Glad to see that it isn't just me who doesn't like this album. I find it incredibly BORING! I LOVED The Human Equation but this one just... drags... and drags... Also the concept isn't very atractive.

Written by [user id=16818] on 06.02.2008 at 22:28

Glad to see that it isn't just me who doesn't like this album. I find it incredibly BORING! I LOVED The Human Equation but this one just... drags... and drags... Also the concept isn't very atractive.

The thing I first considered annoying on Ayreon releases were the keyboards. I needed really much time to get into them and find atmosphere there, and I did it... I accept that there are other opinions
The same situation is when people talk about Opeth - one group considers it really great etc. and the second one considers it utterly boring and stuff... It is just a matter of taste and personality, the same with Ayreon...

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.02.2008 at 17:48

Written by Doc G. on 06.02.2008 at 17:46

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.02.2008 at 14:51

Written by Raziel X on 06.02.2008 at 14:42

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.02.2008 at 12:33

Written by VPeter on 06.02.2008 at 00:23

since I heard a lot of good things about Ayreon I decided to check this out.
and it suffers from the same thing like many prog metal bands have, extremly boring music without any emotion.

Totally agree with you.

I totally disagree with you two. That you cant access and get into the music, that doesnt necessarily mean it is bad! If you put it away after few listens, it is only understandable that you dont like it... Prog metal isnt a genre that you can get into in a weekend...

IMO a great album, although my fav is still THE. But I like this album

the music is easilly accessible for me, that is not the problem,. It is just that I find it utterly and mindnumbingly boring (and that coming from someone who loves extreme doom and some drone)
I have never had problems with getting into prog metal at all, I loved Dream Theater at first listen banck wehn When Day And Dream Unite was released. SO that is not the problem. But I find all of the Ayreon albums boring.

Phew! Good to see I'm not alone. A friend of mine sent me a few songs off the album, same old "watching paint dry" Ayreon I know, this album hasn't changed my opinion on the...band? at all.

Wow, so that makes three of us on MS at least who think (and KNOW) Ayreon is boring

Never liked the band either. Never "grabbed" me, im sure they have a few good songs, but I have there albums, and im quite disapointed with all, but each to his or her own.

The BEST Ayreon work until now! River Of Time is amazing with Hansi t the vocals!

seems like a great album, hear a lot of good stuff about it, and this review only wants to make me get it more...

but can someone tell me, do ayreon sing harsh or clean vocals? i have a feeling clean, but can someone answer this for me

Clean vocals on this one. There were a couple of growls on The Human Equation due to the presence of Mikael Akerfeldt, but this one only has clean singing.

khmm... on the last song jonas does a few growls, it seems to me that you haven't heard the album in full :p

Marco is right hehe

But I also wanted to react to Reizenstein's comment. I actually agree with you dude. I wanted to say in the review that imo, the girls (except Magali Luyten and Anneke van Giersbergen) aren't so good... Well they're not bad but that's nothing special too especially when you compare them to the guys...

Well, there are too many things too say about this release... And I forgot that point...

Written by marco on 07.02.2008 at 12:42

khmm... on the last song jonas does a few growls, it seems to me that you haven't heard the album in full :p

That says a lot about how much this album bored me haha

i never listened to ayreon before so i gave it a try today because the promo clip of the album on their website sounded refreshing and promising...

well, i listened the album to the end, it has it's nice moments but i expected it would be much better... becomes quite boring at times... also didn't like the female wocals... 7/10... nothing special...

Honestly, the album kind of bores me a bit (mind you I still gave a 10/10), possibly because of the non-super accesibilty and hooks. Actually, if this was just 1 album (or the 2 discs where there won album), I wouyld give part 1 an 8, and disc 2 a 9, but that fact that these where both part of a greater whole, I give MAJOR props to. It's actually pretty rae that an album can somewhat bore me, yet at the same tyime, I know just the incredibulness which is going on with the album.

Written by Paradox0 on 09.02.2008 at 18:36

Honestly, the album kind of bores me a bit (mind you I still gave a 10/10), possibly because of the non-super accesibilty and hooks. Actually, if this was just 1 album (or the 2 discs where there won album), I wouyld give part 1 an 8, and disc 2 a 9, but that fact that these where both part of a greater whole, I give MAJOR props to. It's actually pretty rae that an album can somewhat bore me, yet at the same tyime, I know just the incredibulness which is going on with the album.

