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

[jingle.boy]

Based on the singles, I have zero excitement for this.  Feels too much like the vibe from TTOE, which is one of the  (if not THE) least fave Ayreon albums.  To me, it's starting to sound like he's out of ideas.

I find Ayreon in a similar creative situation as Coheed and Cambria has in their concepts.

Both are finding ways to intertwine new stories into their world.

That's funny... I find C&C unlistenable.

[Adami]

I only heard the new song.

It's......fine. It's pleasant, but it sounds like Ayreon by numbers, which I didn't even know was a thing until I heard this. If you asked me a week ago what Ayreon by numbers sounds like, I'd have no idea how to answer, but after this song....this is what it sounds like. Nothing stood out but none of it was bad. It was just kind of there.

[Ben_Jamin]

I only heard the new song.

It's......fine. It's pleasant, but it sounds like Ayreon by numbers, which I didn't even know was a thing until I heard this. If you asked me a week ago what Ayreon by numbers sounds like, I'd have no idea how to answer, but after this song....this is what it sounds like. Nothing stood out but none of it was bad. It was just kind of there.

Arjen, on his Facebook, did say this song is the most Ayreon out of them all.

[Adami]

I only heard the new song.

It's......fine. It's pleasant, but it sounds like Ayreon by numbers, which I didn't even know was a thing until I heard this. If you asked me a week ago what Ayreon by numbers sounds like, I'd have no idea how to answer, but after this song....this is what it sounds like. Nothing stood out but none of it was bad. It was just kind of there.

Arjen, on his Facebook, did say this song is the most Ayreon out of them all.

I hope so. I'm buying the album anyway, but I hope it's not like TTOE where I never listen to it anymore.

[jingle.boy]

I only heard the new song.

It's......fine. It's pleasant, but it sounds like Ayreon by numbers, which I didn't even know was a thing until I heard this. If you asked me a week ago what Ayreon by numbers sounds like, I'd have no idea how to answer, but after this song....this is what it sounds like. Nothing stood out but none of it was bad. It was just kind of there.

Arjen, on his Facebook, did say this song is the most Ayreon out of them all.

I hope so. I'm buying the album anyway, but I hope it's not like TTOE where I never listen to it anymore.

Get out of my head!!!

[Kwyjibo]

I just had a long drive and listened to TTOE from beginning to end and can confirm that this is still the second best thing Arjen has done under the Ayreon name.

So if Transitus is even remotely like that it will be very good. 

[ErHaO]

Talk of the town is Ayreon through and through and kind of rips off Digital Rain's vocal melodies. However, it is a very good Ayreon song to me. Also reminds me of TTOE indeed, and that is my second fave Ayreon album. So thus far it is all appealing to me.

Just listened to all four songs and had a great time with them.

[Zoom E]

Only a week away from the release date and Transitus is still not available for pre-order on Amazon Canada. 

[IDontNotDoThings]

I listened to the new song & I thought it was good. Nothing breathtaking, but I enjoyed it a lot more than This Human Equation.

I will say that the narration feels a bit unnecessary though.

[Ben_Jamin]

I listened to the new song & I thought it was good. Nothing breathtaking, but I enjoyed it a lot more than This Human Equation.

I will say that the narration feels a bit unnecessary though.

The Narration is what gives it that comic book feel.

[Pettor]

Hrmmmmm the new songs really don't do much for me. I like that he found a way to be creative with Ayreon outside of the sci-fi space opera however but the songs are not very special?

Also, I am all for high notes but when every sentence has to end with "TOOOOOOOWWWWWWWN" high pitch vocals it gets a bit less spectacular. It's like Ayreon has always been borderline too cheesy but the quality music makes it end up on the right side but here I think it's too much for me.

Let's hope they all end up better when put in context. POS Panther is incredible but before released I thought the singles were good but not that good. When put into context and given the flow of the album they became favorites.

Based on the singles, I have zero excitement for this.  Feels too much like the vibe from TTOE, which is one of the  (if not THE) least fave Ayreon albums.  To me, it's starting to sound like he's out of ideas.

