With all the hub-bub about the Earbooks, I wonder what's going to happen with the version I ordered off of Amazon. I'm mildly concerned the description is not actually a "Deluxe 5-Disc Photobook"
I'm sure they'll be fine. This is specifically a Mascot Label issue. They're shipping person, shipped the wrong ones out from their stock.
Amazon has its own stock. And I would hope a company like Amazon will ship the right item.
Who here likes the connection to The Human Equation and how Me and His Wife are the Reincarnated souls of Daniel and Abby.
Has anyone brought this up to Arjen to see if he likes the idea/theory?
If Me is a reincarnation of Daniel, then he's got pretty bad luck with fathers, then. Of course, it seems like there are no good fathers in the Ayreon Universe...
But are we even sure that the characters in The Human Equation were real people, or were they fabricated for the Dream Sequencer program used by the Forever?
At any rate, I think Arjen said that the story of Transitus isn't directly tied to the normal Ayreon Universe, and those visual nuggets in the comic were just fun easter eggs. I think if he brings back the Angel and her Furies, or the concept of Transitus, in a future album, then yeah, he'll definitely consider the album as part of the larger Ayreon Universe, but aside from those easter eggs, it's a pretty stand-alone story, like The Theory Of Everything.
I wonder if Arjen will return to the Ayreon Universe on the next one, which at the rate he typically releases albums under the Ayreon banner, will probably be around 2024 or 2025. Before then, though, he's currently thinking of doing another Star One album, since it's been 10 years since the last one, so he'll probably plan for that in the next year or two.
He's also thought about doing another live concert, and I would love to see him do The Theory Of Everything live. I think the simple story and smaller cast could make for a great live show. I highly doubt he'd do 01011001, considering how LARGE that album is in terms of scope and cast. He could throw us all for a loop and do The Final Experiment Live, which could make for some fun sets on the stage. I think we could rule out Actual Fantasy and the Universal Migrator Albums for complete live shows. I'd say the best bets would be TTOE and Transitus, and maybe the latter is more likely since the vocalists already have costumes designed for them that could work well for a stage production. The set could be divided into 2 areas with Transitus being the bottom/front end of the stage, and the estate in the 2nd level/back half of the stage. But given the state of live music this year and possibly through next year, another live Ayreon production is probably at least year or two away at this rate.
-Marc