AYREON

Too much brilliancy... maybe too much...

When I first heard this project I felt a lot overwhelmed by the whole concept. Maybe two discs is too much and the amount of guest players and the variation of the music is quite impressive, so maybe this album is not for an outsider or someone who has not "get" prog metal.

Once said that, I feel that the album is too much eclectic to be considered as an exclusive "prog metal" album. It has a lot folk-eclectic-heavy prog elements that merges into a complete new thing that sounds great and you can really dive in and enjoy the journey. But, be prepared, maybe is too much to digest in one sitting.

Some people said this is cheesy but I don't agree with that. The story flows with a lot of great singers who develops a different character each and have talks about many existential things. In some vein, this can be categorized as a "Christian Rock Opera" but in a good way. The music works for the story and the guest player work for the songs. There's metal themes and some ambience and folk little spaces for the story to breathe more. I won't mention all the guest players because they are a complete army. I'm happy with the participation of James Labrie (from Dream Theater) who is the key roll in the story, but all the characters made a great work in their each part.

I think the creativity is evident. Having violins, cellos, flutes aside of keyboards, mellotrons, hammonds, heavy guitars and some growling vocals, you have to be very good to merge all that in a good form.

So, I won't detail each song because it will take too much time. My advise is that you come and try this album only if you are already familiarized with long themes and epics. If you like prog metal, you HAVE to hear this. If you like folk and prog rock in general, you can give it a try. A masterpiece, maybe, but for the doubts I will leave it in four stars. Sometimes I feel exhausted when I end the album? so, maybe is great but too much. This is an album that any prog fan needs to listen to before they die.

Tying the knots and thickening the plot, part 1: living the past acoustically

After conceiving the story of aliens watching over humankind as it is some kind of experiment in the brilliant album Into the Electric Castle, the progressive metal mastermind Arjen Lucassen decides to tackle the job of creating or developing a more complex story behind the facts (or behind the story) he presented us in his 1998 album and the album The Universal Migrator is the first part of such development. The album tells the story of the last human being alive after the war that obliterated all life on Earth. The character was possibly born on Mars, because he has never have seen Earth, and lives his last days in a decaying vessel and dome with machines that make his survival possible, along with supplies brought by the Mars colonists, who were escaping the ravaging war back on Earth.

One of the machines that he has is the Dream Sequencer, a machine that makes it possible for him to relive past times in Earth's and humankind's history at will and the first part of The Universal Migrator album, entitled The Dream Sequencer, narrates many different experiences lived by him wile using such machine. He travels through many periods of time, but there are some periods that the main character gives special attention, which are the 21st century, the Renaissance (in the Netherlands and England), early Middle Ages (in the pre-colonial Americas and British Isles) and Antiquity/ Prehistory. Both the first and last tracks are very similar, possibly symbolizing the character's entering and exiting the fake dreams the Dream Sequencer creates.

Regarding the songs, musicianship and related features

Most songs that are in this album, both in part one and two, have a dark tone. However, unlike what many may think looking at the band's genre, all songs in the part one of The Universal Migrator are not progressive metal songs, but actually acoustic-driven progressive rock. Here, Arjen Lucassen really shows us how important Pink Floyd and Van der Graff Generator are important influences in his music: most songs have that dark mood and helplessness that are one of the most noticeable characteristic of both bands, besides the many obvious musical references, being the songs Dream Sequencer and Dream Sequencer Reprise the biggest examples of that, at least concerning Pink Floyd.

The part one of the Universal Migrator album, according to Arjen, was intended to be an acoustic album, but obviously that is impossible to be done with both the matter at hand (scientific fiction) and Ayreon's own style, so, despite the many electric instruments used throughout the album, such as electric guitars, basses and keyboards, there is an honest attempt to make the music sound as if it was an acoustic album: the timbre used on those instruments were not aggressive and there were extensive sampling of acoustic instruments by the keyboards, like string instruments (mostly of the violin family) and brass instruments. The organs were also used in an easygoing way with smooth timbres, as well as the synthesizers.

The album's quality is quite homogeneous, balanced and even: all songs are quite good and are able to make the album flow very smoothly. The highlights go to The Dream Sequencer, One Small Step, Temple Of The Cat, The First Man On Earth and The Dream Sequencer Reprise.

Grade and Final Thoughts

As he has done before and after this album, Arjen Anthony Lucassen is able to deliver us a great musical voyage through his cataclysmic future world. The Dream Sequencer is a great moody album that recreates masterfully the desolate atmosphere lived by the last human survivor inside his decaying technological home and coffin. The only downside of this album is that the part two of The Universal Migrator is unable to keep up with part one for not being as balanced.

Flight of The Migrator goes together with the preceding The Dream Sequencer, two albums from the same year, shedding an entirely different light on all things Ayreon. Where the first was laid-back and atmospheric, this one is a dazzling array of notes.

