Ayreon
Background information | |
---|---|
Origin | Netherlands |
Genre(s) | Progressive metal Progressive rock Rock opera Symphonic metal |
Years active | 1995–present |
Label(s) | InsideOut Music Century Media SPV GmbH |
Members | |
Arjen Anthony Lucassen–Vocals, Lead Guitars, Bass, Synth, Hammond Organ Ed Warby–Drums |
Ayreon (pronunciation ) is a project by Dutch composer and musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen.
Ayreon's musical style derives mostly from heavy metal and progressive rock, but combines them with genres like folk, classical and electronica to form what some call a completely new style of music. The majority of Ayreon's albums are dubbed "rock operas" due to the fact that the albums contain complex storylines featuring a host of characters, each represented by a unique vocalist.
Ayreon's music is characterized by the use of traditional instruments in rock music (guitars, bass guitar, drums, synthesizers, electric organs) mixed with instruments more native to folk and classical music (i.e. mandolins, violins, violas, celli, flutes, sitars and didgeridoo). Lucassen writes the music and the lyrics, sings and plays instruments on all of the Ayreon albums, alongside many guest musicians.
Contents |
History
The first Ayreon CD, released in 1995, is The Final Experiment, with a mixture of science fiction and medieval. The album features thirteen singers and seven instrumentalists, most of them Dutch. The Final Experiment is often mentioned as one of the first metal operas and a reviver of the rock opera genre. The album was originally titled Ayreon: The Final Experiment, with the artist listed as Arjen Lucassen, but upon re-release, the title was changed to The Final Experiment, and the artist was changed to Ayreon.
Actual Fantasy from 1996 is the only Ayreon album without a continuous story. With its individual fantasy stories, it can still be considered a concept album, though. There are only three singers and three instrumentalists on Actual Fantasy. Themes inspired by songs on this album can be found on later Ayreon releases, particularly the two Universal Migrator albums.
The double album Into the Electric Castle followed in 1998. The album features eight singers, each playing a role of a single character, and eleven instrumentalists.
The twin Universal Migrator albums were released in 2000. The first album, The Dream Sequencer consists of soft, atmospheric progressive rock, whereas the heavy second album, Flight of the Migrator. Both of the albums feature around ten singers supported by many instrumentalists. One of the more notable guests was Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, who made an appearance on Flight of the Migrator.
The latest Ayreon release is The Human Equation, released in 2004. As on Into the Electric Castle, there are several singers, each playing their own role. With The Human Equation, Ayreon turned away from the usual science fiction and fantasy themes with a seemingly semi-normal psychological theme.
Starting in 2004, after changing from Transmission Records to InsideOut, Arjen began rereleasing his Ayreon catalog on the new label, with enhancements ranging from basic (The Universal Migrator, issued as a two-disc set instead of two separate albums) to drastic (Actual Fantasy, "Revisited" with completely re-recorded drums, bass, synth and flute). In 2005, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Ayreon, The Final Experiment was reissued with a bonus semi-acoustic disc. At the end of September 2006, when Arjen's new studio was finished, he began making a new album entitled "01011001"
Concept
Ayreon's concept is a continuous one, with loose connections between each of the albums. The Final Experiment alluded to the events that led to The Universal Migrator albums (during the course of events in the specified album, the man using The Dream Sequencer faces the minstrel Ayreon's return). The inlay booklet of the Universal Migrator double-album alludes to Into the Electric Castle, with the castle being shown in the same page with the song "Out of the White Hole," specifically the portion titled "Planet Y". Also, Arjen's notes at the beginning mention the possibility of the character using the Dream Sequencer being the Futureman.
So far, there happens to be little to no proof about the connection of Into the Electric Castle to The Human Equation; except for the part where Forever of the Stars uses The Dream Sequencer to launch "The Human Equation Program". Coupled with the Time-Telepathy experiment, Ayreon's return and Planet Y, it can be said that Forever of the Stars' experiment was due to it receiving Ayreon's message, but not being able to understand which part of the history went wrong. Afterwards, however, the experiment sways and turns into a quest to understand emotions itself.
The song "The Garden of Emotions" from the "Into The Electric Castle" album introduces the melody later used in the song "Dawn of a Million Souls" on the "Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator" album.
Discography
Albums
- The Final Experiment (1995)
- Actual Fantasy (1996)
- Into the Electric Castle (1998)
- Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer (2000)
- Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator (2000)
- Ayreonauts Only (2000)
- The Human Equation (2004)
- Into the Electric Castle (re-issue) (2004)
- Universal Migrator pt. 1 & 2 (re-issue) (2004)
- Actual Fantasy: Revisited (2004) - re-recorded and remastered
- The Final Experiment Special Edition (2005) - new acoustic bonus CD
- 01011001 (2008)
Singles/EPs
- "Sail Away to Avalon" (1995)
- "The Stranger from Within" (1996)
- "Temple of the Cat" (2000)
- "Day Eleven: Love" (2004)
- "Day Sixteen: Loser" (2004)
- "Come Back to Me" (2005)
See also
Other bands and projects by Arjen Anthony Lucassen:
List of guests in Ayreon:
Bands Arjen has been a member of:
Related genres: