THE HUMAN EQUATION

Ayreon was a band that took me a good time to get into. At first they sounded like Dream Theater with many vocalists but after giving some of Ayreon's best works multiple tries I started to appreciate them more and more. At first, their albums look intimidating: Most of their works are long, two-CD concept albums with multiple featured singers from different bands. Lucky for me though, I'm a Flower Kings fan, so I'm pretty used to that type of album format. All this orchestration is led by Arjen Lucassen.

Anyways, while I can't say everything he has done is spectacular (nothing to be disappointed about), I definitely can say his best works pack quite a punch. The Human Equation is without a doubt one of his two master works, the other one being Into The Electric Castle (my personal favorite).

The Human Equation tells a story across two CDs and twenty tracks, each track symbolizing a day. Pretty much close to everything you've heard in progressive metal can be found in this album: Mellow ballads, happy ballads, technical riffs, headbangable riffs, different vocal styles that benefit from the wide spectrum of vocalists present, and a very consistent balance of these characteristics through the one hundred minutes of music.

Can definitely say this one has grown on me a lot. This album, along with Into The Electric Castle, are the two only Ayreon albums that deserve a five star rating.