REVEL IN TIME

Arjen Anthony Lucassen did it again. With Revel in Time, his third full-length release under the banner Star One, he managed to write yet another progressive metal masterpiece. Packed with an astonishing list of elite guest musicians and bursting with one of the most diverse, fun and energetic tracklists ever put together by the Dutch maestro, Revel in Time is a tremendous album that, come December, will no doubt find its place at the top of many Album of the Year lists.

Arjen's fame is well established by now. With its main project Ayreon, the Dutchman has developed a strong reputation as one of the most accomplished prog metal composers of our times, as well as uncontested master of rock/metal operas. Launched in 2002, Star One was born as a side-project where Arjen could explore the more metallic side of his music. For those who are most familiar with the recent Ayreon's albums, this may sound odd given that metal is a prominent ingredient of many of those records. But back in early 2000s Ayreon was still largely a progressive rock affair, and with Star One Arjen was trying something different relative to his mainband, focusing on heavier and leaner songs, that did not form part of a larger-scale narrative and were based on the interplay between a restricted number of singers rather than the usual army of guest singers one can find on Ayreon's albums. Thus, the two previous Star One albums, 2002's Space Metal and 2010's Victims of the Modern Age, both featured the same four singers (Russel Allen, Damian Wilson, Floor Jansen and Dan Swanö) and were comprised of briefer, self-contained musical pieces that had the only common characteristic of being inspired by sci-fi cinematography (films about space in the case of Space Metal, dystopian movies in Victims of the Modern Age).

Revel in Time follows in the footsteps of the previous Star One albums, but it also marks a departure from some of the guidelines that had driven the project so far. The new record continues the theme of movie-inspired music, this time drawing from films centred on the theme of time manipulation (from Back to the Future to Groundhog Day). Other than this common conceptual thread, the songs are pretty much standalone pieces, each focused on the narrative of its respective movie. Musically, we are in classic metal / hard rock territory, albeit with plenty of progressive undercurrents (much more so than the previous two Star One albums, to the point that Revel in Time actually feels like a hybrid between Star One and Ayreon). The songs are strongly riff-based and feature a fat guitar sound and a powerful, no-frills rhythmic backbone courtesy of Arjen's long-time partner in crime, drum maestro Ed Warby. The keyboards are used prominently too, albeit mostly to provide spacey futuristic soundscapes or lush symphonic arrangements, rather than as lead instrument.

Differently from the previous Star One albums, Revel in Time features a large number of singers, each appearing on one of the 11 tracks of the album. This was partly due to the COVID-19 international travel restrictions that prevented Arjen from flying the singers over to his own studio where they would have recorded their interactive parts as usual. Nevertheless, the four regular Star One singers, Russel Allen, Damian Wilson, Floor Jansen and Dan Swanö, are all present on the record, with one song each. Next to them, we have an unbelievable list of guest vocalists, including Roy Khan (Conception, ex-Kamelot), Brittney Hayes (Unleash the Archers), Joe Lynn Turner (ex-Rainbow, ex-Deep Purple, ex-Malmsteen), Jeff Scott Soto (Sons of Apollo, ex-Malmsteen), Brandon Yeagley (Crobot), Ross Jennings (Haken), John Cuijpers (Praying Mantis), and Michael Mills (Toehider). As if this wasn't impressive enough, Arjen also managed to gather a stellar cast of instrumentalists who provide jaw-dropping guitar and keyboard solos throughout the album, from Jens Johansson (Stratovarius) over to Michael Romeo (Symphony X), Timo Somers (ex-Delain), Bumblefoot (Sons of Apollo, ex- Guns N' Roses), Adrian Vandenberg (ex-Whitesnake), and no other than his guitar majesty Steve Vai. And if this still does not convey the bonkers scale of the project, just know that the album comes with a second CD containing alternative versions of all 11 songs, each sung by a different vocalist!

As you go through the list of incredible musicians featuring on the album, two things should become clear. First, the musicianship is incredible. Arjen has a strong reputation for writing songs that bring the best out of his guest musicians, and the 11 tracks of this record could not confirm this more clearly. The performances are astonishing, from the first to the last note. Second, the heterogeneous cast of performers means that the album accommodates a very diverse range of styles, from hard rock ("Back from the Past", "Revel in Time", "The Year of '41"), to Rainbowesque classic metal ("28 Days", "Beyond the Edge of It All", "Lost Children of the Universe"), to full-on power metal ("Fate of Man"), to symphonic metal ("A Hand on the Clock"), to more out-there progressive rock ("Prescient", "Today Is Yesterday"). This diversity is undoubtedly the main strength of the album, which feels fresh, fun and dynamic, providing a stark contrast especially with previous Star One record, the monolithic and monotonous Victims of the Modern Age. Amazingly, despite its heterogeneity, Revel in Time also feels very cohesive, thanks to the consistent sound production and Arjen's unique songwriting style that ties together all the different influences into a harmonious musical almanac.

