AYREONAUTS ONLY

A tourist trap of unreleased material, demos and whatnot, this one reads like it is, 'for Ayreonauts only', and definitely not for the newcomer to the band. It is interesting and that pretty much sums up this enitre backlog of rarities and unreleased tracks that could have remained unreleased. None of the tracks are as polished or delightful as the original, some not even a pale imitation, with guest artists sadly absent.

But it is what it is and any fan would go crazy for new versions of Into the Black Hole, Out of the White Hole and Through the Wormhole, certainly captivating music without the effects or multilayered instrumentation. Original Hippie's Amazing Trip is a curiosity as is Eyes of Time, but nothing worth bottling here. Nature's Dance is a quick short sharp shock of prog and the compilation ends with a 7 minute Ambeon: Cold Metal. The whole album left me cold and this is truly something that the super fan, who must get every Ayreon release, would only enjoy.