So I've been reading a bit on Ayreon

[#1_Droogie]

Would there be any best place to start? I haven't heard any of Arjen's material before, but I'm really interested. The concepts behind his albums are absolutely genius. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tsorl]

I recommend the Universal Migrator 2cd special edition, it sorta has both sides of the Ayreon coin in one, the prog rock and prog metal. CD1 is the soft and CD2 the heavy one. Those albums were actually originally released separately but this '04 special edition has them bundled, for the price of a normal cd.

His latest, The Human Equation, will probably get a few votes too but personally I thought it was an over-extended borefest...

 

[#1_Droogie]

Awesome, I'll definitely get the reissued Universal Migrator first. I think I'll be picking up The Human Equation too, with guests such as Devon Graves, Mikael Akerfeldt and Devin Townsend I can't help but pass it up. Thanks for the tips

 

[carnut]

His latest, The Human Equation, will probably get a few votes too but personally I thought it was an over-extended borefest...

I personally think The Human Equation is about the best album of the last decade

 

[SoundMaster]

Human Equation is friggin awesome, but the Migrator 2CD set is the best place to start. The songwriting on both discs is unparalleled.

Guest vocalists include Johan Edlund (Tiamat) and Bruce Dickinson, among scores of others.

 

[#1_Droogie]

I personally think The Human Equation is about the best album of the last decade

That's good enough for me

I think I might have to bump these two purchases up higher on my to get list, I'm excited to hear this "opera" of sorts.

 

[Wyvern]

My personal feeling is to go first with "The Universal Migrator - pt2. Flight Of The Migrator" the most metal stuff if you dig that then go for pt.1 "The Dream Sequencer" is you still dig it then got all the ret of the material is ALL worthy and then look for Star One his other project more metal too.


NP: Tank - 'Walking Barefoot Over Glass'

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

Can't go wrong with Human Equation. Album of the year, 2004. One of my favorites of ALL TIME.

 

[tsorl]

I personally think The Human Equation is about the best album of the last decade

The first cd is really good but the second one... not so. Just unmemorable 7-8min tracks after another. Listening to the album starts to feel more like a chore instead of pleasure. In a way it's two sides of the Ayreon coin here as well; the inspired and the boring.

I think Arjen could've been a little less ambitious this time and made one compact CD instead of two. Then again, he's a proven genius and I'm not, so...

 

[YouthanAsia]

Go get The Human Equation. It's a perfect mix of everything: from folk to hard rock to metal and some things inbetween.

 

[Fangface]

The Electric Castle is my favorite, probably because it was my first disc from them, but it's less metal sounding than "The Universal Migrator" and usually later/recent Ayreon works get more praise.

Star One is also an amazing side-project, including the live album/dvd which features fantastic live renditions of a few Ayreon songs. Can't go wrong with Lucassen's art!