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Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle
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8.7 | 548 votes |
Release date: 1998
Style: Progressive metal, Progressive rock

Owners:
731 have it
66 want it
1 trades it


Disc I
01. Welcome To The New Dimension [feat. Peter Daltrey]
02. Isis And Osiris [feat. Fish, Sharon Den Adel, Damian Wilson, Edwin Balogh & Anneke Van Giersbergen]
    1 - Let The Journey Begin
    2 - The Hall Of Isis And Osiris
    3 - Strange Constellations
    4 - Reprise
03. Amazing Flight [feat. Jay Van Fegellen & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]
    1 - Amazing Flight In Space
    2 - Stardance
    3 - Flying Colours
04. Time Beyond Time [feat. Edward Reekers, Damian Wilson & Edwin Balogh]
05. The Decision Tree (We're Alive) [feat. Jay Van Fegellen & Fish]
06. Tunnel Of Light [feat. Fish, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Edwin Balogh & Damian Wilson]
07. Across The Rainbow Bridge [feat. Damian Wilson, Edwin Balogh & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]

Disc II
01. The Garden Of Emotions [feat. Anneke Van Giersbergen, Edwin Balogh, Jay Van Feggelen, Sharon Den Adel, Damian Wilson, Edward Reekers & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]
    1 - In The Garden Of Emotions
    2 - Voices In The Sky
    3 - The Aggression Factor
02. Valley Of The Queens [feat. Anneke Van Giersbergen]
03. The Castle Hall [feat. Damian Wilson & Jay Van Feggelen]
04. Tower Of Hope [feat. Damian Wilson, Jay Van Feggelen, Arjen Anthony Lucassen & Edward Reekers]
05. Cosmic Fusion [feat. Sharon Den Adel, Edwin Balogh, Edward Reekers, George Oosthoek & Robert Westerholt]
    1 - I Soar On The Breeze
    2 - Death's Grunt
    3 - The Passing Of An Eagle
06. The Mirror Maze [feat. Edward Reekers, Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Damian Wilson & Edwin Balogh]
    1 - Inside The Mirror Maze
    2 - Through The Mirror
07. Evil Devolution [feat. Edward Reekers]
08. The Two Gates [feat. Jay Van Feggelen & Damian Wilson]
09. "Forever" Of The Stars
10. Another Time, Another Space [feat. Edward Reekers, Edwin Balogh, Damian Wilson & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]

Top 20 albums of 1998: 5
Top 200 albums of all time: 179
Guest review Lyrics (17)

Line-up
Arjen Anthony Lucassen - vocals, guitars, bass, synths, keyboards, mandoline

Additional musicians:

Peter Daltrey - voice
Derek William "Fish" Dick - vocals
Sharon den Adel - vocals
Damian Wilson - vocals
Edwin Balogh - vocals
Anneke Van Giersbergen - vocals
Jan van Feggelen - vocals
Edward Reekers - vocals
Robert Westerholt - vocals
George "Dr. Ranzzz" Oosthoek - vocals

Ed Warby - drums
Robby Valentine - piano, mellotron, synth solos
Ernö Olah - violins
Jack Pisters - sitar
Taco Kooistra - celli
Rene Merkelbach - synth solos, harpsichord
Ton Scherpenzeel - synth solos
Clive Nolan - synth solos
Roland Bakker - Hammond organ
Thijs van Leer - flute

Additional info
Produced by Arjen Anthony Lucassen.

Re-released 2004

Released on vinyl in 2011 on Inside Out, on black, white, gold and grey vinyl.

Guest review by
ErnilEnNaur
Rating:
10
The third time's the charm. Or so they say. How appropriate it is then that my third review should be a review of Ayreon's third and best (or second best, if you prefer The Human Equation) album, the progressive rock/metal masterpiece that is Into The Electric Castle. As most fans of Arjen Anthony Lucassen probably already know, he never intended for this album to be anything other than a masterful work, because he believed that the vitality of his Ayreon project depended upon it. With this in mind, Arjen created the concept and music for a progressive sci-fi epic and gathered some of the best vocalists around. Now thirteen years later, here I am to state the obvious: Arjen and co succeeded in their goal, they succeeded in every possible way.

