UNIVERSAL MIGRATOR, PART 2: FLIGHT OF THE MIGRATOR

A "heavy progressive adventure"

You know what to expect with Ayreon, and if that's what you enjoy this album certainly does not disappoint. Part 1 of "The flight of the migrator" is "melodic and atmospheric", while part 2 (this album), is a "heavy progressive adventure".

There are a plethora of guest singers and musicians, including Bruce Dickinson and Clive Nolan on "Into the black hole", but the sound and feel remain very much Ayreon. The list of bands supplying guests gives more than a hint of what to expect, including as it does Symphony X, Arena, Helloween, Iron Maiden, Stratovarius, and Rhapsody (check out Rhapsody for some wonderful Operatic/Symphonic metal).

There is still plenty of melodic, and indeed accessible rock on part 2 though, "Dawn of a million souls" for example has an anthemic chorus backed by heavy keyboards and orchestration. The usual space and time themes prevail throughout, with more synthesiser, organ and guitar solos than most bands manage in their entire existence. There's an excitement and good feeling to the music which gives this concept album a lasting appeal.

More melodic metal than progressive rock, this album is nonetheless, worthy of your attention.

It seems a shame that these two albums were sold separately at first, and I think that knowing the character and background from The Dream Sequencer makes the power of this one all the much greater. Only this way do we truly understand why the desperate colonist throws caution completely to the wind after he's hooked himself into a machine that interfaces directly with his brain...or why this journey is such an intense thrill to him--and most poignantly of all, we can only understand why he cares so deeply about trying to make the full journey to Earth successfully when we know what a desolate hellhole his most recent life has been.

Flight of the Migrator is the metal half of the Universal Migrator concept. While I truly do love the album, I admit I miss the absence of the softer parts in it more than I miss the absence of the harder parts in The Dream Sequencer. The resulting album has a bit of a tendency to sound like Symphony X in places (albeit with less complicated timing, and superior synthesizers). But then again, that may be because Symphony X's own Russell Allen and Michael Romeo appear on the first song with vocals!

The sound is distinct enough, though, and overall I'd characterize this disc as a bit more consistent, quality-wise, than The Dream Sequencer. No songs stick out as needing the axe, but to me it doesn't have quite as many real standouts, either. If I had to name favorites, the first, without question, would be "To the Quasar", whose weird, wicked rhythm in the second part is absolutely unforgettable. I never can resist cranking the volume as this section gets underway! After that, I'd name "To the Solar System", whose warped synth work is spine-chilling as the colonist begins to realize that the Dream Sequencer is on the edge of an imminent--and fatal--overload...yet in his desperation to reach Earth, he cannot and will not cut the journey short. After that, both "Into the Black Hole", which the previous reviewer described so well, and "Out of the White Hole" are the other two that really capture my attention. In stark contrast to "The Temple of the Cat" on The Dream Sequencer, the vocalist's accent on "Out of the White Hole" lends a wonderful, exotic allure to the track that I can't help but love.

I wouldn't call the other tracks forgettable by any means--they are good, solid songs to listen to and have some very nice work in them, but they just aren't quite as easy to remember separately and do blend together in my mind a bit. If I absolutely had to point to a "weak" song, I admit "The New Migrator" could perhaps have been improved on a bit by removing those drumrolls, which are a little bit too 2001: A Space Odyssey for my liking. Replacing that effect would've bumped this album's score up to a 4.5, because I feel that the concluding track of an album needs to be especially strong in order to leave the listener with the best impression possible. As it is, though, my suggestion is that unless you truly hate softer music, Flight of the Migrator is best when purchased and understood as part of the full Universal Migrator concept. By itself, some might find themselves wanting more--but along with The Dream Sequencer, this thing is pretty damn good, and well worth having around.

Ayreon's music shares with wine one similarity: they get better when they've aged. Which means that, as time goes by, Ayreon's getting higher, more subtle and less pedal to the floor. He had many talent climax such as Electric Castle, Ambeon, Star One and mostly: Human Equation. Humaqn Equation was the pinnacle of his story telling, the best compositions including the power of Electric Castle and the soft folkish texture of Ambeon. A great blend of this and that.

When I listen to the Flight of the Migrator I immediately get the feeling that the best is to come for Ayreon. First, this record have just pure metal power and very few breaks. It's really big metal stuff. A big meaty meal, and a nightmare for vegetarians who likes quieter parts and more color into their plates. Just listening to Into the Black Hole gives you a good idea where he wants to be....INTO the damn thing! It's basically infernal, heavy, heavy material. But he embellished the whole thing with the ususal superior keyboard work with cool spacey effects and robotic voice. The Migrator device is a really cool idea, as the computer has a cool 'On Star' effect. And some credit has to be given to the constant high level quality in the vocal performance. Track 2, 3 and 5 are very well crafted, despite no real surprises and the catchy choruses are more than welcome. Am always glad to chant out loud: "What a show! Behold! At a Dawn of a Million Souls!" Wait 'till you hear it. Great stuff.

Overall, it's a record quite even. No major faults. Not much filling. But once again, the songs aren't gripping to your inner feelings or gut bruising like in Human Equation. The songs are well done, but few part from the herd. It's basically Ayreon: furious energy, incredible musicanship, crazy ideas but maybe too musically orgiac (read hairy metal Iron Maiden cliché) for many.

Defintely worthy of your attention. If you're looking for a single cd album to have a taste of the crazy sci-fi world of Ayreon, this could be a good choice.

