ON THIS PERFECT DAY

I wonder why Guilt Machine does not seem to stir much commotion around here. Normally all hell breaks loose when a new Ayreon is released. Not so for this project. It is a fine album though and sounds more refreshing then the 01011001 that disappointed me.

Guilt Machine is quite a super group: Arjen Lucassen, Chris Maitland, Jasper Steverlinck (an excellent singer and well known in Belgium from his band Arid. From my home town even.). And on lead guitar, Lori Linstruth. So Arjen turns up with another beautiful woman again. Where does he keep getting them!? Stupid jokes aside, she's a very enjoyable player and has a few nice leads and impressive solos.

So what is the reason of its poor reception? The marketing campaign? Maybe. But there must be more. A thing that strikes me every time I play this album is that it passes by without me taking much note of it. It's all pleasant, agreeable, full of soft atmospherics, with 10 minute songs and nice metal flourishes but it just fails to grab me by the throat. It fails to compel me to listen to it.

Twisted Coil is a good example, it starts softly, nice clean guitar picking, bit of mellotron, good melody but after 2 or 3 minutes you stop to take notice until the pace finally changes round 5 and a half minutes and we are treated to a great heavy guitar progression. Bit of an ELP feel on that one. But the theme is repeated for another 5 minutes and again it wears thin after 2. The song concludes by repeating the opening section with heavy guitars and emotive singing. Great, but only for 30 seconds...

Now I don't have anything against themes repeating for 5 minutes. I'm a fan of Schulze so I can take it. But here it does fail to build up to anything, nor does it entrances you or captures your attention in any other way. Conclusion. Material for 4 minues. Stretched to 11.

Now I won't spoil your listening pleasure by going through all songs like this. Some are better then the opener, others are similar or worse. I'd like to give this 4 stars but no, it doesn't come near.

Guilt Machine is the latest venture from Dutch composer and guitarist Arjen Lucassen, who following his tenure in hair metal act Vengeance back in the 80's made a name for himself with prog metal concept Ayreon in the 90's, releasing a score of commercially successfull albums under that moniker as well as several highly respected spin-offs and side projects to this endeavour.

This latest venture is very close to Ayreon in overall sound, where dramatic build-ups and soundscapes is the name of the game. The compositions all start off relatively mellow and melodic, and gradually builds up tensions and evolves the soundscapes in the 1 till 3 major parts each compositions is divided into. Rich, dramatic synths and heavy guitar riffs make up the bombastic climaxes in the appropriate parts of most songs, and the usual heavy, chumping riff passages are included as well as the folk-tinged embellishments one kind of expects Arjen to include in his productions these days.

Synths and keyboards does dominate a bit more here than on most Ayreon albums though, and while he opts for a powerful vocalist with a dramatic voice for this disc as well, he limits himself to one vocalist this time around.

As usual this is a strong production. Many themes and elements of the previous Ayreon CD are recycled though, and the level of actual new content may slightly disappoint existing fans somewhat. Still, the first two tracks on this CD ranks among the best tunes penned by Mr. Lucassen, and with two more strong efforts to boot this is a release worth having, even if it does contain a couple of songs that doesn't convince.

This is Arjen Lucassen's latest project called GUILT MACHINE. He's enlisted Lori Linstruth on lead guitar, Chris Maitland on drums and Jasper Steverlinck on vocals.This is supposed to be a permanent band and not a "one off" side project. I have to admit to not being an AYREON fan at all. That project for me is like listening to a Prog musical, and I really dislike musicals. No matter how good the vocals and instrumental work is, and who the guests are, to my ears it's like listening to a musical. Did I mention I really dislike musicals ? Anyway the only side project that Arjen has been involved in that i've liked is STREAM OF PASSION's debut. It sounded nothing like AYREON to me unlike STAR ONE or GUILT MACHINE both of which bring AYREON to mind too often for my tastes. The vocalist here can really sing. He really reminds me of MUSE's singer especially when he "lets go". Did I mention i'm not a fan of MUSE's singer ? I think you know where this is going. Which is a shame because I love how atmospheric this album is.

It's pretty cool how each song opens with samples of people speaking. These were submitted by fans all over the world in various languages speaking their thoughts on guilt, regret, life, death and human nature.

