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

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Ayreon - Get Out! Now! (feat. Dee Snider, Tommy Karevik & Joe Satriani) (Official Lyric Video)
Ayreon - Hopelessly Slipping Away (feat. Tom Baker, Cammie Gilbert & Tommy Karevik) (Transitus)

[cramx3]

Ayreon - Get Out! Now! (feat. Dee Snider, Tommy Karevik & Joe Satriani) (Official Lyric Video)
Ayreon - Hopelessly Slipping Away (feat. Tom Baker, Cammie Gilbert & Tommy Karevik) (Transitus)

Don't love either of these songs (don't hate em either) but damn Tommy (my favorite vocalist) sounds so good on these. 

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Ayreon - Get Out! Now! (feat. Dee Snider, Tommy Karevik & Joe Satriani) (Official Lyric Video)
Ayreon - Hopelessly Slipping Away (feat. Tom Baker, Cammie Gilbert & Tommy Karevik) (Transitus)

Don't love either of these songs (don't hate em either) but damn Tommy (my favorite vocalist) sounds so good on these.

Yea I wasn't blown away either, I think I enjoyed the latter more.

[The Walrus]

Super disappointing. Three dud singers (Tommy's not bad technically speaking but I don't like him in this music). Really bummed about this now. I like Ayreon less when Tommy is in the mix but Cammie and Dee Snider are even more uninteresting.

[Stadler]

I LIKE Dee Snider, and I'm not pumped for this.  I'll listen (later today when my calls are done), but I'm really into the more operatic aspect of Ayreon's work.  Dee's a great singer, but I have my doubts. 

Huh; color me surprised.  I liked these. The second song was better than the first, but I liked these.   Hmm.

[jingle.boy]

Musically, it's alright.  Nothing that I haven't heard a lot out of Ayreon - though the drumming has a more unique sound from the past few Ayreon albums.  Slipping Away seems like a seque song to take a breather.  Cammie sounds ok, but she's no Floor/AVG/Marcelo/Heather Findlay.

I hope that this isn't one of those albums where there's going to be narration in every track to propel the story forward.  TTOE did a good job of putting the story in the liner notes.  I don't really need to have Dr. Who telling me what's happening at the outset of every song.

[Northern Lion]

Yeah, they were just OK, but Sach's solo was 

[ErHaO]

Get Out is a nice rocker but nothing special, but a very nice solo. I think Slipping Away is good, but it really feels like a track that needs to be heard in the context of the album.

[Ben_Jamin]

Musically, it's alright.  Nothing that I haven't heard a lot out of Ayreon - though the drumming has a more unique sound from the past few Ayreon albums.  Slipping Away seems like a seque song to take a breather.  Cammie sounds ok, but she's no Floor/AVG/Marcelo/Heather Findlay.

I hope that this isn't one of those albums where there's going to be narration in every track to propel the story forward.  TTOE did a good job of putting the story in the liner notes.  I don't really need to have Dr. Who telling me what's happening at the outset of every song.

I'm guessing it does.

He went full on Sci-Fi nerd mode this time. Even doing a comic book.

[KevShmev]

How well the narration works will become more clear once hear the whole album.  I think it works most of the time on Electric Castle, but that was like a lightning in a bottle album, so who knows if he can get that lucky again.

I think both songs were solid, with Hopelessly Slipping Away the better of the two, but definitely hope there is a lot better to come.

[allewartenaufdaslicht_]

Was anyone else a little disappointed by the artwork? Ayreon used to have awesome, nerdy album covers always according to the respective concept of the album... when I saw the Transitus cover, I wondered why you would work so long and hard on something and then just give it such a meaningless and low-budget-like artwork. Might be an unpopular opinion but that‘s how I feel...

[ErHaO]

Maybe it is a label/marketing thing?

Anyways, somewhat related to Ayreon covers, my parents actually bought two Bertels pieces after visiting him (which was the result after being impressed by the gallery in Tilburg last year). Seeing his art in real life is amazing. Such an attention to detail and his oil paintings really pop.



This is one of them (the other has a totally different vibe, looks beautiful too though)

[Northern Lion]

I could be wrong, but it looks like there's some Dr. Sues inspiration in there.  Very cool painting.  (I have a truck load of kids, that's why I noticed )

[IDontNotDoThings]

I have a truck load of kids

phrasing...

[ErHaO]

I could be wrong, but it looks like there's some Dr. Sues inspiration in there.  Very cool painting.  (I have a truck load of kids, that's why I noticed )

Never heard of that (as per google it seems to be more of an American thing). But, yes, I really like this piece, and it has similarities to his works featured in the Ayreon show of last year (those creatures, for example) (the other one looks more like a Yes cover and is an aquarel painting, but I don't have a picture, also very nice though). 

