Ayreon/Arjen Lucassen Thread (Star Three on the way)

[Herrick]

I read in this thread that another album is in the works but I couldn't find anything about it online.

[The Walrus]

I read in this thread that another album is in the works but I couldn't find anything about it online.

[jingle.boy]

and it's pretty corny to hear them sing about that imo. Just my two cents. I hope we get another Ayreon album.

I think the corniness in The Source comes through loud and clear in Everybody Dies, not in specifically referencing the name of the planet and ship - which is exponentially LESS corny than finger licking good, downloading all the latest torrents, or everything about Web of Lies. 

[The Walrus]

and it's pretty corny to hear them sing about that imo. Just my two cents. I hope we get another Ayreon album.

I think the corniness in The Source comes through loud and clear in Everybody Dies, not in specifically referencing the name of the planet and ship - which is exponentially LESS corny than finger licking good, downloading all the latest torrents, or everything about Web of Lies.

Interesting! I actually really like ED because of the unexpectedly catchy beat and vocal melody.  Also hard disagree on Connect the Dots, because its lyrical content is relatable. I dunno what's corny about finger lickin' good fast food in the context of a song about every day life although it's definitely not a go to lyric for sure 

I won't defend Web of Lies. 

[jingle.boy]

Don't get me wrong, I fucking love Everybody Dies!  But dayum, doze lyrics 

[The Walrus]

They're pretty bad but at least the music is good. I turned the album off after "Into the Ocean" played. What a dreadfully lame song.

[Herrick]

and it's pretty corny to hear them sing about that imo. Just my two cents. I hope we get another Ayreon album.

I think the corniness in The Source comes through loud and clear in Everybody Dies, not in specifically referencing the name of the planet and ship - which is exponentially LESS corny than finger licking good, downloading all the latest torrents, or everything about Web of Lies.

Yeah that song with the finger-licking good part always makes me cringe. I've never been bothered by all the sci-fi stuff being blatantly mentioned...from what little I know about Arjen, he'd probably smile & admit the whole thing is a bit silly.

The only thing about the album that is vocally off-putting for me is the guy from Between The Buried And Me. His voice doesn't really stand up with all the other talented singers. He sounds out of place. I don't think he's bad by any means though, and I like his clean vocals in his own band.

Edit: You know what? I'm talking about the wrong album. Tommy Rogers (?) sings on The Source.

[MirrorMask]

Didn't those lyrics, at least, have an in-album explanation? they're supposed to be that bad, because they portray the mediocrity of the everyday, boring man that "sings" them. Same for Web of Lies, they're meant to convey how naive is Simone for believing in love at first click. This doesn't save them of course, but at least there's a reason for that, it's not that Arjen was in a hurry to finish the album and just winged the lyrics on those two 'cause he couldn't come up with anything better.

[The Walrus]

Didn't those lyrics, at least, have an in-album explanation? they're supposed to be that bad, because they portray the mediocrity of the everyday, boring man that "sings" them. Same for Web of Lies, they're meant to convey how naive is Simone for believing in love at first click. This doesn't save them of course, but at least there's a reason for that, it's not that Arjen was in a hurry to finish the album and just winged the lyrics on those two 'cause he couldn't come up with anything better.

Yeah, that's true. That's why they don't bother me, because they came from the characters' point of view, and they're just everyday people. I love the line, "Well if he comes down, tell him I'll be right here just staring at the tube, playing his game" - reminds me of when my dad hooked up my Nintendo 64 when I was a kid and was playing Super Mario 64 one evening.

Web of Lies I like because I get the concept behind it, it's just so creepy and weird. "I've seen your pics, you're looking great"

[Kwyjibo]

There are tons of songs out there with cringe-worthy bad or silly or stupid or nonsens lyrics, so I don't mind them with Ayreon. And Arjen has the excuse of not being a native speaker.

And I always wondered what is wrong with finger licking good? Does this phrase not exist in the english language or what's the matter with it?

[jingle.boy]

It is/was the tag-line of a very famous fried chicken fast-food chain.  To me, it always sounded like lyric that is a caricature of itself.  I don't know how else to put it.

[The Walrus]

I just took it to mean "really tasty food" despite also being the tagline for KFC

[Kwyjibo]

Didn't know it was the tagline for KFC, and I'm not sure Arjen knew. We have that phrase in german too, without the fastfood connection.

[jingle.boy]

Changing lanes... I still have the two tix for ITEC Live.  Not sure if anyone else is perusing this thread that's interested or knows someone who might be.  I'm gonna hit a Reddit forum, and a few other forums that I've seen talk about Ayreon.

Not sure where else I could find any demand for them?

[ErHaO]

At ticketswap.com I see that there are plenty of people interested.

The Ayreon facebook reccomended that site in the past (see this post on the Ayreon facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArjenLucassenOfficial/posts/10154575143356152?comment_id=10154578273386152&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%2311%22%7D)

[nattmorker]

The lyrics of Connecting the dots don't bother me at all, as several have mentioned, they fit the intent of the song. It is one of my favorite songs on the album actually.

[jingle.boy]

At ticketswap.com I see that there are plenty of people interested.

The Ayreon facebook reccomended that site in the past (see this post on the Ayreon facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArjenLucassenOfficial/posts/10154575143356152?comment_id=10154578273386152&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%2311%22%7D)

Thanks for the tip my man!

[Herrick]

There are tons of songs out there with cringe-worthy bad or silly or stupid or nonsens lyrics, so I don't mind them with Ayreon. And Arjen has the excuse of not being a native speaker.

I haven't noticed any lyrics that were odd because of any language barrier. From what I can tell, Arjen speaks fluent English and even knows all the catch phrases and stuff.