"Twisted Coil" opens with words in Dutch (female) then German (male) as drums and synths create atmosphere. Vocals are reserved 1 1/2 minutes in then we get those backing vocals that bring AYREON to mind right away. They return later as well. Some cello in this one too. A Polish female vocal sample arrives 3 1/2 minutes in. Jasper sings with passion a minute later. The song kicks in after 5 1/2 minutes with riffs. Processed vocals follow. It settles with violin before 9 1/2 minutes. A calm with follows before it kicks back in. "Leland Street" opens with atmosphere as female Chinese words then male French spoken words come in. It turns spacey reminding me of PORCUPINE TREE. Reserved vocals 1 1/2 minutes in. It kicks in and contrasts continue. "Green And Cream" opens with Swedish then Japanese spoken words both male. Cool sound right here with drums and keyboards. Vocals after 1 1/2 minutes. It sounds like AYREON vocally before 4 1/2 minutes then it kicks in heavier. A change after 5 minutes with processed vocals and Arjen's vocals. Not a fan of this section. I do like the guitar before 8 minutes and the atmosphere that follows. Spanish spoken words before 9 minutes. More AYREON-like vocals follow.

"Season Of Denial" opens with Finnish then Bulgarian spoken words. Sounds like mellotron and a relaxing melody. Vocals and backing vocals join in. Violins here and acoustic guitar. Some mandolin too. It turns heavy before 5 minutes. Some great vocals from Jasper 8 minutes in heaviness follows. "Over" opens with Norwegian then Russian spoken words as a beat and keys follow. Vocals around a minute. They do get passionate. Organ comes and goes. Guitar solo before 3 1/2 minutes. The vocals shine later. "Perfection ?" opens with spoken Portugese then Hungarian words. As usual we get this beat with atmosphere. The vocal style here really reminds me of Tim Bowness from NO-MAN. It kicks in before 4 1/2 minutes. Settles again before 6 minutes with those Bowness styled vocals. A nice guitar solo follows. Spoken Italian words end it.

Forgive me if the languages of the messages are wrong. I really think this is going to get some high marks. It's modern sounding with atmosphere and a vocalist most will love.

Guilt Machine is another project of famous Arjen Lucassen from Ayreon fame. They released in 2009 the album named On ths perfect day. At first spin I was little surprised about what I've found here on this release, not in a very positive way, I've expected something else, more vein , more balls on compositions who sounds very same, the variety is not at his home here, but overall not a bad album. The music from here is almost the same with Ayreon Universal migrator part I, same moody, atmospheric prog metal, even in places ambiental moments interlude with dark elements but combined with some prog metal arrangements the album is most of the time enjoyble. What I don't like is some pieces are too long, and not offering something really excellent to grab the listner for all 11 min for ex on Green and cream, an ok track but no more then that. 2 pieces stand apart from the rest, while keeping same mid tempo mmood, are far better then the rest, Twisted coil and Seaason of denial, great prog metal arrangements here, whre the voice of Jasper Steverlinck shines, he remind me in some parts of Damian Willson from Threshold fame and aswell he worked with Lucassen on some Ayreon pieces fiew years ago. The unmatch style of Lucassen is instantly recognazible here, same aproach like his main band Ayreon, but this time, the keys are more background and atmospheric with little space for free improvizations. So overall a good album who desearve 3 stars, but is far from being an essential listning or something groundbreaking, still pleasent most of the time.

It seemed that Arjen A Lucassen's had taken his excellent Ayreon project just about as far as it could go on last years 01011001 album. A fitting end (or will it continue?) to a highly enjoyable series of easily accessible prog metal albums that if that's it, went out on a high. I read somewhere that Lucassen had felt that he had perhaps gone a little overboard on the amount of vocalists used on the last Ayreon project. Of course a multi singer format was one of the recognisable features of Ayreon and I certainly don't share such views on 01011001. Still whether that's the case or not he decided to use the single vocalist format on On This Perfect Day and employed Freddie Mercury...er.... I mean Jasper Steverlinck. Okay joking aside Steverlinck's vocal style does bear an uncanny resemblance to Mercury but he's a fine singer in his own right. Hats off to Lucassen for taking a chance on a relatively unknown singer, Steverlinck coming from Belgian indie band Arid which might sound like an unlikely partnership but actually works very well.

