if
Arjen would succeed in matching or even exceeding this masterpiece.
With “The Human Equation”, Arjen proves that he can do a lot more
than he already revealed in the past. At least five tracks contain
that little more. (see the #’s) He certainly has set the limits a
little higher for himself. The technique and recording quality are
an example for the whole musical world. With his skill to approach
the right people and use them for the perfect musical atmosphere, he
is capable of making exceptional great albums. He doesn’t make it
easy for himself in the future. I’m curious to see what his next
step will be. But one thing is certain. If your budget allows you
only one album this year, then you shouldn’t have any doubts:
AYREON: ‘The Human Equation’! |