The album opens with a piece that easily proves everything that is wrong about prog. But it must be meant as a joke right? Taking it seriously cast dark shadows on my mood. Dawn of a Million Souls is a bit better, especially the ELP styled Hammond organ that presents the main theme is fun. The pompous chorus has me running for shelter though. Journey on the Waves of Time is quite catchy but also this one can't be meant seriously now can it? The first track that deserves some praising accolades is To The Quaser, a slab of enchanting space metal that Arjen Lucassen would further explore on his Star One project. The remaining tracks are all way too overblown to remain fun.

Ayreon is a too sympathetic endeavour to be angry at, so the 2 stars are meant with the best intentions. It's professional and well played and fans will probably dig it, but it's hardly the kind of music that I would choose to represent prog with. Actually, if someone would ask me for a sample of prog, this would be one of the last albums I'd take out of my cabinet.

The Human Equation is generally acknowledged as Ayreon's masterpiece. His songwriting is very diverse and found a good balance between melody, power and not too much bombast, though that remains a relative thing when it concerns Ayreon. This album really struck a chord with me when it was released and it got me into a short but intensive Ayreon flirt. This album has quality material but I've quickly grown out of my Ayreon amazement when I discovered more interesting prog matter. Anyway, it was fun while it lasted.

My main grudge with it is the rock-opera styled approach. Throughout the album there are beautiful moments, but more often then not they are ripped apart by bombastic intrusions. All vocalists take up their role in this play with enthusiasm and dedication, but the sterile glossy production takes away much of the power. Added up to the bombastic puzzle of themes and solos, finales, duets, trios, quartets and other sorts of gangs, the big sound of this album is just too much of bang really.

The best songs sit on the second CD, with Sign, Pride and Loser as the obvious highlights. It's been a few years since I gave this a spin and initially I had my mouse pointer hovering over the 4 star button, but upon listening to it again, 3 stars sounded more appropriate.

Into The Electric Castle is Ayreon's first popular moment, featuring some of his best compositions and more emphasis on rocking then on the operatic aspects. The arrangements are less bombastic then the following albums, and of course, with Fish, Damien Wilson, Clive Nolan, Anneke van Giersbergen and Sharon den Adel, this album has an amazing cast of vocalists.

Still, clever as it may be composed and arranged, much of this album leans heavily towards AOR-sympho and doesn't move or enthuse me much. It's music that is very busy and overwrought, leaving little room for imagination and hardly inspiring me to good review writing.

As usual with Ayreon albums, the overabundance of material drags it down. While this album could have made up a good single CD, the double CD format brings in too much second-rate material. Isis and Osiris and Across the Rainbow Bridge are the finest moments on cd1. The second CD also goes through ups and downs but is generally more consistent.

If you are a fan of big symphonic neo-prog opera, you probably have rated this with 5 stars already. And indeed it is an excellent album in that niche market that I just invented on the spot. However, this music lacks substance and courage, it's a kind of easy-listening prog that will deliver to promise but that isn't challenging or inventive enough to rate among the best of prog. 3.5 stars

The Dream Sequencer doesn't rate amongst the fan's favourites. So for someone that only gets an occasional kick from this project it might be a surprising discovery. Unlike the usual Ayreon output, this album and its companion Flight of The Migrator mostly features only one vocalist per track.

The album takes a slow start, The Dream Sequencer is meant to bring us into a Floydian dream mood but the music is hardly compelling enough to achieve that. Prog muzak. My House On Mars is something else entirely, with the morose vocals of Tiamat's Johan Edlund at the helm, it's probably an acquired taste for Ayreon fans but for lovers of Tiamat this is sweet as honey. There's plenty of orchestral bombast in the middle but due to the deadly vocals it works quite well. An interesting mix.

2084 is an album highlight, the solemn mood is maintained but Arjen's bright and colourful arrangements make it pleasantly lush and light. The vocalist Lana Lane is excellent. Also One Small Step and Shooting Company are a lovely journey into Ayreon's more atmospheric and moody side. Dragon of The Sea is another fine track featuring Lana Lane. After two folksy samples, Damien Wilson is allowed to sparkle on And The Druids Turned to Stone. An uninteresting Beatles singalong, The First Man and a reprise of the dull intro round up the album.

Even in a less operatic manifestation such as this album, Ayreon remains an overblown and bombastic endeavour that quickly becomes a weary listen. If it all had been just a bit 'less' I would have opted for 4 stars. The song material is certainly deserving it. 3.5 stars

I just couldn't understand all the positive reviews that Ayreon albums have received. I definitely consider myself a fan of progressive metal so maybe my previous choice of The Universal Migrator was just an unfortunate mistake? Let's hope that The Human Equation will put this artists music in a whole different light!

Well to tell you the truth I did like this album a lot more than the Migrator-albums but there were still a couple of things that didn't work. On the positive side both the story and the compositions showed me a more mature Lucassen at work here.

