Written by Polaria on 10.05.2017 at 23:30

Written by angel_heart on 10.05.2017 at 10:34

It's a bit cheesy and I can hear many parts from previous albums in there, but overall I like it. I was slightly disappointed at first because I inevitably compared it to 01 (because of the theme and vocalists) and it really is a far cry from it, but it's a grower. Once I accepted it's more of a classic rock with spacey themes album rather than a progressive one, I started enjoying it a lot more. Even bad Ayreon is still pretty awesome compared to the rest, and The Source isn't bad at all. Just not as amazing as the previous albums.

Is it cheesy, totally yes but you can say that about a lot of genres in metal

The 2 previous albums have been meh for me.

For me 010etc is a big vocal mess ( 17 singers, really?!), highest points being the parts of Jonas Renske and Anneke Van Giersbergen. There are also two songs in that album that are definitely the worst of the Worst by Ayreon.

The Theory of Everything is much better structured vocally with less singers, each with a precise role in the story, but it lacked oomph and parts of the story are a bit meh as well, the ending was well-thought though. But 42 tracks, really?! Yes I know what it refers to, but this was truly a false good idea.

I can't even say anything about the Human Equation, I haven't listened to it yet because I am really not fond of James Labrie's style.

The conclusion is that the Source addresses what were the big flaws for me on the previous albums. I can live with LaBrie's parts on that one.

So a 9 for me, I'll put it to 10 in a few years if I still enjoy it then.

Really? The Human Equation might be the best Arjen album of them all, and one of the best albums in the history of music for sure, the story and the literal emotions that makes you feel is quite a journey, the ammount of different musical styles, and the singer that you say does a fantastic job, i only heard him in that Ayreon though, also The Theory Of Everything is not 42 tracks, is just 4 of 20 minutes each, that album also is a masterpiece unlike anything else, he cant do a bad song even if he wants to, though they are modern versions of classic rock bands songs basically

Written by D88M3R on 12.05.2017 at 00:03

Really? The Human Equation might be the best Arjen album of them all, and one of the best albums in the history of music for sure, the story and the literal emotions that makes you feel is quite a journey, the ammount of different musical styles, and the singer that you say does a fantastic job, i only heard him in that Ayreon though

The deep truth is that I am not giving a flying fuck about 99,9% of the prog out there, not because I think bands are bad but because I just don't enjoy the genre. Ayreon is one of the very few bands I'll take a chance on, but even so most albums haven't appealed to me much. The last one I really liked was Flight of the Migrator in 2000.
I'm surprised I like the Source so much - it's not really a prog album, is it?

Written by D88M3R on 12.05.2017 at 00:03

The Theory Of Everything is not 42 tracks, is just 4 of 20 minutes each.

That was Arjen's initial idea to only have 4 sections of 20 mins; then he decided to split the album in 42 segments since 42 is "the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything". Just look at the tracklist of the album : http://www.metalstorm.net/bands/album.php?album_id=69878&band_id=&bandname=Ayreon

Written by D88M3R on 12.05.2017 at 00:03

also The Theory Of Everything is not 42 tracks, is just 4 of 20 minutes each

It is 4 songs, but they're divided into 42 tracks for some stupid reason. Same with Nightwish's Lappi and A Forest Of Stars' Pawn On The Universal Chessboard. Daft idea, really.
And in the reverse, my copy of Bathory's Twilight Of The gods has the 1st 3 songs as 1 track.

Written by M C Vice on 15.05.2017 at 12:14

...but they're divided into 42 tracks for some stupid reason.

The reason is the album title/concept.

This is just boring. Bland, boring and uninspired. Which is a shame because I liked the guest musicians and vocalists. I've found that every Ayreon album I've listened to that isn't the Human Equation just doesn't connect with me, and instead just feels gaudy and pretentious. Is it because that album was a story about human emotions and relations etc? It feels more personal and less "Whoaaa, space! End of the world! Extinction! Colonising. Magical maths!". The last album suffered from abysmal lyrics. This one is slightly less abysmal.

Besides Everybody Dies, which is the best song, there are some cool moments here and there. Aquatic Race I remember just because it's so dumb. Which makes it a highlight, because it's at least memorable.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 15.05.2017 at 14:55

Written by M C Vice on 15.05.2017 at 12:14

...but they're divided into 42 tracks for some stupid reason.

The reason is the album title/concept.

Oh yeah. I'm always thinking it's 36.

I get a real Queen vibe from the song Everybody Dies

Sounds like a mix of 01011001 and The Theory Of Everything, with a bit of The Universal Migrator thrown in. Shame it leans more to 01 than the others. Good, but I think it had the potential to be better.
Plenty of lyrical references to the other albums, so kudos for that.

I like this album better than the previous one, but It does not pierce through me like the classic Ayreon's.

Written by Nicko's Nose on 29.04.2017 at 05:20

This is so generic.

I listened to this album 4 times when it came out and didn't care for it, but someone gave me the CD for my birthday yesterday (even though my birthday is tomorrow) so I listened to it again and I liked it a lot more. I originally gave it a 6 and now it's a 7 and it might go up to an 8. It's a very good album. It has a few songs that I don't care for at all, but it has quite a few songs I like a lot. I still think it's a bit generic, but I find it a lot less generic than I did before. Also it helps that this album has 6 of my favorite prog/power metal singers. Sometimes you need to give an album you don't care for another chance.

For some reason I can't stand Tobias Sammet's vocals on this. It's odd, I used to like his voice... I don't know if it's his voice that changed or if it's my taste in vocals that changed...

Enjoyed the first CD waaaay more than the second one. Everybody Dies is easily the best song on the album.

Written by DeathMetal on 07.11.2017 at 04:35

Enjoyed the first CD waaaay more than the second one. Everybody Dies is easily the best song on the album.

To my ears, "Everybody Dies" is a perfect example of why this album is bad. The dark theme of the song is in such a contrast with the happy intro and almost ridiculous melodies that it comes off as unintentionally ironic. Arjen used to be able to write riffs and melodies that fit well with the emotions of the songs and albums. Not anymore, apparently.

Many months and many listenings later, this isn't quite as bad as I'd originally felt. Adjusting my score from a 5 to a 6. At its best moments, this almost approaches "pretty good" territory.

I am enjoying this a pretty lot. The singers are the best in power/prog/melodic metal, there's nothing not to enjoy. I'm glad Arjen keeps on involving Russel Allen, singer of Circus Maximus, Nils K Rue, Tommy Karevik etc...

Ayreon hasn't been this good in a loong while. Most songs here would work great as Star One songs, they are heavy, often quite simple and straight to the point and while Arjen has wrote great prog tracks he is more solid when going this route. The first four songs are all great and after that the albums feels kinda repetetive but it's always on a quite high level and on the second disc there are some other notable songs as Into the Ocean and Planet Y is Alive!. I also like how the outro song connects directly to Age of Shadows.