Read more ››
published 01.03.2011 | Comments (10)

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Comments

‹‹ Back to Albums
Comments: 14   Visited by: 1044 users
25.12.2009 - 13:31
Baz Anderson
Staff
Christmas dinner album 2009. And surely one of the best albums ever.
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13.02.2011 - 22:23
ErnilEnNaur
Account deleted
Finally got my hands (and ears) on it. Definitely one of the best prog albums ever created. A true gem with a cool story, great music and excellent performances. My second favorite Ayreon album to date.
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14.02.2011 - 00:31
Susan
Smeghead
Elite
Yeah I just heard this for the first time yesterday Niiiiiiice. It'll take some time to process but it was definitely an experience!
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"A life all mine
Is what I choose
At the end of my days"
--The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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04.11.2012 - 21:25
Rating: 10
Erik M.
My favourite Ayreon album by far, it's an epic masterpiece. The Human Equation is great, but unlike most people I think this is a lot better.
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21.01.2014 - 23:54
Rating: 10
Ryan Zane
This album really is an odyssey especially Cosmic Fusion one of the best songs heard sensational and highly recommended album almost as much as 01011001 and The human equation.
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30.08.2014 - 22:40
Mattybu
If this album was barbecue sauce, I would slather it all over myself, gently marinate and roast in a smoky seasoning for a couple days, and eat myself. Not even a bad song on the whole thing.

Written by Erik M. on 04.11.2012 at 21:25

My favourite Ayreon album by far, it's an epic masterpiece.

I take back everything bad I have ever said about you
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30.08.2018 - 16:06
Metren
Dreadrealm
Re-visited this album in recent days, giving it quite a few spins and I am genuinely surprised at how boring I find many parts of this. It's considered a classic by many and I used to think it was great, but now I'd probably not rate it even an 8 out of 10. I'm beginning to think that Arjen is overrated as a songwriter. His efforts in bringing great vocalists together and making them give their all is admirable still, but the music on this just doesn't make me feel much anymore. I still think it's a good album, but nowhere near worthy the status of a classic.
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My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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21.10.2019 - 16:07
Rating: 8
Mountain King
K i K o
Less metal and folk than the newer albums, more dreamy and progy. Really well made and enjoyable. Some songs are unnecessary but the whole thing is one of the best prog rock out there. Top picks are "Time Beyond Time" and "Evil Devolution"
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03.11.2020 - 10:19
Rating: 5
Robdog
I don't get why everyone worships this album.. Is it even metal? It's slow and boring compared to the other albums, there are only three good songs, Valley of the Queens, Castle Hall and Rainbow Bridge, all the rest suck. By the way some of the other songs have a few good bits in them but it still sucks. That's the truth, maybe you guys are favorinbg it for the awesome album cover artwork which doesn't even match the style of music.
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25.07.2021 - 18:18
kevindebrajne
Account deleted
Written by Robdog on 03.11.2020 at 10:19

I don't get why everyone worships this album.. Is it even metal? It's slow and boring compared to the other albums...

The fact that it's slow is the reason why its good. Most of Ayreon albums are so over the top that it's unbearable, even for someone like me who likes some good cheesy power metal music. This album is more prog rock than prog metal, but it makes it better, not worse. Also the features on this album were on spot, unlike in his other work where features could ruin the entire experience.
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26.07.2021 - 15:45
Rating: 5
Robdog
Written by [user id=314970] on 25.07.2021 at 18:18

Written by Robdog on 03.11.2020 at 10:19

I don't get why everyone worships this album.. Is it even metal? It's slow and boring compared to the other albums...

The fact that it's slow is the reason why its good. Most of Ayreon albums are so over the top that it's unbearable, even for someone like me who likes some good cheesy power metal music. This album is more prog rock than prog metal, but it makes it better, not worse. Also the features on this album were on spot, unlike in his other work where features could ruin the entire experience.

Fair call, I guess its just not my cup of tea.
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02.03.2022 - 12:25
Rating: 9
nonZero
Ayreon's best IMO.

8.6/10 for me - 'Isis And Osiris' is the standout track. 'Amazing Flight' and 'Cosmic Fusion' are both also good. But really this album needs to be consumed as a whole to fully appreciate it.
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16.08.2022 - 22:19
Rating: 8
Jack_Torrance
Better than the human equation
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12.02.2024 - 12:20
Rating: 9
majormalfunction
Wonderful album. The use of vocalists is top and there's a lot of musical passages that feels like a giftbox. For a album that's nearly 2 hours long it never gets boring. My favourite part of the whole album is without a doubt the finale instrumental section of Amazing Flight, which is short said brilliant.
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Everything's twice as bright with money in your hands
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