THE HUMAN EQUATION

I have never gotten the fascination with this record, and after going through it again recently, I still don't. Despite having some great singers, some of whom are in my favorite bands (Townsend, La Brie, and Akerfeldt , most notably), "The Human Equation" is a big flop.

I cannot quite put my figure on what it is that bugs me about this record, but the songwriting is just very mediocre. There are not many memorable melodies, and there aren't as many great instrumental hooks as on good Ayreon CDs like "The Dream Sequencer" and "Into the Electric Castle." I even got this CD smack dab in the middle of my Ayreon phase, and it still did nada for me. I remember thinking at the time what a huge disappointment it was. Years later, it has not aged any better. In fact, it has probably aged badly, as some of the few songs I actually liked back then now seem pretty ho-hum.

Overall, I find this to be fairly mediocre, and a record that only diehard Ayreon fans should own.