SPACE METAL

The title of this offering from the Ayreon/Arjen A Lucassen stable tells you all you need to know. The music is loud and powerful, whilst also being extremely melodic. At times, such as on "Songs of the ocean" and "Intergalactic space crusaders", it verges on becoming pop, the Sweet in their heyday could well have taken the latter to the top of the charts! The songs are generally less complex than those of Ayreon, but there's still much to enjoy, with tracks like "The eye of Ra" and "Starchild" being developed into longer slightly more progressive pieces.

The production and performance are excellent as you would expect, with the usual array of guest vocalists and musicians. The album was inspired by "films that take place entirely in space", with the vocalists performing dialogue "roles" on each track. Some may feel the space theme is wearing a bit thin these days, but it appears to be where Arjen finds inspiration to create some of his best works.

For those who enjoy a harder edge to their music, while still wishing to hear strong melodies and solid performances, this album fits the bill very nicely.

The album was also released in a special edition format with an extra CD.

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