The album offers highlight after highlight. Each song features amazing hooks, with melodies that get instantly stuck in your brain and burrow there for days. At the same time, there is plenty of musical depth too, with structures that often depart from the simple verse/chorus repetition and experiment with complex, multi-part vocal harmonies (backing singers Marcela Bovio, Irene Jansen and Will Shaw deserve huge praise here), or venture in interesting detours, like the operatic choral bombast of the epic "Lost Children of the Universe", arguably the best song of the album. In this way, the record strikes the perfect balance between immediacy and subtlety, delivering payoffs that are both instant and gradual. Most of all, though, Revel in Time is a thoroughly enjoyable and fun album to listen to: free from the constraints of the rock opera format, where each song must play its part in the overall aesthetic of the concept, Revel in Time's 11 songs seem instead to have been written as each and every one of them was meant to be the climactic point of the album. It's a constant deluge of great musical ideas that simply floors the listener time and time again.

It is really hard to find something to criticize here. One might be tempted to say that Revel in Time does not bring much new to the already stellar catalogue of Ayreon / Star One. But then I listen to the Devin Townsend-esque extravaganza of "Today Is Yesterday", the 70s hardrock echoes of "Revel in Time", and the power metal assault of "Fate of Man", and I cannot help but feel that there is a boldness here, an audacity to embrace a whole universe of heavy metal music that makes this album very special and unique, even when compared to Arjen's impressive standards. Revel in Time is without doubt the best Star One release so far, and also one of the most convincing pieces of work written by Arjen across all his projects. If you are a fan of bombastic, melodic progressive metal, you simply cannot miss this album.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]

Despite the fact that I was relatively late to the party on Star One and Lucassen at large, it's pretty wild to think that this is the first studio album for the project in 12 years. They always have stellar branding, the album art always showing some kind of highly futuristic (at times utopian, at times dystopian) sci-fi existence. Revel In Time, Star One's third LP, displays more the latter mode, with a seemingly water-color painting of a strange forest of clocks and stained glass. Beautiful, really, but at first eerie and unsettling. As with his Ayreon project, Lucassen features numerous guest vocalists and guitarists (and here three keyboardists), and you can bet your ass I'll be telling you all about 'em here haha.

"Fate of Man" is our opener, the first single for the album, released in November 2021. This has that classic Power-level Prog Metal sound that we have come to expect from Star One. This is Prog Metal rooted in the works of DT, Fates Warning and the like. It features on vocals Brittney Slayes of Unleash The Archers. Fantastic guitar solo here by Michael Romeo of Symphony X, too, another vital participant in that early Prog Metal pantheon. "28 Days (Till the End of Time)" features some synth-soaking, which really reminded me of early '80s Rush. And speaking of Symphony X, their lead vocalist, the very talented Russell Allen, is this track's vocalist. On guitar, Timo Somers of Delain... supposedly haha. I'm so utterly ignorant of this side of the music world. I'm not wild about this song, to be completely honest. Some really cool ideas nonetheless, like the huge, vaulting swells and the inclusion of flute(?!), the latter making for some classic Prog-homagery (yes, that is not a word). Almost good haha.

"Prescient" is up next, the second single from the album, and this one has dual lead-and-backing vocals by Toehider's Michael Mills and Haken's Ross Jennings. They certainly compliment each other very well! And this is a song: it's got great melody, hooks, and stellar composition. At the end, it has a sort of Highlands feel? Pretty epic, too, as it closes up. Nice guitar riffage, and I love the loud-soft dynamics with the sections including acoustic guitar. Awesome. With the start of "Back from the Past", I was like... 'Dio?!' haha. The vocals of Jeff Scott Soto, associated with Yngwie Malmsteen and the vocalist of Sons of Apollo and--I had no idea(!)--Trans-Siberian Orchestra(?!), are gruff and full. Decent song. Definitely feels like a blast from the past. Pretty nice solo by the excellent Bumblefoot (to me, obviously). Anyway, as I often say, nearly good. Then it's on to the title track, "Revel In Time"... and that is a helluva melody! I like! Feels a bit like... I don't know, but it's like Post-Post-Grunge. Great vocals are delivered by Brandon Yeagley of Crobot! Seriously, awesome vocal control, range and beeves. Adrian Vandenberg (I guess it's high time I explored Whitesnake, eh?) performs a swelling guitar solo, which tonally reminded me of Zakk Wylde. Maybe? It's good. Big'n.

Speaking of big'ns, "The Year of '41" has more of that good ol' Metal feeling. The drums on this are really fun, honestly; an upbeat number. It features a post-Dio, post-Cozy Rainbow vocalist, Joe Lynn Turner: a talented, classic Metal vocalist, for sure. The guitar solo, which is one of the best on the albums, is performed by current Whitesnake guitarist Joel Hoekstra (also of TSO, and at one time of Night Ranger and Foreigner). And then... this synth solo? Awesome! Performed by a very familiar name in this realm, Jens Johansson of Stratovarious and (also?!) Rainbow and Yngwie('s band). Then it's the very familiar vocals of Damian Wilson, whom I know from Headspace (and at one point in time of the band Threshold), on the beefy "Bridge of Life". Some melodic things here are just alright, but some are quite interesting. This is a riff-heavy number and features some nice female vocals. Is that children's... toy mallets at the end? I like it regardless.