YOOOHAAA...!! What an excellent album man .!! Yeah, it's rocking! It's inspiring! It kicks adrenalin to explode! Hmm .. it's a logical act that I key in this review right after reviewing the part One as conceptually these two albums should have been released as one set as colleague collaborator FloydWright has put it. Lucky that I purchased the Special Ed package where the two have been married into one unity with beautiful package. At first issue, I did not purchase it because various comments from friends about these two albums. One crowd said "it's too metal" commented those who adore prog while the other crowd said "it's too mellow" commented those metal mania. So I got confused. And at the time it was only in the form of cassette. Patience pays off. And now, I love the CD package - it has beautiful sleeve cover wrapped with cardboard at the outset (I haven't even removed the plastic that wraps the jewel, to maintain eternity .. Prog collection is a precious set for me; it's like the rings in Tolkien's story - in different context, of course.)

Chaos (5:10), as part one opening, it begins with a short narrative in futuristic style followed with the blast of power metal music with high driving rhythm and fast tempo reminiscent of Yngwie Malmsteen (uhm . I have been listening to many kinds of music so whenever I listen to something I can "associate" the style with others. Btw, for those who love metal must have known who Yngwie is.). This track has a powerful, speedy and skillful guitar work that leads the melody of this instrumental track with stunning and punchy keyboard work. It's trusly an adrenalin exploder track man! It's so uplifting, especially after listening to Part One which is much more mellower. [****]

Dawn Of Million Souls (7:45) opens with a marching style keyboard sound that reminds me to the nuance of ELP's "Fanfare for the Common Man". Organ sound enters the music altogether with drum rolls. I like the organ sound like this (sorry, I cannot emulate or give a precise description). The music flows with guitar riffs and organ as main rhythm augmented with light orchestra. I play this LOUDly and I really enjoy the sound. The vocal quality of Symphony X's Sir Russel Allen reminds me to the voice of David Coverdale of Deep Purple. This track has a wonderful orchestra outfit in the middle followed with stunning guitar solo in classic rock style. Wow man! [*****].

Journey On The Waves Of Time (5:47) continues with previous track's nuance with punchy organ / keyboard sounds featuring Ralf Scheepers (ex- Gamma Ray) vocal in high register notes. It's an uplifting track with relatively fast tempo style but without speedy double pedal bass drum typical in power metal vein. In the middle of the track, there is a nice passage that demonstrates stunning organ / keyboard solo. Structurally, it's a straight forward track with no major tempo change. [****]

To The Quasar (8:42) is a track that opens mellower track compared to previous tracks. The acoustic guitar dominates the rhythm section augmented with keyboard featuring the voice of Andi Deris of Helloween (the power metal pioneer). The music is composed in ambient style with some distant vocal. Approximately in the middle of the track, the music moves into a metal style with hard driving rhythm and riffs. It has great keyboard solo continued with stunning guitar solo. It concludes with wonderful organ sounds! [****]

Into The Black Hole (10:25) starts off with an ambient style that depicts heavy winds and long sustain keyboard sound followed with the blast of music in medium tempo and orchesrtral arrangement. It turns into quieter passage nicely, continued with the vocal line of Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden). He sings powerfully starting with low register notes and increases it with the passage of music especially after the entrance of music plus orchestra. Keyboard sound at the back provides a nice crusade of space music. This song has a beautiful guitar riffs and solo. I think this song has a marvelous orchestration. Some violin sounds remind me to Kansas music. There is also an excellent heavy guitar riffs in the middle followed with floating keyboard solo. Oh my God! What a great composition! [*****]

Through The Wormhole (6:05) is a fast tempo track with hard driving rhythm augmented with organ sounds featuring the voice of Fabio Leone (Rhapsody). It's a straight forward track in power metal style. [*** ½]

Out Of The White Hole (7:11) begins beautifully with punchy keyboard work in medium/fast tempo style featuring Timo Kotipelto (Stratovarius) on vocal. The track contains keyboard solo that reminds me to Rick Wakeman style. In the middle of the track, the guitar riffs sound heavier followed with keyboard solo, continued beautifully with guitar solo. The mood is uplifting. The ending part contains an excellent combination of keyboard and guitar work with different style of music compared to the beginning part.[****]

To The Solar System (6:11) has an ambient intro with guitar work at background followed with vocal line in low register notes by Robert Soeterboek. The music turns louder with more obvious guitar riffs and keyboard work in medium/fast tempo style. [*** ½]

The New Migrator concludes the album with a fast speed music combining skillful performance of the musicians involved, featuring vocals by Ian Parry (Vengeance, Elegy). This is the kind of music that would music that might favor metal fans especially with its speed and excellent melody. I enjoy the guitar solo and its overall composition. It ends up with a drum / percussion that sounds like timpani. [****]

SUMMARY

It's a grandiose project by A A Lucassen. I'd prefer this part two compared to part one for the following reasons: 1. It has more variations in style, 2. Beautifully composed. It's probably that I have more metal blood than mellow style music, I think. I recommend you to buy the Special Edition package that contains part one and two as double CD album. Overall rating is 4+ out of 5 stars. Recommended. Keep on proggin' ..!!!

Progressively yours,

GW

As I said in my review of The Dream Sequencer, this is the part of the concept piece where the fun begins. This is where you get to hear the metal edge, the rip and roar of Ayreon. Again, the vocalists are an eclectic bunch, from Bruce Dickinson to Russell Allen, every vocalist does a phenomenal job on their track. The guitar work on this part of the album is also a lot more impressive than on Part One. Where Part One was a lot more mellow, and let the keyboards do the work. This is where Arjen cuts loose, showing no mercy to the strings he abuses. With all the metal, though, you still are visited by the persistant keyboards, giving the album a symphonic edge.