[Shredzorz]

The only problem I have with any of Arjen's lyrics is that line in The Sixth Extinction where Jorn Lande says "generic variation". That's obviously supposed to be genetic variation, right? Was there just a typo or did Jorn misread them?

Other than that, his lyrics are usually pretty good. Including finger-licking good and Everybody Dies.

[TAC]

"generic variation".

Not familiar in any way with the song, but this could be an oxymoron, no?

[Shredzorz]

"generic variation".

Not familiar in any way with the song, but this could be an oxymoron, no?

Well the whole album is literally about genes and evolution and things like that, so that's why I assume the line is supposed to be literal as well. But I suppose anything is possible.

[TAC]

"generic variation".

Not familiar in any way with the song, but this could be an oxymoron, no?

Well the whole album is literally about genes and evolution

Except it's titled The Sixth Extinction. Maybe a "generic variation" contributed to said extinction.

[Adami]

Googled Generic Variation.

Asked me if I meant Genetic Variation. 

[ErHaO]

Generic Variation is definitely a term used in scientific articles, but given the context of the album, I assume that was not intended.

Sometimes weird words make it into science fiction and people complain, yet the term is in fact correct/something that is actually used. Biggest example would be Unobtainium in Cameron's Avatar.

At ticketswap.com I see that there are plenty of people interested.

The Ayreon facebook reccomended that site in the past (see this post on the Ayreon facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArjenLucassenOfficial/posts/10154575143356152?comment_id=10154578273386152&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%2311%22%7D)

Thanks for the tip my man!

No problem!

[425]

I just listened to The Source for the first time (I am TERRIBLE at keeping up with new releases, and absolutely will just neglect something for two years).

To be honest, based on just one listen, this album might unseat 01011001 as my favorite Ayreon album. It has pretty much all of the things I like about Ayreon and few of the things I don't: It has a great cast of singers, probably beating out even 01011001 in that respect. There is a lot of change in tempo, unlike a lot of their other albums that very much sit at mid-tempo, which can be a bit tiresome after an hour and a half. It's a heavier album, which I tend to like from Arjen (when he goes soft he does a little too much with the cheesy flutes and other folk stuff for my liking). I didn't read all the lyrics, but I followed along for large chunks of it and I didn't find many awful lines as compared to his other albums. The lyrics here are mainly mediocre, which is what I hope for from Ayreon. And the music seems to be more consistently good than usual.

Overall, I should've listened to this sooner because it hits exactly the aspect of Ayreon that I like best, and it may even end up becoming my favorite one of theirs.

[Ben_Jamin]

I had to make me a mashup of March of The Machines and Age of Shadows. Its so neat how good they sync.

I kinda lose interest a bit at Into The Ocean and Bay of Dreams. Still good songs.

Also the rip of my cd onto itunes sucks because you can hear like the last millisecond of Sea of Machines in the beginning to Everybody Dies.

[Nel]

I just listened to The Source for the first time (I am TERRIBLE at keeping up with new releases, and absolutely will just neglect something for two years).

Never feel bad about that. I still have albums from 2015 that I'm considering "new albums I still need to get around to listening to". 

Last week I finally found a copy of Actual Fantasy Revisited, so now I'm happy to say I have every studio album!

[Ben_Jamin]

I just listened to The Source for the first time (I am TERRIBLE at keeping up with new releases, and absolutely will just neglect something for two years).

Never feel bad about that. I still have albums from 2015 that I'm considering "new albums I still need to get around to listening to". 

Last week I finally found a copy of Actual Fantasy Revisited, so now I'm happy to say I have every studio album!

I haven't even heard Actual Fantasy at all yet and just a few songs from The Final Experiment. Mainly from Ayreon Universe.

[SwedishGoose]

So.... we are closing in on the Electric Castle and Other Stories, any guesses for the other stories?

Here are mine:

The Gentle Storm - Shores of India
Lost in the New Real - Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin
Stream of Passion - Passion
Guilt Machine - Twisted Coil
Ambeon - Cold Metal
Star One - Songs of the Ocean

[SwedishGoose]

Anyone interrested in a single ticket for the show on saturday?

[jingle.boy]

Anyone interrested in a single ticket for the show on saturday?

I was able to unload both of mine on Ticketswap if you want to try that route.  Ended up making some money in the process.

[SwedishGoose]

Anyone interrested in a single ticket for the show on saturday?

I was able to unload both of mine on Ticketswap if you want to try that route.  Ended up making some money in the process.

Thanks for the tip....

[Cyclopssss]

So.... we are closing in on the Electric Castle and Other Stories, any guesses for the other stories?

Here are mine:

The Gentle Storm - Shores of India
Lost in the New Real - Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin
Stream of Passion - Passion
Guilt Machine - Twisted Coil
Ambeon - Cold Metal
Star One - Songs of the Ocean

If he'd only get Astrid van der Veen out of retirement to sing Cold Metal. That would be a huge pleaser for me. They'll probably go with Bovio again, though.

[SwedishGoose]

So.... we are closing in on the Electric Castle and Other Stories, any guesses for the other stories?

Here are mine:

The Gentle Storm - Shores of India
Lost in the New Real - Pink Beatles in a Purple Zeppelin
Stream of Passion - Passion
Guilt Machine - Twisted Coil
Ambeon - Cold Metal
Star One - Songs of the Ocean

If he'd only get Astrid van der Veen out of retirement to sing Cold Metal. That would be a huge pleaser for me. They'll probably go with Bovio again, though.

No Astrid unfortunately.... Ambeon will be sung by Simone Simons

[Ben_Jamin]

I'm thinking he'll keep The Eye of Ra. That's the perfect song for everyone to come out and sing to.