Band:	Ayreon
Album:	The Human Equation
Style:	Progressive metal, Progressive rock
Release date:	May 25, 2004
A review by:	Jeff

Disc I
01. Day One: Vigil
02. Day Two: Isolation
03. Day Three: Pain
04. Day Four: Mystery
05. Day Five: Voices
06. Day Six: Childhood
07. Day Seven: Hope
08. Day Eight: School
09. Day Nine: Playground
10. Day Ten: Memories
11. Day Eleven: Love

Disc II
01. Day Twelve: Trauma
02. Day Thirteen: Sign
03. Day Fourteen: Pride
04. Day Fifteen: Betrayal
05. Day Sixteen: Loser
06. Day Seventeen: Accident?
07. Day Eighteen: Realization
08. Day Nineteen: Disclosure
09. Day Twenty: Confrontation

Disc III [special edition bonus DVD]
+ Inside - Behind The Sence
+ Concept - Concept Of The Human Equation
+ Drums - Interview With Ed Warby's Drums
+ Video - Day Eleven: Love [Video}
+ Teaser - Teaser Trailer

After 4 long years, one of the best musicians is back with again something? just magic? Thanks a lot for being back Arjen, thanks again for producing great stuff like you do each and every time.
My friends, the new fantastic album of Mr Lucassen through Ayreon is released now and I'm proud to say that we have here one of the most beautiful things that I've ever heard. "The Human Equation" with its fantastic guest singers combo, with its magic musicians, with its beautiful songs, is now in store and the only thing that I can say is that all the guys who pretend to be metal or music lovers must own it. Otherwise? Shame on you?

You have to know that "The Human Equation" is a concept album and therefore, I will try to explain the story of this magnificent production. The 20 tracks [on 2CDs] represent 20 days of the life of our heroes: "Me" [James Labrie: Dream Theater]. After a serious car accident "Me" lies on a bed at the hospital, in the coma. His "Best Friend" [Arjen Lucassen] and his "Wife" [Marcela Bovio: Elfonia] are waiting near him, wondering a lot of things? Can he hear them? Will he survive? Does he love her [them]??.
During all this time, "Me" is confronted in his mind to his father [Mike Baker: Shadow Gallery] and too all the feelings humans can have.
Some "bad" feelings: The "Agony" [Devon Graves: Dead Soul Tribe] who shows him the reality of his accident, the "Fear" [Mikael Akerfeldt: Opeth] who is always trying to make him doubt. Some feelings which are just synonymous with reality like the "Rage" [Devin Townsend] to survive or to be in that status? the "Pride" [Magnus Ekwall: The Quill] and the Reason [Eric Clayton: Saviour Machine] who can give him the desire to survive? or to die.
"Me" is also confronted to some nice feelings like the "Love" [Heather Findlay: Mostly Autumn] and the "Passion" [Irene Jansen], who give him the desire to live, the desire to see again his wife and his friend, who show him that he is someone and that he deserves to be alive?
It's really hard to explain all the story, because you'll see that in fact it's very well done and there are loads of surprises, you'll get that when you listen to the cd.

Musically this new Ayreon is in the vein of the music of Lucassen, a lot of beautiful melodies, sometime sad, sometime happy but always very well written. For the ones who know Lucassen's music there is again a lot of Keyboards, flute, violins etc? and it sound again very Atmospheric, very Progressive and also "Heavy" in the style. But the great stuff who shows that Arjen is certainly one of the best musical compositor on Earth is this easiness that the master has to write his music for us, for him, but also for his guest musicians. I mean that when Devin is singing, it sounds like Devin Townsend? When Mikael do his parts, that's same? Of course it's Ayreon but it's really easy to feel the music of Opeth [in Damnation mode] in it. Is it not great ? Personally I think it is, and It's hard for me to find any musicians who can do that like him.
All the songs are killers, the stories is superb so are the lyrics, and the singers line up can't be better. Give me someone better like Devin Townsend with his tortured vocals to do "Rage"? Give me someone better than Mikael Akerfeldt [who show again here that he is one of the best singer, even the best for me, in the Metal Scene], with his sad and dark voice, to do Fear or someone better than Eric Clayton with his powerful and low voice to do the "Reason"? The voices of the three girls are also magic? Do I need to continue ? I don't think so? It can't be better for sure?

Even the musicians are great, with Arjen of course who do all the guitars, bass, and some parts of Keyboards, Ed Warby magic drummer on the cd and a ton of great guest musicians like Joost van den Broek for example. Does I need to talk about the production? No really, because again it's a pure professional work.. A perfect sound [really nothing to say on it?], a great cover and beautiful lay out?


This is "The Human Equation"?a fantastic album by a great guy from Holland... Thx again Mr Lucassen to do such music. It deserves the maximum rating from me... My friends you need to have this CD because I'm sure that like me you'll listen to it again and again and again? We are lucky this year, again we have a new masterpiece, and this time for sure we could never forget this album. In one word magic?