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

[Adami]

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).

There's the screams on ITEC, but I think that's one song. There's quite a number of them on THE too between Devin and Mikael.

I think maybe a few on 110101011010010101? Maybe.

[The Walrus]

I don't recall any growling/screaming on 01011001.

[Adami]

I don't recall any growling/screaming on 01011001.

Yea. I probably got that wrong.

[The Walrus]

The name? Yeah.

[ErHaO]

The Sixth Extinction has growling. But those are minimal in parts where the song constantly changes singers.

[Adami]

The Sixth Extinction has growling.

HAH!

Suck it Tusk!

[The Walrus]

The Sixth Extinction has growling.

HAH!

Suck it Tusk!

In my defense those are super low in the mix and very scarce. They're the Jonas Renske/Floor Jansen parts. You just check every body of water you enter this summer very thoroughly, Adami

[Ben_Jamin]

The Sixth Extinction has growling. But those are minimal in parts where the song constantly changes singers.

They're used to emphasize the lyrics and overall mood of the hectic end of the world, everything is ablaze, chaotic, Death that is happening.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Yeah, there are maybe.... three songs in Ayreon's discography that have growls? The one on Electric Castle, Renske on Sixth Extinction, and Tommy growls on at least one on The Source (Tommy Rogers, not the other Tommy).

[Adami]

Yeah, there are maybe.... three songs in Ayreon's discography that have growls? The one on Electric Castle, Renske on Sixth Extinction, and Tommy growls on at least one on The Source (Tommy Rogers, not the other Tommy).

And THE.

Devin and Mikael growl/scream.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Oh shit you're right, I forgot all about THE.

[jingle.boy]

Oh shit you're right, I forgot all about THE.

Short memory, eh?

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).

There's the screams on ITEC, but I think that's one song. There's quite a number of them on THE too between Devin and Mikael.

I think maybe a few on 110101011010010101? Maybe.

There's also Swano on the Star One albums.

[Kwyjibo]

Not listening to Ayreon for the growls is like listening to Metallica for the tight drum parts. There are some but they are few and far between. 

[SwedishGoose]

Not listening to Ayreon for the growls is like listening to Metallica for the tight drum parts. There are some but they are few and far between. 

 

Spot on!!!

[Ben_Jamin]

The thing that I didn't like about The Source, was the Behind the Scenes.

I enjoyed THE and 01's behind the scenes because of the interaction between Arjen and his guest. It's lacking severely nowadays, due to music now capable of being made at home, and sent across the ocean.


Also, with The Source, I wonder if Floor's and Hansi's character is the same as 01. And if the others singers in The Source are the other characters..

I could hear The Chemist/Tommy Rogers in Jonas Renske's character, the way they sing thier parts, and happen to be Growlers.

[Northern Lion]

Not listening to Ayreon for the growls is like listening to Metallica for the tight drum parts. There are some but they are few and far between. 

 

Spot on!!!

   Well then I clearly need to get over myself and start taking this project more seriously.

[Evermind]

The Human Equation behind the scenes video is awesome. Such a fantastic bonus material.

[Ben_Jamin]

The Human Equation behind the scenes video is awesome. Such a fantastic bonus material.

[The Letter M]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083XT1B3X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_tdYgFbSN0XCEY

Just noticed that the Electric Castle Live earbook is only $38.99 on Amazon, so if you missed out on it from Mascot or other retailers, now is your chance to get it at 20% cheaper than original price!

-Marc.

[Ben_Jamin]

I ended up asking Arjen, "I have a question I wanted to ask about the connection between The Source and 01. Are the forevers played by Floor and Hansi still the same characters  played in 01, and If the other guests are playing those same characters in 01?"

He responded:

"Yes indeed they are, Benjamin, good question! And basically the forever have become a 'collective' through the centuries, just like the Borg in Star Trek

Stay healthy,
Arjen"

It's so great and humble of Arjen to answer fan questions. Now I understand the story way more better.