The highlight of this Part is Into the Black Hole. Here, Dickinson cuts loose on some Classic Maiden vocals, and Lucassen plays some incredible guitar. Not to mention the rest of the musicians, who do a great job on every track. The song, begins slowly, but soon evolves into a metal masterpiece, with solos coming all over the place. It really is the "Arjen Lucassen shows off his guitar skills" moment on the album. Other tracks worth mentioning are To the Quasar and Out of the White Hole (which features a reference from Into the Electric Castle in the Planet Y section).

Overall, this Part of the concept piece is a lot better than the first half. It really seems more coherent and there are not as many dry spots. I highly recommend that you buy this album, provided that you have listened to either The Human Equation or Into the Electric Castle, it truly is a great piece. I'm glad I bought it when I did. 4.5/5

There are no weak songs on this album. The solos are lengthy, but never directionless. However, the whole package does take some time to grow on you. I give it 3 stars, but you might want to add a star if you're a "metalhead".

If you're not a musician, you might indeed find some passages boring and repetitive. It might have

something to do with the fact that many songs contain solos by different artists. If you don't know these artists, you might not recognize the "change of artist". All of the solos are beautiful and relevant - melody in favor of technique and "noodling".

For those that prefer more progressive stuff and a little less metal, I recommend Into the Electric Castle. This is the essence of Ayreon, even more so than The Human Equation. Both are masterpieces, but Into the Electric Castle is more over the top, which really is one of the key aspects of Ayreon. Consider this album as a short "journey" into the heavier realms, only to be topped a few years later by Lucassen's Star One.

The Universal Migrator part 2: Flight Of The Migrator

The second CD of "The Universal Migrator" continues the story of the last man alive on Mars as he decides to venture back further in time.

In an interview Arjen explains that he released the two albums separately at first because he thought that he would have fans that appealed to the "mellow side" and other fans that were more interested in his "metal side". Afterwards he admits that this was not the right choice because Ayreon's fans would buy both albums instantly. Therefore he decided to re-issue the album as a double album named "The Universal Migrator" on his new label Insideout. I am glad he did this because both albums are really worth it and it is the same concept that starts of at disc one and continues into disc two, even though the styles of both discs are very different.

"The Universal Migrator part II" continues the story of the last man alive on Mars as he decides to venture further back in time. He wants to go all the way back to the time right before the universe was created, a time when there was nothing but chaos. The Colonist witnesses the big bang and the creation of the first soul: The Universal Migrator. This soul divides in various new souls that each go in search of planets they can inhabit. This is how they bring life to various planets and start different civilizations.

In the Dream Sequencer program the Colonist follows the soul that is headed for earth. On his long journey through space, he passes astronomical manifestations such as quasars, pulsars, supernovas, black holes, and wormholes. He finally enters the solar system, but the DS program goes on overload. The Colonist should never have ventured that far back in time. The Dream Sequencer is desperately trying to wake the Colonist from his deep state of hypnoses, but it is too late; the Colonist dies in the machine. Then the Migrator speaks to him without words: "Eternity lies before you. You are the new Migrator!"

Personally I like the entire album because of the concept and I don't think it would do the album any good to review song by song. This album you have to put in your CD- player and play it from beginning to end without skipping, changing the volume or playing it "random". (I still wonder why manufacturers invented this horrible function, just like programming). But if I would have to mention my personal highlights they would probably be "Dawn Of A Million Souls" (vocals by Sir Russell Allen of Symphony X) and "Into The Black Hole". Especially Arjen's fine guitar riffs on "Into The Black Hole" will be stuck in your head for days after you have played this song.

The Universal Migrator part 2: Flight Of The Migrator: 4.5 stars

The sequel to The Dream Sequencer, Universal Migrator II: Flight of the Migrator is a winner as well. This is the metal equivalent to the neo-prog centered Dream Sequencer.

Once again we have a focal point of vocalists. The all-star class showcases Russell Allen, Timo Kotipelto, Fabio Lione, Bruce Dickinson, and Ian Parry. This disc uses decidely more Power Metal vocalists then Progressive, but every vocalist connects with his song as well as any vocalist could ever have done.

Musically, this album has more virtuosity than The Dream Sequencer. Mike Romeo, Gary Wehrkamp, and Oscar Holleman are used as guest soloist doing some of the most remarkable guitar work in the Ayreon project. The orchestra assemble by Arjen really stands out on some songs like "Dawn of a Million Souls". The album is epic and variant. Lucassen's ability to write catchy melodies comes out even more on this album.

The production is once again phoenomenal. Ed Warby's drums sound absolutely brilliant with rich, clear, and puncy tone. Lucassen's electric guitars sound fantastic with more crunch than The Dream Sequencer. Erik Norlander uses the most amazing analog synth sounds i have ever heard. This is a rare occaison that i will praise the use of analog synths over the Jordan Rudess popularized digital synths.

Ayreon - The universal Migrator Part Two: Flight of the Migrator

For starters I must say that this is a quite amusing CD to listen to, but not the most original album available.

This album is easily recognizable as an Ayreon album. It is semi-complex (trying to be complex when not necessarily) and it features typical keyboard sounds. Compared to its counterpart "The Dream Sequencer" I think this is far more technically and more heavy, but that's already mentioned on the back of the disc's artwork.

What caught my eye with this CD was the impressive list of collaborators: Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Erik Norlander, Clive Nolan, Lana Lane, among others. This list sure looked promising, but the overall product sounds a bit too "smooth" for me; it sounds over-produced to my ears.

Enough about the (too) technicality of the music, this album does have its positive sides. One of those are the vocals. Most of the times the various vocals are well sung and I can appreciate this above the instrumentation.

And though you might have noticed that I am not a huge fan of the instrumentation on Ayreon albums (the only one that I consider to be great is "The Human Equation"), I must admit that there are some nice parts included. For instance, there are some medieval sounding keyboards in track #3 (Journey on the Waves of Time), I absolutely adore the start of the second section of the song To the Quasar and this song also features a very nice keyboard solo performed by Rene Merkelbach towards the end I must say and the last guitar solo in this song is also amazing!

