STAR ONE SPACE METAL
Inside Out Music - 2002
By Rodrigo Escandon
Space Metal has given me the biggest roller coaster ride from any recent album that I can remember. There are days when I just dont think that this album is good at all and it is a disappointment. Then there are the others days when I think that this is such a good album. It has gone back and forth for some time now and I have finally decided how I feel about this album. It is a very good album but there are some flaws to it that prevent me from rating it higher or comparing it to Ayreons last two albums.
Star One is not a concept album but it is a theme based album. In this I mean that all the songs are about science fiction movies like Star Wars, Alien, Dune Stargate and Star Trek to name a few and even the title of the bands project comes from an episode of Arjens favorite Science Fiction TV series Blakes 7. Now originally this album was supposed to be sung entirely by Bruce Dickinson but that did not fall through and instead Arjen used singers he has worked with in the past like Russell Allen, Damian Wilson, Floor Jansen, Robert Soeterboek and one singer he hadnt worked with, Dan Swanö. We will never know how this album would have sounded with Bruce but all the singers do an excellent job especially Floor and Russell who both get the most singing time.
Space Metal was planned to be Arjens heaviest album to date and when you compare it to Ayreon then this statement is correct but I kind of expected something heavier than this. I guess since the synths and keyboards are still very prominent in the music it doesnt sound very heavy at times but when you just talk about the guitars then there are some wicked riffs that Arjen had not played before like in Set Your Controls, Master of Darkness and Sandrider. So its probably me being picky about the heavy factor since I expected more so it is not really fair to knock some points over this. After all the synth arrangements are extremely cool, especially the first solo on Set Your Controls.
However, I can knock some points off for a couple of songs I did not like, Songs of the Ocean, Perfect Survivor and Starchild. Of all the Star Trek movies that Arjen could have chosen to write about, why did it have to be the one with the whales, #4? Thats what Songs of the Ocean is about and musically I just dont like the flow of it. Starchild is too long, too slow and it shows how badly used Dan Swanö was for this album. Why just let him sing at the beginning and the end for a few lines? He should have sung this entire song. Pefect Survivor based on Alien just doesnt convey the feeling of the movies for me. It sounds too happy.
Yet there are two strong reasons I enjoy this album, Sandrider and Intergalactic Space Crusaders. First of all they are both fast paced tunes, extremely catchy, the mix of the guitars and the synths is perfect as well as the use of the singers but once again I wish that Dan had sung more on Sandrider especially the choruses. But without a doubt the best song of the album is Intergalactic Space Crusaders (also based on Blakes 7) and it ranks right up there with Arjens best songs out of any of his projects. It has one of the best choruses I have ever heard, it had me singing it the first time I heard it, the verses sung by both Rusell and Damian provide a perfect balance and the music is just awesome. This song rules, it is that simple.
In the end, I enjoy listening to Space Metal despite the negatives I discussed. It has been released for some time so if you havent picked it up by now and you enjoy anything that Arjen does then this is highly recommended.
Inside Out Website
Star One/Ayreon Official Website
Inside Out Music - 2002
By Rodrigo Escandon
Space Metal has given me the biggest roller coaster ride from any recent album that I can remember. There are days when I just dont think that this album is good at all and it is a disappointment. Then there are the others days when I think that this is such a good album. It has gone back and forth for some time now and I have finally decided how I feel about this album. It is a very good album but there are some flaws to it that prevent me from rating it higher or comparing it to Ayreons last two albums.
Star One is not a concept album but it is a theme based album. In this I mean that all the songs are about science fiction movies like Star Wars, Alien, Dune Stargate and Star Trek to name a few and even the title of the bands project comes from an episode of Arjens favorite Science Fiction TV series Blakes 7. Now originally this album was supposed to be sung entirely by Bruce Dickinson but that did not fall through and instead Arjen used singers he has worked with in the past like Russell Allen, Damian Wilson, Floor Jansen, Robert Soeterboek and one singer he hadnt worked with, Dan Swanö. We will never know how this album would have sounded with Bruce but all the singers do an excellent job especially Floor and Russell who both get the most singing time.
Space Metal was planned to be Arjens heaviest album to date and when you compare it to Ayreon then this statement is correct but I kind of expected something heavier than this. I guess since the synths and keyboards are still very prominent in the music it doesnt sound very heavy at times but when you just talk about the guitars then there are some wicked riffs that Arjen had not played before like in Set Your Controls, Master of Darkness and Sandrider. So its probably me being picky about the heavy factor since I expected more so it is not really fair to knock some points over this. After all the synth arrangements are extremely cool, especially the first solo on Set Your Controls.
However, I can knock some points off for a couple of songs I did not like, Songs of the Ocean, Perfect Survivor and Starchild. Of all the Star Trek movies that Arjen could have chosen to write about, why did it have to be the one with the whales, #4? Thats what Songs of the Ocean is about and musically I just dont like the flow of it. Starchild is too long, too slow and it shows how badly used Dan Swanö was for this album. Why just let him sing at the beginning and the end for a few lines? He should have sung this entire song. Pefect Survivor based on Alien just doesnt convey the feeling of the movies for me. It sounds too happy.
Yet there are two strong reasons I enjoy this album, Sandrider and Intergalactic Space Crusaders. First of all they are both fast paced tunes, extremely catchy, the mix of the guitars and the synths is perfect as well as the use of the singers but once again I wish that Dan had sung more on Sandrider especially the choruses. But without a doubt the best song of the album is Intergalactic Space Crusaders (also based on Blakes 7) and it ranks right up there with Arjens best songs out of any of his projects. It has one of the best choruses I have ever heard, it had me singing it the first time I heard it, the verses sung by both Rusell and Damian provide a perfect balance and the music is just awesome. This song rules, it is that simple.
In the end, I enjoy listening to Space Metal despite the negatives I discussed. It has been released for some time so if you havent picked it up by now and you enjoy anything that Arjen does then this is highly recommended.
Inside Out Website
Star One/Ayreon Official Website
