01011001

I really enjoyed most of Mr. Lucassen's projects and especially his Ayreon project, something he started way back in 1995. Each album in this project has improved upon the last and culminated with his 2004 masterpiece The Human Equation. Ahh, but where do you go from here? Can it actually get any better?

Unfortunately for Ayreon, 0101101 just doesn't seem to match up to the quality of previous efforts. I just cannot put my finger on why this is case for this album. It has the feel of being thrown together and it has the feeling of following "the formula." Not that following the formula is a bad thing, it's just the quality of the material just doesn't match up to the formula. I'm not going to go into the storyline of 0101101 because other reviewers already have. I don't think the concept is as badly conceived as others have stated. I think it's more in the music and the delivery of that music. I don't know exactly how I can put this in words, but it would seem that Ayreon is experiencing the "doldrums," for a lack of a better term. That's the feeling I get with this album. The excitement is gone.

Still, Mr. Lucassen and his host of guests are technically proficient and the concept is decent enough. Some songs are good, some are skippers. Overall, I don't think this is bad enough to warrant two stars. It has its good moments, so I feel confident in giving this a middle-of-the-road three star rating.

I hope this is just a bump in the road and not the start of a decline for Ayreon. I'll keep my fingers crossed.