Much heavier is "Today is Yesterday" [...hold up... /s] with the great Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Pan.Thy.Monium) on lead vocals. This one, though, is honestly pretty corny to me... The guitar solo was pretty good, but very shortlived, performed by the current (surprise) guitarist of classic Dutch Prog band Kayak[!!!], Marcel Singor. There's a synth solo? [No.] To the theme at hand, we have next "A Hand on the Clock". Big beefy guitar here, although I'm not in love with the vocals of Nightwish's Floor Jansen (unsurprised she's here though). This has some pretty noticeable Hammond organ throughout, the eventual solo performed by After Forever's Joost van den Broek. Pretty wild solo. Very classic! I mean, it hearkens all the way back to Rod (F*cking) Argent in The Zombies, no? Often where my mind goes. Moving right along, we have the spacy creep of "Beyond the Edge of it All". Another evocation of Ronnie James Dio is the performance by John Jaycee Cuijpers of Praying Mantis here. Very cool. I'm just impressed by these vocals... Man... Finally, "Lost Children of the Universe", our sole mini-epic (at 10 minutes), features the dynamic, dramatic vibrato of Roy Khan (Conception, Kamelot). I like the keys here. I will say, though, the composition is rather slow-going [and, as you'll see, overall just static]. Just about midway, we get the other feature that I was most excited for: the unmistakable Steve Vai. Beautiful solo. And of course, this particular peccary-- err--- I mean-- this particular solo is clearly the longest of the bunch, too haha. Ooooh, a little Zappa-ism around 6:35? I see you, Stevie. Unsurprisingly, this did not turn over a new leaf for the song; it was fine.

[Usually I say something to uhhh... wrap things up with my reviews, but alas, I know nothing of this album editing it now over year later.]

In the same way that on Ayreon's The Source album, Arjen Lucassen fused the concepts of Ayreon and Star One, I get the feeling that on this Star One album he has tried to do it again, but taking the variety of artists from his operas to a conceptual album.

Personally, this is something that hasn't completely convinced me, simply because Damian Wilson, Floor Jansen and Russell Allen are three of my favorite metal singers, and I would have preferred an album with only them singing, just like the previous one.

This is not a completely negative thing, because there are some songs on this album where the voices of their singers stand out in some absolutely epic moments. However, it is a small longing that is going to stay there.

For the rest, I can't say that Revel in Time is an absolutely perfect album like Victims of the Modern Age seemed to me, but it's still a very good and enjoyable album by my favorite metal musician. I can't criticize him, because Arjen Lucassen just makes the music I like the way I enjoy it the most.

It is strange to think that not only is this the first album from Lucassen's Star One project in 12 years, it is actually only the third one ever. I can still remember when I heard the first back in 2001 and just how amazed I was at the time. Since then, Lucassen has been concentrating mostly on Ayreon, but now he has found time to get back to the more metallic side of his music and of course he has brought in loads of top musicians to help him out. The core of the band are Arjen Lucassen (guitars, bass, keyboards), Ed Warby (drums), Erik van Ittersum (Solina strings), Joost van den Broek (Hammond organ), Marcela Bovio (backing vocals) and Irene Jansen (backing vocals), and then we get a host of lead singers and guitarists providing solos on different songs as well as additional keyboard players.

Lucassen has long worked with many musicians, preferring that to restricting himself to a set band when it comes to this style of music, and part of the fun when playing this for the first time is to try and pick out the singers without reading the notes. Jeff Scott Soto is instantly recognizable of course with his bluesy take on melodic metal, while Joe Lynn Turner is as powerful now as he was when I saw him fronting Rainbow more than 40 years ago. There was one male singer in particular I was looking for, and when we came to "Bridge of Life" there he was, the instantly recognizable sound of Damian Wilson. Mind you, it is not all male singers, and while I have named just a few of those involved it is no surprise to find Floor Jansen involved yet again, as she has been in the past.

But while Arjen has provided an amazing platform for a host of wonderful singers to show what they can do, this is far more than that with a wonderful balance between catchy metal and dynamic prog, full of passion and power. He has an ability to write music which is uncompromising and in your face while also extremely melodic and exciting. All the guests only have one song in which to make their presence felt, although if you are wise enough to get the double disc then you can hear the same songs with different singers. This is the same for all involved, whatever part they play, so the likes of the incredible Adrian Vandenberg only appears once, as does the mighty Steve Vai on album closer "Lost Children of the Universe", which is the longest number at nearly ten minutes, and the most dramatic.

Arjen Lucassen has a skill in bringing together different musicians and singers to create something which is always clearly identifiable as Star One, yet allowing them to leave their own mark on the album. It may have only been three albums in 20+ years, but this is a prog metal masterpiece and let us hope that he really does not leave it too long until the next one.