Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Ayreon - The Human Equation CD (album) cover

THE HUMAN EQUATION

Ayreon

 

Progressive Metal

4.20 | 1244 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Chalcobalt
5 stars An album to be blown away by, and increasingly so for every listen. Excellent introduction to the work of Arjen Lucassen, or even into the world of progressive music as in my case.

Just like Ayreon releases probably and hopefully always will be, this album is bombastic, to-the-top melodic and instantly ear- catching. Song-driving heavy guitar riffs are always layered with deep bass and several lines of whatever keyboards and strings, sometimes even to the point where it is difficult to distinguish the guitar. The way Arjen use different instruments together to make it all sound amazing is a main reason why I enjoy his music so much, especially on the heavy and fast bits. You'll also find quite a few wonderful intricate solos on various synths and keyboards, while guitars are generally sweeping and emotional in addition to just as wonderful.

The album contains a high degree of soft and mellow passages comprised of mainly acoustic and folk-inspired melodies. Since these parts are (also) so well composed and performed, they offer a perfectly weighted contrast to the metal. There are absolutely no boring parts. It is also very difficult to define one genre for the album because it consists of a widespread mix of musical styles.

The lyrics here are naturally contributing to the feeling of being carried away by the music, although I generally pertain to the mindset that lyrics seldom can lift bad a bad track, nor sink good music. The vocals are however of more importance, and The Human Equation is surely not disappointing in that aspect either. I enjoy the involvement of a fantastic vocalist range since it means both that the album become so much more dynamic, and that I will never ever get tired of it (and of course also since it is required in the concept stories of Ayreon..)

It is just as difficult to name a favourite track on this album as it is to name a favourite Ayreon album, but one of my recently noticed highlights are the first instrumental minutes on Realization. All the tracks are remarkable as individuals, but it is at a listen to the whole album as a unit it converges to a masterpiece.

Chalcobalt | 5/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this AYREON review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.