SPACE METAL

The music on here is all sorts of fun and exciting, don't mistake what I'm saying. It's fun, but it's not terribly progressive, even though I know that that is not really the aim here. Instead of highly complicated song structures, Star One is made to add a metal element to the classic idea of space rock, especially in the case of Hawkwind--hence the title, Space Metal. Arjen's usual sense of harmony and melody are here. Arjen's usual quality of songwriting is evident. Arjen's usual keenness for picking out high caliber vocalists and musicians is still quite remarkable. Arjen's usual energy runs throughout this release. Arjen's usual fixation with some of the cheesiest lyrical structures has never been more plain.

In short? This album is Arjen's usual.

Arjen's usual is pretty much a guaranteed fun album. We've got songs about Star Trek and Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien and Stargate and plenty of other popular science fiction films. On board this time are Damien Wilson of numerous projects, Sir Russel Allen of Symphony X, Dan Swano of numerous (death metal) projects, and Floor Jansen. All except Swano are veterans of Ayreon, but I must admit, I can hardly think of a better ensemble for any album. The problem, however, is that the music gets pretty repetitive. Not only are the songs on the record just like Ayreon songs, the songs on the album are mostly like each other. Master of Darkness is a nice track about Luke and Darth Vader, giving Russel Allen some room for vocal chops and a long instrumental bit built for wild soloing trade-offs. The Eye of Ra ends with a massive 7 or so part a Capella harmony. Starchild is a moody and dark synthesized song with some really creepy vocals from Swano and some explosive lines from the rest of the vocalists. The rest of the tracks do very little to stand out.

If you like Ayreon, you'll like this. Check with Ayreon first for some better music, and if that works out pop back to Star One and give it a shot.

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