Also the whole of track #5 (Into the Black Hole) is simply stunning and I like the introduction of track #8 ( To the Solar System) and the weird ending of this song is also very anti-relaxed.

Albeit there are some nice parts in this album, I would not recommend it as something essential. If you can get your hands on it for a nice price (I bought it for 7?), I'd say go for it, but otherwise. leave it be.

As the title suggests this is the second part to Arjen Lucassen's Concept album that takes you on a trip through time and, now more importantly, space. This album can be taken in two ways, the first is as a continuation of were The Dream Sequencer left off (at The First Man On Earth, sung by Neal Morse), or as a single album in its own right. Witch ever way you see it, the story works for both.

One thing noticed straight away on this album is that there are far more guest musicians performing her than on the first part of Universal Migrator, and that many of them contribute many very strong solos throughout the album. This is the kind of stuff that Lucassen excels at and its shown that none of the compositions on this album can be considered weak. Lucassen has a firm grasp of how to make a metal song move from the lighter parts to very heavy riffing with maximum effect utilising guitars, bass and keyboards (especially with the strings courtesy of Peter Siedlach) to big effect. One big difference in Lucassen's own performance on this disc is that his style of playing bass is much more suited to metal than the lighter rock that was prevalent on part 1. Rather than being just adequate at assisting the drums at holding down the rhythm section, his bass playing really comes alive and augments the effect of the guitars without ever loosing perspective as a rhythm instrument. His guitar and keyboard solos are pretty good as well.

Of all the guest musicians that show up here, and supply a whole host of solos, its Symphony X guitarist and song writer/composer Michael Romeo that really stands out. He has a very distinct style of guitar play and when his solo kicks in on Dawn of a Million Souls, you can instantly tell that its him. The solo itself is performed flawlessly and really hits home as a very good performance without sounding out of place against Lucassen's guitar work. Of the other musicians that guest here, none of them really stands out as having a unique sound in the same way that Romeo does but they all supply very well executed solos.

From the guest singers you get a typical cast of metal singers that include Iron Maidens Bruce Dickinson and Symphony X's Russell Allen, among others. These two actually give the best vocal performances that really hit home as good singers. Amongst the others many of them can really help the dark atmosphere and lyrics of this album, most noticeably Andi Deris and Ralf Scheepers, but without really sounding like they are really adding something to the album themselves (with the exception of the previously mentioned pair).

The big weakness of this album, though, is clearly the lyrics and even the concept itself. The lyrics are amongst the cheesiest I have ever had the misfortune to hear, only partially saved by some good to great singing, but not totally. The concept itself, though, is just terrible. The idea of a man's soul some how travelling back to the dawn of time following the Universal Migrator is cringworthy to say the least.

This album is generally a very good effort, with Dawn of a Million Souls and To the Quasar being the stand out songs on this album that really give it character. Of the other songs I can honestly say that none of them are weak but the album never gives the overall feel that this is something special that you are listening to. Also, if you detest these Sci-Fi adventure in music, avoid! Overall a very solid album and a worth wile listen for any prog metal fan, as long as you don't pay too much attention to the ridiculous lyrics and concept, 3 stars. However I would recommend that you buy the Inside Out re-issue special edition that contains both parts 1&2 in a double disc release.

Flight of the Migrator is the heavy twin of the soft and melodic Dream Sequencer. Though this is the superior album, it's less proggy than part 1. First off, the vocalist selection on this disc may be my favorite, even beating out the stunning ensemble on Human Equation. It even beats out Neal Morse and Damian Wilson on the last album. Bruce Dickinson, Russel Allen, Ralf Scheepers, Andi Deris, it's a metalhead's dream! However, as with part 1, each vocalist gets one song rather than working as a team. The message of the concept is defined with this release: Where did man come from?

Where Part 1 had only two standouts (2084 and Carried By the Wind), this album is fairly strong. Into the Black Hole, The New Migrator, Dawn of a Million Souls, and To the Quasar are killer, but the album as a whole falls flat. At the end of Part 1, the colonist had witnessed the birth of man. Part 2 opens with the colonist reactivating the dream sequencer to travel back to the beginning of time. He witnesses the Big Bang, and discovers that from the explosion a number of flying objects called migrators are born to seed life in the universe. The colonist follows the migrator bound for Earth.

As with all Ayreon releases, there are links ot past and future works. Part 1 introduces the first incarnation of Ayreon. This time, the colonist, following the migrator, flies past Planet Y, the planet of Forever from Into the Electric Castle. Also, Arjen has hinted that the colonist is the Futureman from ItEC.

Flight of the Migrator has a fair share of prog, but not nearly as much on THE or ItEC. It's superior to part 1, but not by a lot. Fans of Ayreon should own Parts 1 and 2, and Arjen realized his error and packaged the two together so now it's easy to get both.

Grade: C+

Changing gears completely, Arjen throws down a monstrous sci-fi gauntlet in his intense opening track, letting the listener will know that this is going to be a very different sequel to its predecessor.

The songs, the playing, the vocals, are all metal-- more metal than any previous Ayreon album, and sound exceptionally appropriate. As a result, the groups playing is elevated to lightning speed and proficiency, with dazzling lead playing and solos throughout. The singers carry the cosmic lyrics well, usually in a high and operatic timbre suitable to the sound of the instrumentalists. And while the songs are all heavy, there is a welcome mix of atmospheric interludes to soften up the album as a whole.