I was kind of hoping that Arjen would start working with Bertels again, given that art gallery displaying Ayreon stuff last year. The Into The Electric Castle cover looked amazing in person.

[Northern Lion]

Sorry everyone, I forgot not everyone is from America.  Yes the phrase "truck load" is American and is an overly dramatic form of the phrase "a lot".

[The Walrus]

  Everyone who isn't familiar with that is just picturing NL driving a truck literally filled with children

[ErHaO]

So I was looking for finally buying 01 and Theory on vinyl to complete my collection. What the hell are these prices  God, wish I had bought these years back when Ayreon vinyls were like 20-25 euros (that is what I payed for most of the others).

Kind of hope they will do some rereleases in the future.

Sorry everyone, I forgot not everyone is from America.  Yes the phrase "truck load" is American and is an overly dramatic form of the phrase "a lot".

Heh, well I understood that part (I know the saying of "a boatload of...), I was referring to Dr Seuss. Never heard of any of his work, that was not part of growing up for me at least.

[Northern Lion]

So I was looking for finally buying 01 and Theory on vinyl to complete my collection. What the hell are these prices  God, wish I had bought these years back when Ayreon vinyls were like 20-25 euros (that is what I payed for most of the others).

Kind of hope they will do some rereleases in the future.

Sorry everyone, I forgot not everyone is from America.  Yes the phrase "truck load" is American and is an overly dramatic form of the phrase "a lot".

Heh, well I understood that part (I know the saying of "a boatload of...), I was referring to Dr Seuss. Never heard of any of his work, that was not part of growing up for me at least.

Oh, I thought he was universally known.  Well, you learn something new every day .  Dr Sues did some really weird and crazy art in his children's books, and that picture looked like the artist was at least somewhat inspired by Dr Sues.  At least to me anyway.

[Evermind]

I really liked both songs. I'm getting a strong TTOE vibe with the storytelling, which is a good thing for me. All three singers sounded very good. My hopes are high for this album.

[Nel]

Was anyone else a little disappointed by the artwork? Ayreon used to have awesome, nerdy album covers always according to the respective concept of the album... when I saw the Transitus cover, I wondered why you would work so long and hard on something and then just give it such a meaningless and low-budget-like artwork. Might be an unpopular opinion but that‘s how I feel...

It sucks. Like, it looks like a slipcover that would go around the real cover. Even The Source's cover was interesting to look at. It's so low-budget looking.

[Ben_Jamin]

I really liked both songs. I'm getting a strong TTOE vibe with the storytelling, which is a good thing for me. All three singers sounded very good. My hopes are high for this album.

Same here, I liked that about TToE. The way I split it up is how Arjen did on the tracklisting. I enjoy the way the songs play out to form a cohesive whole, as Phases. It actually, makes it where not 1 singer dominates and each plays there Characters fantastically.

Which brings me to why I enjoyed the songs he released. I can get a sense of the characters from the singers. Hopelessly Slipping Away is a perfect example of that.

You Don't Belong Here, suits Dee Snider a voice well as it sounds like an 80's style hard rock songs like Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot,  Scorpions.

[Northern Lion]

Everyone who isn't familiar with that is just picturing NL driving a truck literally filled with children

   And it isn't far from the truth either!

[gmillerdrake]

I had seen Ayreon mentioned many times throughout the years here at DTF but never gave them a listen. Then, in a text conversation one day with DTF's own KevShmev.....he sold me on giving them a whirl.

I started with The Human Equation and Into the Electric Castle and spun those two for a couple weeks. Really liked them.....then a couple days ago added 01011001. I have been listening to that one non stop the past four or five days....just REALLY like that one. I liked the other two also a lot but out of the three I've heard so far 01011001 is in the lead.

Probably add another one of theirs this week....it's been a fun 'discovery'

[jingle.boy]

I had seen Ayreon mentioned many times throughout the years here at DTF but never gave them a listen. Then, in a text conversation one day with DTF's own KevShmev.....he sold me on giving them a whirl.

I started with The Human Equation and Into the Electric Castle and spun those two for a couple weeks. Really liked them.....then a couple days ago added 01011001. I have been listening to that one non stop the past four or five days....just REALLY like that one. I liked the other two also a lot but out of the three I've heard so far 01011001 is in the lead.

