A Question about Ayreon

Symphony X is literally all I've ever wanted or needed for progressive metal, as people accept said label as.

Don't really listen to him anymore, yet #2 still.

I clicked on "other option." They're sort of a mixed bag for me. Several albums I consider fantastic and several I feel are middle-of-the-road. I also have some difficulties with the prog metal label their filed under. I don't doubt that's where they belong on PA, but their music straddles prog metal with multiple other genres and that's what I find appealing about the band; these psychedelic and symphonic prog overtones are a nice mix with the metal side of the band. My faves are Into the Electric Castle, Universal Migrator Part 1, Actual Fantasy Revisited (not the original version), The Human Equation, and The Theory of Everything. I was disappointed in Transitus, though I thought Tom Baker did a fantastic job of narrating it. I feel like with the last two albums, Ayreon seems to be falling into that "comfortable formula" trap that happens to so many bands after they've had a series of great albums under their belt.

Other opinion: I think it occupies a "unique" place within the progressive metal domain. So, even if there are prog metal bands that I like more than them, I cannot say "they are better" than Ayreon.

Edited by Shadowyzard - February 17 2021 at 11:05

Ayreon are one of the best prog metal bands as far as I am concerned and I have Transitus ranked as my #1 album of 2020, so I am not in agreement with others that don't like it.  I like that he tells a story.  If there is one complaint about Transitus, it is that it doesn't tie in to the other Ayreon albums.  It is a separate rock opera with no connection to the rest of the albums.  That being said, I still enjoyed the story...including the narration.