There is very little to criticize here, and one's enjoyment of "Flight of the Migrator" will ultimately come down to a matter of taste. For my own part (the part that likes metal), I rank this one higher than its counterpart, and as a fine purchase for anyone who enjoys blistering prog-metal. Not as good as those band's which specialize in sci-fi metal (like Pagan's Mind, for instance), but still high quality.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

This is the second leg of the concept of "The Universal Migrator". The hero willing to go even further back in time, which will lead to his death.

If you exclude these narrated vocals during the opener "Chaos", this song is extremely powerful. A great start indeed. I was kind of sceptic before having listened to this part of this CD-suite since Arjen warned the fans that in order to please both prog and metal ones, this "''Flight of the Migrator'' part would be more on the metal edge than the first leg "The Dream Sequencer".

"Dawn of a Million Souls" holds this Floydian flavour already very much noticeable on "One Small Step" available in the "''The Dream Sequencer''. OK, "The Quasar" is probably on the harder edge of "Ayreon" repertoire and at times close to "Dream Theater" but vocals remains melodic and keys very powerful.

One of the best song of this leg from the is "Into The Black Hole". Great riff and gorgeous keys. On the HEAVY side of his work indeed. This isn't jelly by no means. But still, the melodic side is not forgotten either. A highlight.

My favourite song of this album is "Out Of The White Hole". A fantastic guitar work is to noticed (but Arjen is VERY skilled). The closing number is the most energetic one of the whole (double?) album. A fantastic way to say goodbye and one of my fave of the band so far.

As for his previous works, I am not charmed with the "concept". These sci-fi themes sounds rather thin to my ears. One recommendation while you listen to this album : play it LOUD.

There is no weak song here. To my big surprise, it is my fave "Ayreon" (partial) album so far. I have moderately appreciated this band prior to this album, but I am impressed with this one.

Four stars.

Flight of the Migrator is the sequel to The Dream Sequencer making up a 2-CD set known as The Universal Migrator. I mention in detail the reasons why I don't care much for the way this set was packaged or even structured in my review of The Dream Sequencer. Basically, The Dream Sequencer is full of spacey prog rock and Flight of the Migrator is heavier prog metal. Arjen Anthony Lucassen did it this way to apparently satisfy his two core Ayreon fan camps: progheads and metalheads. A ridiculous marketing scheme that ruins the fluidity of this somewhat exceptional sci-fi concept. Both of these albums were eventually reissued in one package in 2004, but that doesn't help the fact that the two parts have distinct musical differences making the whole project inconsistent.

On it's own, I like The Dream Sequencer better than Flight of the Migrator, giving it four stars in my review. Flight of the Migrator's storyline is a continuation of The Dream Sequencer, but doesn't move in a sequential movement backwards in time. Instead, our last surviving human, a Martian colonist, uses the Dream Sequencer machine to travel back in time to before the Big Bang, where he eventually witnesses the birth of the Universal Migrator (Dawn of a Million Souls). The colonist then travels the universe in search of Earth and thus we have a group of songs documenting this journey containing numerous astrophysical terms (Journey on the Waves of Time, To the Quasar, Into the Black Hole, Through the Wormhole, Out the White Hole, To the Solar System). Lucassen also makes references to astronomical objects like quasar 3C273, the Andromeda galaxy (M31), and some fictional ones like Planet Y. Eventually, the colonist dies as the oxygen on Mars dissipates and the Dream Sequencer machine overheats. In the last song, The New Migrator, the colonist's soul is told by the Old Migrator that he is the New Migrator with a new mission in the universe, whatever that might be. Lucassen clearly put a lot of thought into this and although it seems like there's a lot of science in this, you have to keep in mind that it's just science fiction (more like the 1950s and 1960s fictional works that were at best laughable in their use of hard science).

I'm more of a symphonic prog/neo prog fan, so prog metal is not my forte. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the music on this album very much, but because of its harsher tones, it did not impress me as much as The Dream Sequencer. Like the previous album, it's loaded with guests including Clive Nolan (Arena), Erik Norlander (Rocket Scientists), Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Michael Romeo and Russell Allen (Symphony X), Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery), Keiko Kumagai (Ars Nova), Lana Lane and countless others. You'd think with a line-up like that, the result would be something fantastic. I'm left scratching my head because all I can give this is three stars, primarily because I'm not into prog metal much (although I love some of Therion's stuff), the concept seems to wander a bit, and it doesn't attract my attention as much as other Ayreon albums.

If you don't like prog metal, than by all means don't get this. However, if you have enjoyed Ayreon's other stuff, this album should not present a problem for you as it isn't as harsh as some metal bands can be and has a good deal of synthesizer work to balance out the sound. Besides, if you bought The Dream Sequencer, you'll probably want to know how this story ends. Otherwise, I would recommend getting the 2004 combined release. Three stars. Good, but not really essential.

Dream Sequencer System: O~N~L~I~N~E

Are you sure you want to continue?

A note before we blast off into space. More of a question, really. Are intrigued by an interstellar story played by one of progressive Metal's highest regarded virtuosos, while many of metal's best singers join along for the ride? Do you want to know what it would sound like traveling through space in a rocket built out of European Power Metal and fueled by pure prog?

If not, then disregard this review and pretend you never saw it. But if you are then drink the fluid from the vessel at the left terminal and let's go.

Obviously, Ayreon's style of space operas is only going to appeal to those who really love everything about it. This album especially is a very acquired taste. The Universal Migrator part two: Flight of the Migrator is the second of two albums released on the same day by the band, the concept being this: Two albums each epitomizing one side of Ayreon's music to truly satisfy both sides of the coin that is their audience. Part one was aimed at the Prog-heads. Very Floydian in feel with it's pressing synths and intricate guitars that means that part two must be aimed at the metalers.