Probably add another one of theirs this week....it's been a fun 'discovery'

Welcome to the club.     If you like the metal side of the music, I'd go with The Universal Migrator.  Or if you want to go even a bit heavier, check out the two Star One albums - one of Arjen's other b(r)ands.

If you like more of the prog, The Dream Sequencer and The Theory of Everything should be next on your list.

[The Walrus]

Sometimes I wonder if I'm actually an Ayreon fan because despite owning almost all of the albums (special editions for everything from Human Equation to the present) I'm not really big on any of the records except 01011001... which is one of the best prog albums of all time imo. And that one seems to be maligned by a lot of the fanbase for some reason, maybe because of Arjen's comments about regrets from recording it. Idk.

His choice of singers in modern times has unfortunately turned me off of the music more often than not. On TTOE my favorite tracks are Progressive Waves and Quantum Chaos... The Source is a pretty good album (maybe not 2 discs' worth good, though) but the singers all clash together imo. Tobi is my favorite singer of the bunch but he stands out like a sore thumb.

[KevShmev]

I had seen Ayreon mentioned many times throughout the years here at DTF but never gave them a listen. Then, in a text conversation one day with DTF's own KevShmev.....he sold me on giving them a whirl.

I started with The Human Equation and Into the Electric Castle and spun those two for a couple weeks. Really liked them.....then a couple days ago added 01011001. I have been listening to that one non stop the past four or five days....just REALLY like that one. I liked the other two also a lot but out of the three I've heard so far 01011001 is in the lead.

Probably add another one of theirs this week....it's been a fun 'discovery'

 

Glad you are still digging it! As I mentioned before, I figured this music would be to your liking. 

Welcome to the club.     If you like the metal side of the music, I'd go with The Universal Migrator.  Or if you want to go even a bit heavier, check out the two Star One albums - one of Arjen's other b(r)ands.

If you like more of the prog, The Dream Sequencer and The Theory of Everything should be next on your list.

I would personally recommend someone saving The Theory of Everything till later on (since it is basically 4 20-minute plus songs, and it seems like most fans agree that it is one of Ayreon's least best efforts), but I totally agree about Flight of the Migrator and The Dream Sequencer, both of which I have already recommended to Gary to get next (or you can get them as a whole as the Universal Migrator double album).  Basically, we are mostly on the same page. 

[Cool Chris]

I had seen Ayreon mentioned many times throughout the years here at DTF but never gave them a listen. Then, in a text conversation one day with DTF's own KevShmev.....he sold me on giving them a whirl.

Probably add another one of theirs this week....it's been a fun 'discovery'

I am not a huge Ayreon fan, but of all the bands I discovered via this forum, I probably listen to Ayreon the most.

[kirksnosehair]

I don't even think about whether or not I'm going to buy an Ayreon album.  It's automatic for me, no question.  Another thing I've stopped doing, pretty much across the board, I don't listen to previews or singles ahead of the album release.  The first time I hear an album is when I have access to the entire album.  I misjudged some albums a few years ago based on the weakness of the singles that were released and I regretted it because the singles seem to be the least interesting songs on most of these albums.  So nowadays I just wait for the entire thing to be available.

[ErHaO]

Already preordered the vinyl, because that way I got a unique version (gold), got it signed, get the comic book and get some kind of picture all for about the same price as the regular version without extras would cost me in a record store.

And I am fairly certain I will enjoy this album. I love almost anything released under the Ayreon name, with the exception of most parts of Actual Fantasy. I liked all the teasers for this album and I think the singles are enjoyable.

[jingle.boy]

I don't even think about whether or not I'm going to buy an Ayreon album.  It's automatic for me, no question.  Another thing I've stopped doing, pretty much across the board, I don't listen to previews or singles ahead of the album release.  The first time I hear an album is when I have access to the entire album.  I misjudged some albums a few years ago based on the weakness of the singles that were released and I regretted it because the singles seem to be the least interesting songs on most of these albums.  So nowadays I just wait for the entire thing to be available.

I could've typed this word for word.

[Stadler]

Chad, Electric Castle is on it's way to the Stadler house. 

[jingle.boy]

Chad, Electric Castle is on it's way to the Stadler house.

 

[Northern Lion]

I've been a casual Ayreon listener for a number of years.  I'm not sure why I haven't dug in more because what I've listened too I've liked.  I think it's because he hires screamers on occasion, which I'm not a fan of.  But I also know that isn't a majority.  But, I think over this next year I will begin digging in more and actually buying some albums.

[Elite]

Out of his entire discography, the amount of songs on which someone growls or screams can be counted on one (? - okay, maybe two - someone please verify!) hand(s).