Ayreon - UNIVERSAL MIGRATOR PART 2: FLIGHT OF THE MIGRATOR
Inside Out Music - 2000
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Flight of the Migrator is the second half of the Universal Migrator albums and while The Dream Sequencer was phenomenal, this album blew me away. While The Dream Sequencer was more of calm and tranquil musical journey, Flight of the Migrator is a heavy metal journey through space. This album has some heavy hitters from the world of metal like Bruce Dickinson, Andi Deris, Ralf Scheepers and Russell Allen and Michael Romeo of Symphony X. Just like in The Dream Sequencer, Arjen is able to recruit some of the best musicians from the progressive and metal world for this album.
At the beginning of the album, we find ourselves still with the last lone Mars colonist inside the Dream Sequencer. The Universal Migrator program has taken the colonist through different time periods on Earth now it will take him to the beginning of the universe and beyond!
Right away with the first track of the album "Chaos", (an instrumental) the listener is hit with the full force that this album means business. The synthesizer is once again the dominant instrument and Erik Norlander plays it excellently but its themes are more aggressive and heavier. Arjen plays the guitars skillfully and comes out with some great leads, riffs and solos that complement beautifully the sounds of the synths. Other musicians make appearances to add their distinctive touch to the compositions, Michael Romeo submits an excellent guitar solo on "Dawn of a Million Souls" and Oscar Holleman and Rene Merkelbach add their skills on guitar and synth respectively to the end of "To the Quasar" to give the song a grand finish. Andi Deris of Helloween sings on this track and he gives a very strong performance.
The following track, "Into the Black Hole" is sung by none other than Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. Not only is it the longest song of both albums but it is easily the best song of both albums. This song sends shivers down my spine with its haunting beginning and melody that really makes me feel like I am about to enter the Black Hole. It then goes into full force about halfway and it just does not stop at all. Lana Lane adds some very pleasant vocal melodies towards the end of the song and finally a great synth solo by Clive Nolan adds the final touch. Bruce's performance is truly amazing and on par with his best work. This might be the best song he recorded in 2000 (I know fans of Brave New World will kill me for this). There are some other great songs found on this album especially "The New Migrator" sung by Ian Parry of Elegy and "Out of the White Hole" sung by Timo Kotipelto of Stratovarius.
While not entirely a metal album by some standards, this album is really a must get. Some people might be turned off by the synthesizer use, but believe me its what really makes this album great. Together the Universal Migrator albums are easily my top choice for albums of the year. If you feel like expanding your musical library and trying something new I highly recommend you try them.
Inside Out Music - 2000
/images/covers/ayreon_flight.gif
Flight of the Migrator is the second half of the Universal Migrator albums and while The Dream Sequencer was phenomenal, this album blew me away. While The Dream Sequencer was more of calm and tranquil musical journey, Flight of the Migrator is a heavy metal journey through space. This album has some heavy hitters from the world of metal like Bruce Dickinson, Andi Deris, Ralf Scheepers and Russell Allen and Michael Romeo of Symphony X. Just like in The Dream Sequencer, Arjen is able to recruit some of the best musicians from the progressive and metal world for this album.
At the beginning of the album, we find ourselves still with the last lone Mars colonist inside the Dream Sequencer. The Universal Migrator program has taken the colonist through different time periods on Earth now it will take him to the beginning of the universe and beyond!
Right away with the first track of the album "Chaos", (an instrumental) the listener is hit with the full force that this album means business. The synthesizer is once again the dominant instrument and Erik Norlander plays it excellently but its themes are more aggressive and heavier. Arjen plays the guitars skillfully and comes out with some great leads, riffs and solos that complement beautifully the sounds of the synths. Other musicians make appearances to add their distinctive touch to the compositions, Michael Romeo submits an excellent guitar solo on "Dawn of a Million Souls" and Oscar Holleman and Rene Merkelbach add their skills on guitar and synth respectively to the end of "To the Quasar" to give the song a grand finish. Andi Deris of Helloween sings on this track and he gives a very strong performance.
The following track, "Into the Black Hole" is sung by none other than Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. Not only is it the longest song of both albums but it is easily the best song of both albums. This song sends shivers down my spine with its haunting beginning and melody that really makes me feel like I am about to enter the Black Hole. It then goes into full force about halfway and it just does not stop at all. Lana Lane adds some very pleasant vocal melodies towards the end of the song and finally a great synth solo by Clive Nolan adds the final touch. Bruce's performance is truly amazing and on par with his best work. This might be the best song he recorded in 2000 (I know fans of Brave New World will kill me for this). There are some other great songs found on this album especially "The New Migrator" sung by Ian Parry of Elegy and "Out of the White Hole" sung by Timo Kotipelto of Stratovarius.
While not entirely a metal album by some standards, this album is really a must get. Some people might be turned off by the synthesizer use, but believe me its what really makes this album great. Together the Universal Migrator albums are easily my top choice for albums of the year. If you feel like expanding your musical library and trying something new I highly recommend you try them.