An equation I can never understand 10 to an album which bores you a bit? Then it can't possibly be perfect, right? CD 1: 8, CD 2: 9... if my math skills are as decent as I believe they are that should be something like... hmmm... 8.5?

I really need to give this thing a listen. I'm not a fan of the more progressive side of things but everyone seems really worked up about this one.

Written by Warman on 09.02.2008 at 18:53

Written by Paradox0 on 09.02.2008 at 18:36

Honestly, the album kind of bores me a bit (mind you I still gave a 10/10), possibly because of the non-super accesibilty and hooks. Actually, if this was just 1 album (or the 2 discs where there won album), I wouyld give part 1 an 8, and disc 2 a 9, but that fact that these where both part of a greater whole, I give MAJOR props to. It's actually pretty rae that an album can somewhat bore me, yet at the same tyime, I know just the incredibulness which is going on with the album.

An equation I can never understand 10 to an album which bores you a bit? Then it can't possibly be perfect, right? CD 1: 8, CD 2: 9... if my math skills are as decent as I believe they are that should be something like... hmmm... 8.5?

Well, its not an unsolvable equation. For example, Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends" is one of my all-time favourite thrash albums, but at some random times it just bores the crap out of me. There is no album in existence that I have listened hundreds of times without one single moment being boring. Human perception isn't perfect after all and depends on too much other factors. The same here with "01011001". On some random times it has been a little boring, but if I take into account the quality and amount of the best listens it has given, this is a 10/10 album. And yes, I have the limited edition and agree with every good thing said about it here, and well... for those who don't agree... "I see mainly reptiles, a lower form of intelligence, mere brainless creatures, with no demonstrable sentience..."

Written by Inlé on 09.02.2008 at 20:45

I really need to give this thing a listen. I'm not a fan of the more progressive side of things but everyone seems really worked up about this one.

you can see the real thing sat here in my flat.. big box and everything. hahaha
it isn't the kind of thing that would be appropriate for a Wednesday night out though..
I think if you gave it time you may like it a lot - I think it is a bloody fantastic album, but then there are people that it bores too. hahaha

Wow, after a week listening to this, I can say that this is a real contender for album of the year!
Well, this is just my opinion...

Written by annodomini on 05.02.2008 at 23:32

It is really good album, but i still prefare Human Equation

+1 me too

VERY NICE ALBUM, very close to THE! Thumbs up Arjen.

Oh boy. An album whose title is in binary code. What next? An album called "#FF0000"?

I really like most of the music on this album (except for "Web Of Lies" and "Connect the Dots" which I always skip, I often skip "Comatose" as well), I think that "Liquid Eternity" and "Waking Dreams" are 2 of the best songs that he has ever done, and both of the extinctions are really great (albeit not uniformly so).

On the minus side: I don't like the story/concept/lyrics very much at all, it manages to out-cheese the whole of his pre-THE back catalogue put together (and even Rhapsody Of Fire would struggle to manage that), and I really have to try and not notice what they are singing about to be able not to cringe because of the sheer awfulness of most of the lyrics. It's a pity because on The Human Equation he really did have a great story that added to the music and that was very well executed, so that part feels a bit like a step backward to me.

Written by john_mcc on 16.02.2008 at 23:14

I really like most of the music on this album (except for "Web Of Lies" and "Connect the Dots" which I always skip, I often skip "Comatose" as well), I think that "Liquid Eternity" and "Waking Dreams" are 2 of the best songs that he has ever done, and both of the extinctions are really great (albeit not uniformly so).

On the minus side: I don't like the story/concept/lyrics very much at all, it manages to out-cheese the whole of his pre-THE back catalogue put together (and even Rhapsody Of Fire would struggle to manage that), and I really have to try and not notice what they are singing about to be able not to cringe because of the sheer awfulness of most of the lyrics. It's a pity because on The Human Equation he really did have a great story that added to the music and that was very well executed, so that part feels a bit like a step backward to me.

Try to understand the 1st three songs... lyrics are MAJESTIC!
Hail mastermind Arjen Lucassen.

Written by Fernand on 17.02.2008 at 00:16

Try to understand the 1st three songs... lyrics are MAJESTIC!
Hail mastermind Arjen Lucassen.

I understand the lyrics to all of the songs just fine, but majestic is not quite the word that comes to mind whenever I hear them.

