ACTUAL FANTASY

Ayreon's second album shows some improvement over The Final Experiment. Avoiding the rock opera format this time around means that Lucassen doesn't have to hammer his musical ideas into that constricting format and doesn't feel the need to add any filler to provide narration or context for the story.

That said, like much of Ayreon's back catalogue it didn't immediately grab me, and despite the lack of an overarching concept, there's still a certain theatrical flair to proceedings which nudges this more towards the pomp and spectacle side of prog metal; getting across mini-narratives is more important here than showing off technical flair. It's a release which has grown on me somewhat over the years - Lucassen's use of synthesiser is particularly exciting and futuristic - and perhaps is more digestible than Ayreon's more customary concept album fare.