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Star One - Space Metal CD (album) cover

SPACE METAL

Star One

 

Progressive Metal

3.22 | 110 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Muzikman
Prog Reviewer
4 stars Let me say this right from the start, this is one of the premier progressive rock albums that you will hear this year, and it's probably one of the top ten albums of the past five years. STAR ONE is Arjen Lucassen's latest mega multi-artist project. There are two CDs full of high energy rockin' music dedicated to all of Lucassen's favorite celluloid that had to do with space, the final frontier. This is definitely Metal, and nothing like his previous releases under the name AYREON. It somehow didn't feel right to him to record all of this music under that name so he thought of an appropriate title and it stuck. Amongst the many guests that have made an appearance here are Dave Brock (HAWKWIND), Gary Wehrkamp (SHADOW GALLERY), Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X), Damian Wilson (x-THRESHOLD), Floor Jansen (AFTER FOREVER), and Jens Johansson (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, DIO, STRATOVARIUS). A star studded cast indeed, and it no doubt helped to make this album a special experience for Lucassen and for all of his listeners.

This is the limited edition package with a bonus disc containing 10 tracks. The oddity is that there are actually six tracks listed and the other four are not. A real keeper is Bowie's "Space Oddity;" I never heard that song done electrically and it sounds magnificent. Grab this edition before they disappear. There were actually a very limited number of promos available for review so I feel fortunate that I was chosen to receive one.

Every song has something new to offer. A different guitar player or singer shows up for just about every song. Diversity and excellence are the operative words here, and there are ample amounts of both. There are layers of heavy metal guitars, stand up vocals, and whirling and chirping synthesizers to fill that yearning you have for the vast expanse that is space. Whatever places your head may be in or wander off to; this is music that fills the void. And its space rock performed the right way. You won't find many more prog-rock albums this good on the shelf this year, well, at least until the FLOWER KINGS release their new masterpiece in the fall. Lucassen has reached a creative apex on this recording and deserves to be recognized for his incredible creative efforts. He will be looked upon as one of those that blazed the path for prog- rock for many years to come. From beginning to end this is an exceptional recording.

Muzikman | 4/5 |

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