And after a short introduction from the Migrator system it becomes very clear that this is the metal disc. Chaos opens the album with a blinding guitar solo to showcase Arjen Lucassen's talent at playing speed guitar. Of course it's not long (and unfortunately so) that the intro comes to an end. And then, what's this? Dawn Of A Million Souls opens up with power... and I mean POWER as some very appealing synths come in and press the song along with a well done choir of voices at the chorus to push the point across further.

Of course, what really helps this particular album is the fact that it has one of Ayreon's best all-star casts. Since this is the album where Arjen really focused on the metal side of things he really pulled no stops in getting all the best of the best to play on this one. Unlike previous albums were each singer voiced a character in the story on the two albums of Migration each have a singer per song. Ralf Scheepers (ex-Gamma Ray) gives voice to the melodic Journey On The Waves Of Time given life once more by excellent synths and heavy guitars and a demanding drum beat. Ralf's voice has always been a bit quirky and here the song seems very tailored to suit that quirk by turning it less quirky and more outer worldly. Andi Deris (ex-Pink Cream 69, Helloween) gives life to the extraordinary To The Quasar which starts with a lot of vocal parts but eventually fades him out in favor of Arjen's guitar wizardry. Timo Kotipelto (Stratovarius) also gets to make an appearance, lending his voice to Out Of The White Hole a track which ties the album's story to previous albums like Into The Electric Castle and future albums such as 01011001.

Then we get to the master. Into The Black Hole is probably the biggest standout on the album thanks to it's tone about as dark as a black hole. It opens with those wonderful synths before slowing down to let in the voice. And who else to voice a track like this than the master of modern art metal - Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden, solo) joins the fray and adds his incredibly emotional vocals to this stellar track. Familiar more to his solo efforts such as The Chemical Wedding than Iron Maiden, this song makes incredible use of his vocals. Excellent.

The rest of the songs are just as good. Strong, heavy and melodic with a beat that evokes headbanging while keeping a melody that's hum-able and pleasant. I won't spoil the end of the story for anyone interested, but the album certainly builds up to it, and in a very good way.

Hestiant to give this one a perfect 5, this is certainly a wonderful album which deserves a spin or several. The reason I have to dock a mark is simply this - As stated before, this really is an acquired taste. You'll either love it or hate it, but that was to be expected on a pair of albums each holding an element of a musician who is very diverse. Prog metal fans should add a star to my rating while prog-metal avoiders should take off another star. Excellent album for those who like to travel through space. 4 stars!

'Flight Of The Migrator' - Ayreon (6/10)

This is a very cool, very psychedelic album. Theres a real feeling of travelling through space, and Arjen puts to use many cool effects. The musicianship on the album is also great. The intense instrumental opener 'Chaos' is probably the most technical effort Ayreon has ever done, and ever will do. Arjen even said himself that he needed to practice his guitar a few months before mastering the song! There are some great singers on this singer, most notably Fabio Leone (of Rhapsody Of Fire) and Bruce Dickenson (hailing from Iron Maiden fame.) The singers are for the most part used very well.

But why only 3 stars?

The album feels very one tracked; stuck to a single sound. It can get boring after an album, and from an artist like Ayreon, I'm really expecting more. Musically, it doesn't compare to the other albums in Ayreon's discography. This album's counterpart, 'The Dream Sequencer' highly overshadowed this release in terms of quality, but I can certainly see why someone would love this album. It's just not for me... Theres a real emotional lack to the musical craft, and while some songs really work well, others like the Dickenson track 'Into The Black Hole' can get really boring, and hurt the album.

The songwriting is good, and the atmospherics are FANTASTIC and are probably the album's high point. I just have never found a great amount of enjoyment in this album. There's nothing wrong with it, but besides 'Chaos,' there really aren't that many moments that stand out on this album.

Well done, but Ayreon's done much, much better.

Universal Migrator is an intriguing concept epic album from the masterful Ayreon project. As usual this Cd features incredible vocal performances from all involved and has some low lights and some highlights but it all blends seamlessly into one great package.

I purchased this with the special 2 CD package with part one and 2 together and when heard together this is the stronger of the 2. Heavier and featuring blistering compositions such as the magnifique 'Into the Black Hole' - Bruce Dickinson's contribution. Chaos is also a strong track that rings of the best Ayreon has produced. 'Dawn of a Million Souls' features Sympony X singer and is absolutely brilliant.

CD 2 features the second part to the saga and this is where the double album really takes off if you have that version. It is a much heavier album and features great chunky riffs and soaring lead guitar solos. There are some very riff heavy tracks and these are balanced by quieter moments. The booklet for both CDs is colourful and features iconic imagery. The sprawling concept is bookended on both CDs with the computer program effects. Overall I recommend getting hold of the double CD version that features parts 1 and 2 as it adds incredible depth to the concept. Part 2 is definitely the best in terms of a metal sound and great melodies throughout but they are both part of the whole and one cannot really exist without the other. The album is not as good as 'The Human Equation' but it certainly is one of the best Ayreon CDs. 4 stars.

Ayreon's second part of the Universal migrator - Flight of the migrator is released same year, 2000 and recived some good to very good comments around the world. This part is heavier, is rougher is way better then the first part who was more towards melancholic and mellow side of prog metal. Again an impressive line up and guest musicians from diverse genres, from heavy metal like Andi Deris from Helloween or Bruce Dickinson, Gary Wehrkamp from Shadow Gallery, Michael Romeo from Symphony X, some neo prog gods aswell featuring here, etc. On this album the music is much more choesive, here is more speed on instrumentsl passages, more keyboards arrangements, the pieces are more energic and gives a more precise feeling over musicians prestation. The constant quality of every piece is clear on this album, not a weak moments and each musician involved here did a great job, each one go hand in hand with the other, and the whole album sound very tight and without living any trace of flat sound or strange atmosphere. The sound is bombastic with some very strong instrumental passages like on Into the black hole where Bruce Dickinson has the main role, but aswell Lucassen sand Erik Norlander did a fabulous job, living the listner to say that Ayreon really done it with this part. On some parts Ayreon toying with rock, the progressive metal elements are melted very good with some rough edged rock moments like on Through The Wormhole with Fabio Leone from Rhapsody fame and Shadow Gallery guitarist Gary Wehrkamp showing his true talent. So this part two of the UNiversal migrator is much more diverse and stronger in concept, the strengh of the instrumental moments and bombastic atmosphere give to Ayreon a special status in prog metal field. Solid performance, solid pieces, solid album, solid sound, 4 solid stars for sure and better then previous part by far.