What I really don't enjoy is the whole role playing where every vocalist plays a part in the story. The whole experience makes me think about opera and I'm still not sure whether or not it actually works on a metal album but I'm quite certain that it didn't work for me here. I also noticed that I haven't revisited this album for a very long time since my first week after purchasing it. I think that the reason for that is that The Human Equation lacks a centerpiece that I would be looking forward to revisiting.

Well all in all it's a good album that I'm sure fans of Lucassen's work will enjoy but the work doesn't have a genre transcending quality to it that will peak an interest from fans of other progressive rock genres. So it's by no means an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection.

**** star songs: Day One: Vigil (1:33) Day Three: Pain (4:58) Day Five: Voices (7:09) Day Six: Childhood (5:05) Day Seven: Hope (2:47) Day Eight: School (4:22) Day Nine: Playground (2:15) Day Ten: Memories (3:57) Day Eleven: Love (4:18) Day Thirteen: Sign (4:47) Day Eighteen: Realization (4:31) Day Nineteen: Disclosure (4:42) Day Twenty: Confrontation (7:03)

*** star songs: Day Two: Isolation (8:42) Day Four: Mystery (5:37)Day Twelve: Trauma (8:59) Day Fourteen: Pride (4:42) Day Fifteen: Betrayal (5:24) Day Sixteen: Loser (4:46) Day Seventeen: Accident? (5:42)

Let me start off by saying that I only listened to this album because I was a little intrigued by the previous albums concept, although musically it was somewhat underwhelming.

Part two of The Universal Migrator-series managed not to fulfill what little expectations I had towards this release. The concept shifted into an entirely different story which in a way reminded me of my disappointment after hearing Cygnus X-1 Book II and complaining that the story had nothing to do with the first part of this promising Rush epic!

But that's not even the worst part of it all because the songwriting on Flight of the Migrator has taken a turn for the worse. Besides the first two tracks that are quite promising the rest of the compositions are mostly fillers that are only here to keep the concept afloat. This is truly a pity since I was really looking forward to an epic conclusion to this two part concept.

**** star songs: Choas (5:10) Dawn Of Million Souls (7:45)

*** star songs: Journey On The Waves Of Time (5:47) To The Quasar (8:42) Into The Black Hole (10:25) Through The Wormhole (6:05) Out Of The White Hole (7:11) To The Solar System (6:11) The New Migrator (8:15)

The first half of The Universal Migrator start off with a somewhat lovely B-movie type of sound-effects that reminiscent of a futuristic sci-fi movie as we are introduced to the albums futuristic concept. The first sounds of music remind me of the space grooves that have been done to death by all Pink Floyd inspired artists. I'm not really blaming Lucassen for a lack of creativity because this album does have some enjoyable songwriting moments that fans of progressive metal will enjoy. I personally liked the middle section of the album starting with Dragon On The Sea because these tracks have personality and just are well written songs.

Unfortunately I can't see The Universal Migrator bringing anything groundbreaking or, quite frankly, original to the genre. I can't recommend this to anyone but the fans although there are some straight forward compositions that might be enjoyed by a wider range of metal fans, still it's not worth the price of admission.

**** star songs: The Dream Sequencer (5:08) One Small Step (8:46) Dragon On The Sea (7:09) Temple Of The Cat (4:11) Carried By The Wind (3:59) The First Man On Earth (7:19) The Dream Sequencer Reprise (3:36)

*** star songs: My House On Mars (7:49) 2084 (7:42) The Shooting Company Of Captain Frans B Cocq (7:57) And The Druids Turn To Stone (6:36)

Arjen Lucassen is quite a phenomenon in recent prog history. His unique blend of musical-fantasy-rock-opera-all-stars-cast-Celtic-folk-pomposity isn't everybody's preferred type of progressive rock, but he's a great composer and arranger and I've find myself enjoying his works quite a lot. He often cites influences from all classic prog rock artists. Marillion, Rush, Pink Floyd, Yes, Tangerine Dream and ELP being the most prominent ones (or did I now list all classic bands).

There's very little metal on this debut, symphonic neo-prog would be a more fitting tag then progressive metal. It isn't very consistent and has too much sticky AOR tendencies. But there is plenty to relish as well. The Awareness is a bombastic blues with a soulful male lead and operatic female vocals. Also Eyes of Time is enjoyable. Yes I confess I like the lead singer Lenny Wolf from Zeppelin-clone band Kingdom Come. It's one of my indulgences really. Ye Courtyard Minstrel Boy has a charming Celtic main theme but the vocals are quite grating, especially if you know the version that Arjen later recorded for his Ambeon project. Computer Reign and Waracle are the most powerful songs on the album. The Charm of The Seer is a folksy tune that also would get a makeover on the Ambeon album. Other songs like The Banishment and Sail Away are hurtful for my ears. Professional but empty and pompous. Lots of Yes and ELP influences though.

Except for the following album, Ayreon wouldn't change his formula very much. Only the execution got a lot better over time. With only 25 quality minutes, 2.5 stars will have to do.