IMO, "Into The Electric Castle" is better than "The Human Equation" - I get the feeling that Lucassen is coasting rather than improving. Like so many other bands nowadays, he's found a "formula" and he's milking it. I haven't heard "01011001" yet, but I expect it to be about as good as all his other stuff. What is the motivation to buy an album if the artist is not breaking new ground? Is it about completion - having all the latest Ayreon? I want to hear something fresh, or at least something that shows musical growth and improvement - not the same thing I already have in my collection. (Even the title of the album is pretentious, and that's not a good sign!) I'm also disappointed at hearing that there aren't any "standout" songs on the album. But I'll give it a try and post here again later today...

...continuing from before...

As I feared, Lucassen's storytelling bent is taking away from his music. The tracks are all similar: heavy, pulsing electronica with an oversaturated "ambience" and a dearth of the mesmerizing progressive and folk elements of Ayreon past. Don't get me wrong; I do recognize that Lucassen is heading in a different direction, and that's good. But he also needs to push the creative envelope and - even more importantly - play to his strengths. (The man is a musician/composer, not the next Isaac Asimov!) The whole album sounds more stock 80s than inspired 70s, and is oddly reminiscent of a movie soundtrack.

On the plus side, I was pleasantly surprised to hear some Jean-Michel Jarre-influenced effects, particularly in "E=MC2" and "Waking Dreams." This type of sound could be a move in the right direction for Ayreon. The next album may well be astounding.

As it stands, the present offering is a B-rate science fiction musical first, and a prog metal album after the fact. Great for die-hard Ayreon fans and Star Trek junkies. Vague and tedious for those of us who don't care about the story and look forward to the music. (I will admit that "River of Time" is an excellent snapshot of Arjen's talent - but I will not purchase a double-album for the sake one track!)

Written by selken on 12.02.2008 at 06:51

Written by annodomini on 05.02.2008 at 23:32

It is really good album, but i still prefare Human Equation

+1 me too

+2

Oh and, I see some of the lyrics posted here on metalstorm say which singer sings each line, will it be done for every song?

Written by [user id=22888] on 17.02.2008 at 19:31

IMO, "Into The Electric Castle" is better than "The Human Equation" - I get the feeling that Lucassen is coasting rather than improving. Like so many other bands nowadays, he's found a "formula" and he's milking it. I haven't heard "01011001" yet, but I expect it to be about as good as all his other stuff. What is the motivation to buy an album if the artist is not breaking new ground? Is it about completion - having all the latest Ayreon? I want to hear something fresh, or at least something that shows musical growth and improvement - not the same thing I already have in my collection. (Even the title of the album is pretentious, and that's not a good sign!) I'm also disappointed at hearing that there aren't any "standout" songs on the album. But I'll give it a try and post here again later today...

This albums a bit heavier than THE and ITEC, with instrumentation being a bit more pronounced than his previous works.

Written by Paradox0 on 22.02.2008 at 21:33

Written by [user id=22888] on 17.02.2008 at 19:31

IMO, "Into The Electric Castle" is better than "The Human Equation" - I get the feeling that Lucassen is coasting rather than improving. Like so many other bands nowadays, he's found a "formula" and he's milking it. I haven't heard "01011001" yet, but I expect it to be about as good as all his other stuff. What is the motivation to buy an album if the artist is not breaking new ground? Is it about completion - having all the latest Ayreon? I want to hear something fresh, or at least something that shows musical growth and improvement - not the same thing I already have in my collection. (Even the title of the album is pretentious, and that's not a good sign!) I'm also disappointed at hearing that there aren't any "standout" songs on the album. But I'll give it a try and post here again later today...

This albums a bit heavier than THE and ITEC, with instrumentation being a bit more pronounced than his previous works.

Heavy is not Lucassen's strong suit IMO, although he is very capable with the synthesizers.

Great review! "01011001" starts off with such a bang, but unfortunately does lose its edge at points with those songs that need to be skipped. The concept is amazing and i love the story. Another great Lucassen album.

which vocalist sings on which song?

Great review!

Ive just finished listening to the 'Y' part.

Dont really see what the fuss is about musicially (i havent read the lyrics yet though). Pretty standard and typical Ayreon. I still think Flight Of The Migrator is their best album, followed by The Final Experiment.

I think i need a few more listens, there is still the Earth side too i have to hear