It appears that Lori Linstruth on lead guitar has had a key role in Guilt Machine, not only musically but also writing lyrics, her and Lucassen making a complimentary dual guitar team. Drum duties are handled by former Porcupine Tree man Chris Maitland who not surprisingly does an excellent job. Lucassen also handles bass and keyboards.

I've read reviews on other sites that say that Guilt Machine is a departure from the Ayreon sound. I have to disagree with this line of thought as Guilt Machine clearly has Lucassen stamped all over it. To my ears if you take the Ayreon sound as a template but reduce the amount of metallic guitar riffs, replacing them with cleaner guitar sounds and increase the atmospherics you'll be somewhere near. The pulsing synth sequencers are still there from the off on opener Twisted Coil. Like most of the 6 songs it's quite long giving it time to create some musical tension and build from subtle restraint to a powerhouse of a riff of unison synth and guitar. Steverlinck's voice is suitably dramatic and fits the part well. In fact the album is book ended by the two best tracks and closes with the suitably climatic Perfection? which follows a similar format as it builds to an exciting high.

Between those two pieces the songs follow a similar format. Although there are heavier moments, the songs rely more on an atmospheric and melancholic approach, exaggerated by Steverlinck's vocals. There's occasional ambient moments, the songs in the main building through many layers, but still allowing room for the music to breathe, with light and shade punctuating the dramatic highs. Just when you think it's reached a natural high it moves up another level.

On This perfect Day is another well crafted, melodic and accessible album from Lucassen. On first hearing it sounds a bit ordinary but stick with it and it will reveal its charms. Not quite as good as the last two Ayreon albums which set a high benchmark but fans of that band and his other projects should find much to enjoy here.

Arjen Lucassen's latest release for his new band Guilt Machine is On This Perfect Day. This release is a departure from the complex Ayreon projects that included a multitude of musicians and vocalists. Instead he favors one small consistent lineup made up of his partner, manager and lyricist Lori Linstruth (lead guitar) who was also with him in Stream of Passion, Jasper Steverlinck (lead vocalist) from Belgian alternative rock band Arid and ex- Porcupine Tree member Chris Matiland (drums) while Ben Mathot (violin) and David Faber (cello) contribute their fair share of well placed and appropriate parts and of course Arjen showing the way playing guitars, mandolin, bass, keyboards and providing some vocals. The album was recorded at Arjen's Electric Castle in the Netherlands.

This release is more interesting and unique because of the contributions of several people from all over the world speaking in their own language on life, regret, death, guilt, and human nature. Although you will not be able to understand what they are saying (well most of us won't) it lends a different atmosphere and kind of "get the chills" feel to the tracks. Lucassen has always had an ability to give each of his projects their own stamp of uniqueness and this one is no exception. I had no idea what to expect because I have always had some sort of insight prior to each release because of the ongoing story with Ayreon and the well known configuration of supergroups he would assemble for every project. I knew I would not be disappointed with On This Perfect Day, in fact it was a nice surprise and it turned out to be an excellent album.

There are six tracks on this CD; there is also a two disc special edition available with bonus tracks and videos. Not one of the tracks is less than six minutes with the longest being the lead off track "Twisted Coil" clocking in at 11:43. The lead singer Jasper Steverlinck sounds like he would have been a great for Arjen's previous projects but he does make his own distinct mark here. Also Lori is no slouch on lead guitar. I already respected her for the previous work I have heard but this output is exceptional. Arjen contributes immeasurable amounts of across the board talent as usual on guitars both acoustic and electric amongst other things. Chris is excellent with all the drum parts, driving the Guilt Machine along a steady course that seems to falter. If Jaspar sounds familiar it's because he was a guest vocalist on the third CD of Timeline on an unreleased song, called "Epilogue: The Memory Remains".

This is a fine collection of progressive rock tracks complete with the usual thought provoking album art and the bonus of the lyrics included with the CD booklet, which guarantees a reflective listen by anyone's estimation.

I think prog rock fans and avid Arjen fans will find complete satisfaction with this recording. I found no weaknesses to mention. At times you are reminded of the old Ayreon with some of the musical displays however that is quickly dispelled with the Guilt Machine stamp that sounds fresh and full of energy.