Let me start off by saying that I only listened to this album because I was a little intrigued by the previous albums concept, although musically it was somewhat underwhelming.

Part two of The Universal Migrator-series managed not to fulfill what little expectations I had towards this release. The concept shifted into an entirely different story which in a way reminded me of my disappointment after hearing Cygnus X-1 Book II and complaining that the story had nothing to do with the first part of this promising Rush epic!

But that's not even the worst part of it all because the songwriting on Flight of the Migrator has taken a turn for the worse. Besides the first two tracks that are quite promising the rest of the compositions are mostly fillers that are only here to keep the concept afloat. This is truly a pity since I was really looking forward to an epic conclusion to this two part concept.

**** star songs: Choas (5:10) Dawn Of Million Souls (7:45)

*** star songs: Journey On The Waves Of Time (5:47) To The Quasar (8:42) Into The Black Hole (10:25) Through The Wormhole (6:05) Out Of The White Hole (7:11) To The Solar System (6:11) The New Migrator (8:15)

Flight of The Migrator goes together with the preceding The Dream Sequencer, two albums from the same year, shedding an entirely different light on all things Ayreon. Where the first was laid-back and atmospheric, this one is a dazzling array of notes.

The album opens with a piece that easily proves everything that is wrong about prog. But it must be meant as a joke right? Taking it seriously cast dark shadows on my mood. Dawn of a Million Souls is a bit better, especially the ELP styled Hammond organ that presents the main theme is fun. The pompous chorus has me running for shelter though. Journey on the Waves of Time is quite catchy but also this one can't be meant seriously now can it? The first track that deserves some praising accolades is To The Quaser, a slab of enchanting space metal that Arjen Lucassen would further explore on his Star One project. The remaining tracks are all way too overblown to remain fun.

Ayreon is a too sympathetic endeavour to be angry at, so the 2 stars are meant with the best intentions. It's professional and well played and fans will probably dig it, but it's hardly the kind of music that I would choose to represent prog with. Actually, if someone would ask me for a sample of prog, this would be one of the last albums I'd take out of my cabinet.

I have the special edition which contains both "Universal Migrator" discs the way it should have originally been released. It's interesting in the center of the liner notes to see the lineup of guests side by side for both discs. It's not hard to figure out that this "Part II" version will be the heaviest one. Just check out the singers on here, that's all you need to do.This is a good album, in fact it's better than I thought it would be. It rocks pretty hard and we get a Power-Metal flavour popping up a few times.

"Chaos" opens the proceedings with spoken words which tells us what's going on in the story here. It kicks in heavily to the end. "Dawn Of A Million Souls" has some nasty organ 30 seconds in and it returns later on as well. Some orchestral-like moments here too. Nice guitar from Michael Romeo before 5 minutes. "Journey On The Waves Of Time" is probably my favourite vocally with Ralf (GAMMA RAY, PRIMAL FEAR) doing the honours. Violin to start and some great organ 3 1/2 minutes in. "To The Quasar" does nothing for me for the first 3 1/2 minutes then it changes to a heavier sound.

"Into The Black Hole" opens with mellotron and synths. It's dark as Dickinson comes in vocally. The heaviness comes and goes. The best part is 4 minutes in. Some crazy synths late. "Through The Wormhole" opens with synths before it turns heavy. Vocals join in.The tempo picks up before 2 minutes. It's okay. The guitar from Wehrkamp is excellent after 3 1/2 minutes. "Out Of The White Hole" is a good tune where the heaviness comes and goes. Some good contrasts here. "To The Solar System" kicks in at 2 minutes thankfully. A good rhythm to this one. "The New Migrator" is orchestral-like to start. It kicks in before 2 minutes to a powerful rhythm. Vocals too.

Well I prefer "Part I" of this two disc recording, but there's enough here to make it a set worth owning. I'll give this disc 3.5 stars.

As I mentioned in my review of the other half of this divided double album, this one is the more metal side of the Universal Migrator concept - but, as with the first one, I feel that overall the experience would be improved had Arjen Lucassen trimmed down the songs to the absolute best ones so that he could put out a single really great album with proggy and metal moments in balance. You may slightly prefer this one if you prefer the metal side of Ayreon, but for my part I think it suffers just as much from filler as its other half.

Two sides of the same coin?

Flight Of The Migrator is the second out of the two Universal Migrator albums. While the first part was a Psychedelic/Space Rock experience with hardly a trace of Metal, this second part is a full on Metal album (a mix of Neo-Classical Metal, Power Metal, New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and Progressive Metal with traces of Neo-Prog). Even though the two Universal Migrator albums are musically quite different from each other they are thematically connected (and they were subsequently released together as a 2CD package). Again, though they are different musically, they do share many characteristics with each other as well as with the two albums that Arjen Lucassen released under the name of Star One. In my personal opinion, these four albums are definitely among Lucassen's better efforts and as such they are much preferred over some of his overrated and often overblown Rock Operas.