[jingle.boy]

That's pretty f'n cool - both the answer itself, and the fact he so graciously did respond.  Now I really want to listen to The Source and 01011001 back-to-back - which I've done a few times.

[Ben_Jamin]

That's pretty f'n cool - both the answer itself, and the fact he so graciously did respond.  Now I really want to listen to The Source and 01011001 back-to-back - which I've done a few times.

Yeah it's neat, hearing the similarities in the vocal deliveries. It's how I wondered if Tommy is Jonas Renskes character, his delivery is soft and a calming tone, yet releases a burst in the form of a growl.

James LaBrie could be Tom Englund
Russel Allen------Jorn Lande
Tommy Karevik------Daniel Gildenlow
Tobias Sammet-----Steve Lee
Simone Simons-----Anneke Van Giersbergen

[ErHaO]

I ended up asking Arjen, "I have a question I wanted to ask about the connection between The Source and 01. Are the forevers played by Floor and Hansi still the same characters  played in 01, and If the other guests are playing those same characters in 01?"

He responded:

"Yes indeed they are, Benjamin, good question! And basically the forever have become a 'collective' through the centuries, just like the Borg in Star Trek

Stay healthy,
Arjen"

It's so great and humble of Arjen to answer fan questions. Now I understand the story way more better.

Very cool that he answers questions like these, and thanks for sharing.

[gmillerdrake]

The Theory of Everything should be next on your list.

Been jamming to this one for the past coupe days.     Really like it a lot! This is such a fun band to listen to.

[Cool Chris]

That is a good way to assess Ayreon. The music is complex, diverse; the albums are long and tell complicated stories... but in the end it is just fun to listen to.

[gmillerdrake]

That is a good way to assess Ayreon. The music is complex, diverse; the albums are long and tell complicated stories... but in the end it is just fun to listen to.

I’m so late to this band there is just SO much music. But it’s a blast to listen to because of the story being told lyrically and the music is really awesome to absorb.

[Cool Chris]

I am late to Ayreon too, got in to them post-0101 off their 3CD Greatest Hits set, which was joy from start to finish. One of the best "best-of" collection sets I've come across. 

[The Letter M]

For fans here who enjoy 01011001, did you come into the band around the time of that album's release? For me, I found them around the time The Human Equation came out, and then worked my way back through the previous albums and loved them ALL (yes, even Actual Fantasy).

When 01 came out, though, it didn't click with me, and for a very long time, it was far below the others for me. Then The Theory Of Everything came out and I loved that one - maybe it was the proggier nature of the album, with some fantastic guest soloists and a great cast, but it felt like a return to form to me after the middling 01.

Since then, after The Source and the several live albums, I've revisited 01 (especially listening to it after The Source), and I've grown to like it a bit more, but I'd say it's still kind of low of my list compared to the likes of THE, ITEC, the UM duology, and even TFE.

With all that in mind, I've gone out of my way to avoid listening to the singles for Transitus, so I can remain as fresh on the material as possible. I've also tried hard not to burn myself out on re-listens of the material before the lead-up to the new album. Typically, before a new album comes out, I'll wait til a week or two before its release date to "gear up" for it by listening to the previous albums, but if I start too early, I risk burning myself out on the artist. Thankfully, there's a LOT of Ayreon/Arjen-related music out there that I can take my time and revisit the discography in the coming weeks and feel OK listening to them.

-Marc.

[Ben_Jamin]

That is a good way to assess Ayreon. The music is complex, diverse; the albums are long and tell complicated stories... but in the end it is just fun to listen to.

I’m so late to this band there is just SO much music. But it’s a blast to listen to because of the story being told lyrically and the music is really awesome to absorb.

I think you need to see The Theater Equation. The Live production of The Human Equation.

[The Letter M]

That is a good way to assess Ayreon. The music is complex, diverse; the albums are long and tell complicated stories... but in the end it is just fun to listen to.

