Band:	Guilt Machine
Album:	On This Perfect Day
Style:	Progressive metal
Website:	http://www.ayreon.com
Release date:	August 28, 2009
A review by:	Bas

Disc I [CD]
01. Twisted Coil
02. Leland Street
03. Green And Cream
04. Season Of Denial
05. Over
06. Perfection?

Disc II [limited edition DVD]
01. The Stranger Song
02. Michelangelo
03. Fan Messages
04. Perfection? [demo]
05. Twisted Coil [radio version]
06. Pull Me Out Of The Dark [Green And Cream radio version]
07. Over [radio edit version]
+ Trailer "On This Perfect Day" [video]
+ Making Of The Trailer [video]
+ Interview With Guilt Machine [video]

Mr. A. A. Lucassen shouldn't need much introduction apart from the names of his bands. Star One, Stream Of Passion, Ambeon and Ayreon can definitely speak for themselves. Guilt Machine is the new member of Arjens little band family.
It features Chris Maitland (ex-Porcupine Tree) behind the drumkit, Lori Linstruth (ex-Stream Of Passion/Warbride) on guitar duties and the great Jasper Steverlinck (of Belgian rock band Arid (check them out!)) who often reminds of Freddie Mercury on vocals. Arjen Lucassen himself plays the other instruments and adds some vocal lines as well. Definitely a promising line-up and as such I've been looking forwards to this since the day it was announced.

From all of his side-projects, this is probably the one closest to Ayreon. The instrumentation is just oozing with Arjens trademark sound. At the same time this album is easily the darkest and most melancholic the Dutchman has ever released. Haunting symphonic melodies, acoustic passages, instrumental desperation, emotional vocal work that builds up intensity as it goes; this release is the incarnation of the dark parts in Ayreon albums. At the same time this is what sets it aside from Arjens main Project. Instead of varying moods, fusing many different styles of music and bringing a lot of completely different vocalists together, Guilt Machine's style stays the same throughout its duration, making its culmination in the last track 'Perfection?' all the more powerful.
Fans of Ayreon, especially the last two albums, and dark prog music should enjoy this release a lot.

With 4 of 6 tracks going over ten minutes and only few catchy choruses, On This Perfect Day isn't easy to get into, it's definitely worth the effort though. While it isn't another Human Equation or 01011001, Guilt Machine is an excellent addition to the Lucassen-collection. Arguably his best side-effort.

Highlights: 'Twisted Coil', 'Perfection?'