BAND: AYREON
ALBUM: The Human Equation
LABEL: InsideOut Music
LABEL URL: http://www.insideoutmusic.com
RELEASE DATE: 2004
BAND URL: http://www.ayreon.com
TRACKLISTING
CD 1
1. Day one: Vigil
2. Day two: Isolation
3. Day three: Pain
4. Day four: Mystery
5. Day five: Voices
6. Day six: Childhood
7. Day seven: Hope
8. Day eight: School
9. Day nine: Playground
10. Day ten: Memories
11. Day eleven: Love
CD 2
12. Day twelve: Trauma
13. Day thirteen: Sign
14. Day fourteen: Pride
15. Day fifteen: Betrayal
16. Day sixteen: Loser
17. Day seventeen: Accident
18. Day eighteen: Realization
19. Day nineteen: Disclosure
20. Day twenty: Confrontation
REVIEW
Arjen Lucassen has turned his spaceship away from travelling the cosmos to instead inwards towards the human body creating a fantastic voyage of the human mind. James LaBrie (lead frontman of DREAM THEATRE) plays a comatose victim, laying on a hospital bed after a road traffic accident, unable to respond to any medical treatment. He awakes in his mind to a twenty day battle between good and evil which are testaments of his own past. The key question raised is: Will he be able to break down the barriers of his coma erected by his past and defeat the nasty characters that stand in his way?
The album is awash with complexity: musical influences from the sixties to modern day; infusion of cultural music and styles especially from the South American countries; the passion cut with ruthless post-production cuts and splices that give it an incongruous feel of complete and utter displacement. Couple this with the varied musicians on board and you only begin to scratch the surface of this album.
Devin Townsend plays the character Rage - his manic erratic style is moulded perfectly onto the album that leaves one unsettled; Mikael Akerfeldt (OPETH) is captured with his death and clean styles that are sprinkled throughout the album. Arjen himself appears on the album playing the best friend as well as a host of instruments.
This album is heavy, soft and progressive all the great elements that encapsulate Arjen into a league of his own. The Human Equation is by far Arjens greatest work no cliché, no naff verses only intelligent well balanced and brilliant musicianship is on display.
Reviewer Chief B
Rating 8.5/10
ALBUM: The Human Equation
LABEL: InsideOut Music
LABEL URL: http://www.insideoutmusic.com
RELEASE DATE: 2004
BAND URL: http://www.ayreon.com
TRACKLISTING
CD 1
1. Day one: Vigil
2. Day two: Isolation
3. Day three: Pain
4. Day four: Mystery
5. Day five: Voices
6. Day six: Childhood
7. Day seven: Hope
8. Day eight: School
9. Day nine: Playground
10. Day ten: Memories
11. Day eleven: Love
CD 2
12. Day twelve: Trauma
13. Day thirteen: Sign
14. Day fourteen: Pride
15. Day fifteen: Betrayal
16. Day sixteen: Loser
17. Day seventeen: Accident
18. Day eighteen: Realization
19. Day nineteen: Disclosure
20. Day twenty: Confrontation
REVIEW
Arjen Lucassen has turned his spaceship away from travelling the cosmos to instead inwards towards the human body creating a fantastic voyage of the human mind. James LaBrie (lead frontman of DREAM THEATRE) plays a comatose victim, laying on a hospital bed after a road traffic accident, unable to respond to any medical treatment. He awakes in his mind to a twenty day battle between good and evil which are testaments of his own past. The key question raised is: Will he be able to break down the barriers of his coma erected by his past and defeat the nasty characters that stand in his way?
The album is awash with complexity: musical influences from the sixties to modern day; infusion of cultural music and styles especially from the South American countries; the passion cut with ruthless post-production cuts and splices that give it an incongruous feel of complete and utter displacement. Couple this with the varied musicians on board and you only begin to scratch the surface of this album.
Devin Townsend plays the character Rage - his manic erratic style is moulded perfectly onto the album that leaves one unsettled; Mikael Akerfeldt (OPETH) is captured with his death and clean styles that are sprinkled throughout the album. Arjen himself appears on the album playing the best friend as well as a host of instruments.
This album is heavy, soft and progressive all the great elements that encapsulate Arjen into a league of his own. The Human Equation is by far Arjens greatest work no cliché, no naff verses only intelligent well balanced and brilliant musicianship is on display.
Reviewer Chief B
Rating 8.5/10