Arjen mentioned in an interview in Classic Rock magazine that he feels like there is a black hole in his life if there is no project to be working on, which explains his continuous flow of music every year. Listeners benefit from the workhorse methods of this great artist. I cannot help but wonder what could be next! This is a great way to usher in the new decade of prog rock.

5/5 Stars. Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck. ©MuzikReviews.com

Space Metal?

It is no mystery for anyone familiarized with Arjen Anthony Lucassen's many works and projects, like Ayreon, Star One, Stream of Passion, among others, that the mastermind behind all those projects is a huge Pink Floyd / space rock and science fiction fan. That is because, in almost every project he does, there is a reference to either one of those or even to all of them, as we can see in the Ayreon albums Into the Electric Castle and Universal Migrator part 1: The Dream Sequencer. The album On This Perfect Day, from Arjen's newest project so far, called Guilt Machine, is no exception to that rule: it is drenched with space rock influences, along with other classic / traditional progressive rock references and heavy metal touches. This mix creates a quite interesting music, something that is in a crossroad between space rock, heavy metal and classic rock, though being slightly more inclined towards space rock than the others parts of this musical concoction.

Guilt Machine, despite fitting in what you would expect from something made by Mr. Lucassen, have some differences that should be noted from his other works. In the first place, On This Perfect Day is much more rock driven than his latest Ayreon release, despite sounding quite closely to it and having some kind of a goth / depressive / dark tone to it, just like Ayreon's 01011001. The unrestricted usage of minor scales, organs and (somehow) dark-sounding synthesizers contribute heavily to that, along with the gloomy phrases spread throughout the album in a big variety of different languages. These features fit quite well with the direction taken here, because, let's face it, outgoing and bright space rock would be an oxymoron.

In the second place, there is only one singer! Well, two actually, but Arjen is only making backing vocals, so he doesn't really count for that matter. That is a huge reduction from what we are used to see in Ayreon (just for the sake of comparison, 01011001 had 16 guess vocalists). In the third place, On This Perfect Day is an album that is much more focused in making some music for the band, so the center of attention here is the band, in the contrary to what happens in traditional Ayreon albums and in some of Arjen's side projects, where there is more focus on the vocalist(s) than in the band. As a result, the music sounds simpler and the album sounds very balanced and cohere. By the way, this new vocalist Mr. Lucassen called to join the band has a very good voice and, overall, sings well. His tone and vocal timbre are quite pleasant and match very well with the music being played here, but there is one downside: when he tries to hit high notes or tries to sing forte, his voice (along with whatever he tries to deliver) suffers a lot.

Grade and Final Thoughts

Although having positive features, Guilt Machine's On This perfect Day is not perfect. The main reason for it is because the songs are not what we can call perfect nor the whole package is something that is worth that title. Despite starting very well, with the great song Twisted Coil, by the time the third and fourth songs are playing the album have downgraded itself from the exceptional to the average and good, respectively, reaching the rock bottom on the forgettable song Over. The album can recover much of its quality with the last song, but the damage was already done: though being far from bad, the album had the potential to me much better. Some of the problems that kept this album from being better are overlong songs, the vocalist trying to reach notes he can't or barely can and other minor things that simply break the mood of some song and the mood of the album. Gladly, such bad features are the exception, making Arjen Anthony Lucassen's space metal release highly enjoyable for anyone.

I'm not much of a fan of Arjen Lucassen, but I think this may be my favorite of his projects. Ayreon and Avanstasia are both good, but this project has a great amount of emotion and scale to it. On top of that, the music is interesting, as I'm not sure this is really prog metal. It is mostly driven my symphonics, and is augmented with a some great riffing and awesome vocals.

I have much respect for the unique aspects of this album. The female voice-overs are a great touch, as are the wonderful song structures. The themes display a great amount of profundity, especially the final track. Speaking of, I think the two best tracks are "Season of Denial" and "Perfection?" as these two tracks represent stunning structures and the whole array of styles displayed on this album. All in all, this a great and unique album that deserves at least a few listens.