Arjen Lucassen always indulged freely in the worst clichés and stereotypes not only of the musical genres of Progressive Rock and Metal, but also of the literary genres of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The Universal Migrator albums are no exception, but it is bearable here. Like on Universal Migrator part 1, this second part too shows more restraint in terms of the number of vocalists and diverse musical styles. As I said above this mixes different Metal styles, but it wisely avoids the bombastic Rock Opera format that plagued other Ayreon albums. It does tell a story, but the vocalists are not assigned roles to play as such which I found more than a bit cheesy on Into The Electric Castle and The Human Equation. Here Arjen wisely avoids letting the storytelling take over the music. The almost complete absence of narration and sung or spoken dialogue here helps to lower the cheese-factor significantly and bring focus back to the music itself.

The material is relatively strong and very melodic, but compared to the best albums by the bands from which Arjen gathered his all-star cast of vocalists and instrumentalists - Symphony X, Shadow Gallery, Arena, Pendragon, Iron Maiden, Rhapsody (Of Fire), and more - Flight Of The Migrator (or any other Ayreon album) does not come anywhere remotely near their quality.

Recommended in addition to Dream Sequencer, but is more likely to impress Metal fans than Prog fans

Review Nº 137

'The Universal Migrator Part Two: Flight Of The Migrator' is the fifth album of Ayreon, the musical project of the Dutch songwriter, producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist Arjen Anthony Lucassen and was released in 2000. The line up on the album is Arjen Lucassen, Ed Warby, Lana Lane, Russel Allen, Damian Wilson, Ralf Scheepers, Andi Deris, Bruce Dickinson, Fabio Lione, Timo Kotipetto, Robert Soeterboek, Ian Parry, Erik Norlander, Michael Romeo, Oscar Holleman, Gary Wehrkamp, Rene Merkelbach, Clive Nolan, Keiko Kumagai and Peter Siedlach.

'Flight Of The Migrator' represents the second part of 'The Universal Migrator', with the first part named 'The Universal Migrator Part One: 'The Dream Sequencer'. 'Flight Of The Migrator' contrasts with its counterpart, featuring a musical atmospheric feeling much heavier and with a very powerful guitar driven metal feel. Both albums were released simultaneously, but separately. He believed his fans would be fundamentally divided into two groups, prog or heavy metal fans. 'The Dream Sequencer' was to the prog enthusiasts and 'Flight Of The Migrator' to the metal fans.

'Flight Of The Migrator' is an album with another significance in Lucassen's almost 25 years long musical career. This is Ayreon's breakthrough album in the progressive metal style, especially because of its unimaginable line up of vocalists. Some of these singers are Russel Allen from Symphony X, Damian Wilson from both previous Ayreon's albums and Threshold, Ralf Scheepers from Primal Fear, Andi Deris from Helloween, Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden and Timo Kotipelto from Stratovarius. The list of musicians on the album is equally impressive with Erik Norlander and Clive Nolan on keyboards, Michael Romeo of Symphony X and Gary Wehrkamp of Shadow Gallery on guitars, and the long time drummer and friend of Arjen, Ed Warby. Needless to say that the progressive rock community was taken by storm when they heard the involvement of all these talented musicians, and thus, 5 years after its inception, Ayreon finally made its name known throughout the world. I really believe that there are some really amazing moments here.

Lyrically, 'Flight Of The Migrator' continues the story of the final living human being, the colonist on Mars, and his decision to go even further back in time. Using the Dream Sequencer machine, he travels just before the Universe was formed, even before the Big Bang explosion that creates the entire Universe. So, he observes the creation of the first soul, the Universal Migrator. It was from that soul that all the others were formed. He follows the soul as it travels through countless astronomical entities, such as quasars, pulsars, supernovas and black holes, and finally he came directly towards our Solar System. The colonist's ambitious by time travelling with the Dream Sequencer, resulted in his death. However, his eternal self receives a message from the Universal Migrator, that he is now the new Migrator.

Musically, 'Flight Of The Migrator' sounds very different from its first counterpart, 'The Dream Sequencer'. As I wrote before, when he was composing 'The Universal Migrator', Lucassen decided to make these twin albums separately, the metal and the non metal albums. Despite this is the metal part of 'The Universal Migrator' there are a lot of many other influences on it like rock and progressive rock, and there's also some power metal in almost every track. It can be confirmed by the list of guest singers when you can see the names of some of the best and most recognized heavy prog metal vocalists of our days. The music reminds mostly of Star One, another musical project of Arjen. The songs in here have actual variety, with beats and rhythms, and interesting instrumental working and all of that high-class stuff that makes an album actually interesting to listen to. The increase in both overall tempo and variety in sounds, there's a lot more guitar work and interesting keyboard arrangements on this album, makes the album an actual treat to listen to and firmly establish Ayreon as progressive metal, instead of the more melodious progressive rock, as Part I was.

Conclusion: With 'Flight Of The Migrator', Lucassen concluded 'The Universal Migrator' project, with the heaviest part of the concept. When I say heavy, I mean heavy by Ayreon's standards, especially if we compared it with the first part 'The Dream Sequencer', this is really a heavy album. However and in reality, Lucassen's music has never been about being musically heavy. He has always strived for making great compositions and beautiful melodies to the highly creative concepts he comes up with. Anyway, 'Flight Of The Migrator' has great compositions and solid performances all around. It still is a very solid release overall with some killer moments, both, musically and lyrically. All tracks are compelling without exceptions and 'Flight Of The Migrator' is very similar to Lucassen's progressive space metal side project Star One, which is also very highly recommended. So, this is a great album and I recommend it to everyone. If you aren't yet a progressive metal fan and you want to start listening to progressive metal music, 'Flight Of The Migrator' can certainly be a great starting point, or Ayreon or any other Lucassen's projects, in general.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)