I’m so late to this band there is just SO much music. But it’s a blast to listen to because of the story being told lyrically and the music is really awesome to absorb.

I think you need to see The Theater Equation. The Live production of The Human Equation.

 

Easily one of the best live productions of any rock opera I've ever seen (not that I've seen a lot, but it was *really* good IMO). Most of the cast of THE return, and they all perform in costume and the set looks fantastic. Definitely watch this before the Electric Castle Live show, though, as I think the latter steps things up a bit, so I feel like one might expect more of Theater Equation if they see Electric Castle Live first. Funny enough, I've had the itch to re-watch Theater Equation recently, so I just may have to do that soon!

-Marc.

[Cool Chris]

For fans here who enjoy 01011001, did you come into the band around the time of that album's release? For me, I found them around the time The Human Equation came out, and then worked my way back through the previous albums and loved them ALL (yes, even Actual Fantasy).

I got in to the band based off the greatest hits set, which was released after 01011001. So my initial exposure was a few songs from all their albums up through that one. I liked every single song on that collection, and loved a handful of them. I liked the set of songs from 01011001 the most. When I dug in to each album individually, I still seemed to like 01 the most.

[jingle.boy]

For fans here who enjoy 01011001, did you come into the band around the time of that album's release? For me, I found them around the time The Human Equation came out, and then worked my way back through the previous albums and loved them ALL (yes, even Actual Fantasy).

When 01 came out, though, it didn't click with me, and for a very long time, it was far below the others for me. Then The Theory Of Everything came out and I loved that one - maybe it was the proggier nature of the album, with some fantastic guest soloists and a great cast, but it felt like a return to form to me after the middling 01.

Since then, after The Source and the several live albums, I've revisited 01 (especially listening to it after The Source), and I've grown to like it a bit more, but I'd say it's still kind of low of my list compared to the likes of THE, ITEC, the UM duology, and even TFE.

With all that in mind, I've gone out of my way to avoid listening to the singles for Transitus, so I can remain as fresh on the material as possible. I've also tried hard not to burn myself out on re-listens of the material before the lead-up to the new album. Typically, before a new album comes out, I'll wait til a week or two before its release date to "gear up" for it by listening to the previous albums, but if I start too early, I risk burning myself out on the artist. Thankfully, there's a LOT of Ayreon/Arjen-related music out there that I can take my time and revisit the discography in the coming weeks and feel OK listening to them.

-Marc.

I'm on board with pretty much all of this (except for TTOE commentary ... still rate that one relatively low).  My biggest beef with 01 still remains that there are too many singers, and many of them are highly under-utilized.  Plus, there are a couple of tunes that are (lyrically) cringe-worthy, and as a result, quite possibly the worst songs in the Ayreon discography.  Web of Lies and Connect The Dots, I'm looking at you. 

[IDontNotDoThings]

I'll defend the lyrics to Web Of Lies (though musically it's meh), but I admit that I cringe when I hear Connect The Dots.

My bigger issue with both of them is that they don't really connect to the rest of the story. They awkwardly jump to a point ahead & then go right back to where they left off in the next track.

But I love the album outside of those songs, so whatever.

[MirrorMask]

Wasn't that however made on purpouse? I mean, it's not like Arjen was bored or had a creative brain fart and churned out those lyrics last minute while sitting on the toilet, the cringey lyrics higlighting the naivetè of Simone's character and the utter mediocrity of the avearage boring guy were exactly what was wanted for those songs.

Not that this makes those lyrics suddenly beautiful, but as I said, I understood that it was precisely the point the lyrics needed to make.

[ErHaO]

Can't say I was ever bothered by those songs. In fact, I enjoy them.

And I feel the same about the lyrics as MirrorMask. Look, Arjen isn't an amazing wordsmith by any means, but the straighforward lyrics do often clearly evoke what he intends, and that never bothered me.