Review Nº 92

As with Ambeon project, Guilt Machine is a Dutch progressive metal act, a project of the multi-instrumentalist and composer Arjen Anthony Lucassen, the mastermind of Ayreon. Their debut and only album, until now, "On This Perfect Day" was released in 2009. For this new project, Arjen (rhythm and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, mandolin and backing vocals), gathered new musicians around him like the singer Jasper Steverlinck, from a Belgian band called Arid (lead vocals), his current partner and manager Lori Linstruth, ex-Stream Of Passion (lead guitar), Chris Maitland, ex-Porcupine Tree and ex-Kino (drums) and still Ben Mathot (violin) and David Faber (cello).

Arjen wanted that Guilt Machine was a more manageable and small scale project with only one vocalist and few musicians. He wanted that Guilt Machine was built around one vocalist and two other musicians besides himself. So, beyond him and Lori, he had to find a singer that could cover the entire spectrum of emotions and who was also versatile enough to keep the listener's interest until the last track. He chose Jasper because he had a perfect pronunciation, had got an incredible broad range and his delivery was full of emotions. For drumming, he needed a drummer, with a different style of Ed Warby, who could hit hard when needed, but who would also be able to shine in the subtle passages. He chose Chris because he had proved in Porcupine Tree to be the versatile drummer he needed.

"On This Perfect Day" has six tracks. All music was written by Lucassen and all lyrics were written by Lori. The first track "Twisted Coil" opens the album. It starts out slowly and soft, and fluctuates between serene and atmospheric passages permeated by Lucassen's many keyboards and guitar patterns. It has moments of hard progressive rock with great intensity. The vocals of Steverlinck are very good, especially for someone that has never sung on a progressive album before. His soaring, passionate and yet husky delivery fits perfectly right here. The second track "Leland Street" is almost a Pink Floydian dreamy track where he puts on a powerful display, with more than a slight nod to Freddie Mercury, and is sure to catch even the strictest attention of the progressive rock fans. The verses are very atmospheric and almost a bit psychedelic and again Steverlinck is delivering both, power and emotion. As the previous track, it features also some backing vocals by Arjen. The third track "Green And Cream" rides the line between progressive rock and progressive metal with boldly. A highlight of the album, the song boasts several huge high points and is the closest to sounding like an Ayreon's song, with the folk-influenced melodies, acoustic guitar, and epic instrumental build up. So, once more, the main focus is again on the battle between the mellow atmospheric progressive and the mighty progressive metal. The fourth track "Season Of Denial" is a tranquil symphonic progressive track, mostly keyboard and vocal dominated, until some heavier riffs come into play towards the middle of the track. It was added to it rich instrumental textures including strings, choral effects and violin. The blaze of weighty guitar chords during the chorus is in stark contrast to the folky acoustic interludes. The fifth track "Over" is a song with equally large synthesizer parts, guitar solos, and varied vocals. It has a Floydian overture, vocals more in the vein of pop music and the choruses are in remembrance of bands such as Queen and Uriah Heep. It also reveals the Steverlinck's impressive vocal range. Easily in the camp of Freddie Mercury and Jeff Buckley, Steverlinck boasts a clarity and definition very impressive. In a certain way, it sounds to me like a mix of Queen and Uriah Heep. The sixth track "Perfection?" is a song of three parts with an acoustic led theme, succumbing to bombastic guitar and keyboards at the midway point and an anthemic conclusion with superbly choreographed vocal exchanges between Lucassen and Steverlinck. It's near 11 minute symphonic progressive gem featuring some nifty guitar riffs and plenty of orchestral keyboards and strings. It ends nicely the album with the most drastic instrumental sections of the album.

Conclusion: "On This Perfect Day" is a very solid and enjoyable release. I'm sure there are going to be plenty of Ayreon's fans who might balk at the overabundance of atmospheric and mellow moments here and miss the more upbeat and bombastic elements of Lucassen's other releases. This is an album that will take a few listens to really appreciate it. I couldn't discover any weak track on the album. All songs are of high quality level. Tuneful electric and acoustic guitar riffs, wonderful synthesizer waves, emotional shouting, inventive drumming and wonderful melodies. You get it all in this musical adventure. A special thing about the lyrics: They're very personal and emotional, written straight from the heart. Arjen combines guilt and regret, the two emotional themes into one, by using short lyrics in different languages. This is the ultimate fusion of progressive, heavy, pop, rock, electronic and space rock music.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)