Well TTOE is my favorite Ayreon album and I can say so far these singles does nothing for me so something is off there as well.

[Ben_Jamin]

Hrmmmmm the new songs really don't do much for me. I like that he found a way to be creative with Ayreon outside of the sci-fi space opera however but the songs are not very special?

Also, I am all for high notes but when every sentence has to end with "TOOOOOOOWWWWWWWN" high pitch vocals it gets a bit less spectacular. It's like Ayreon has always been borderline too cheesy but the quality music makes it end up on the right side but here I think it's too much for me.

Let's hope they all end up better when put in context. POS Panther is incredible but before released I thought the singles were good but not that good. When put into context and given the flow of the album they became favorites.

Based on the singles, I have zero excitement for this.  Feels too much like the vibe from TTOE, which is one of the  (if not THE) least fave Ayreon albums.  To me, it's starting to sound like he's out of ideas.

Well TTOE is my favorite Ayreon album and I can say so far these singles does nothing for me so something is off there as well.

Again, Musical Comic book. Should be in this week hopefully.

[Evermind]

I love TTOE and I'm fairly iffy about this new single. It does have a feeling of TTOE but it's more like Arjen took the worst aspects of that album and incorporated them in this track. "Jealous/envious" thing by Cammie reminds me about "oh no, I can't believe you're falling for a loser" thing in TTOE and that's one of my few complaints about that album.

Still interested in the album.

[kirksnosehair]

Reading the last couple of pages of this thread was a good reminder of why I don't listen to pre-release tracks from bands that I am already familiar with because, especially for a band like Ayreon where every album is a concept album, I think it's hard to pull a single track off that kind of album and present it completely out of context in the hopes that people will connect with it. 


I already pre-ordered this.  It's really mathematical for me:  Ayreon + Cheese = Buy


I mean saying "Ayreon + Cheese" is like saying "Water + Wetness" but I digress     

[The Walrus]

I completely forgot that I pre-ordered this album (signed + comic, apparently). I must have done that months ago... well, I just got an email that it's been delivered already. I didn't even realize it came out this week. So that's a really cool surprise.

I'll be honest, I haven't really enjoyed the last two albums much. The choice of singers has not been to my liking compared to my favorite Ayreon record (01011001, and none of the other records are anywhere close to that one imo). But, I'm always here for some Ayreon, so I can't wait to dive into this. I haven't paid attention to the singles at all.

[Ben_Jamin]

I completely forgot that I pre-ordered this album (signed + comic, apparently). I must have done that months ago... well, I just got an email that it's been delivered already. I didn't even realize it came out this week. So that's a really cool surprise.

I'll be honest, I haven't really enjoyed the last two albums much. The choice of singers has not been to my liking compared to my favorite Ayreon record (01011001, and none of the other records are anywhere close to that one imo). But, I'm always here for some Ayreon, so I can't wait to dive into this. I haven't paid attention to the singles at all.

I was hoping to see in the mail. Nothing yet. Hopefully tomorrow, for sure.

[The Walrus]

IT'S HERE!! I was only expecting a regular jewel case + the comic book because my pre-order total was like $26 and some change, but I forgot exactly which edition I ordered. Lo and behold I pulled up and saw a rather large package sitting in the mailbox... The hardbook is huge, loaded with color pages, and it has 2 CDs behind the front cover, and 2 CDs + DVD behind the back cover. This is awesome!! I have a special box edition of The Human Equation I got in a trade on MP.com, and a really nice digibook special edition of The Source, and now this - Ayreon packaging rules!

[jingle.boy]

That's wicked.  Almost makes me wish I'd ordered it!

[The Walrus]

I should pre-order stuff months in advance more often. It's nice to get surprises 

[ronnibran]

Wasn’t a huge fan of the singles, but hearing the whole album was great. It exceeded my expectations and all songs were great in context. Only listened once yet but am happy and excited to hear again and again. Curious how it will rank over time, hard to tell yet of course.

[IDontNotDoThings]

After a few listens, here are my thoughts on the album

positives:
-singles are still awesome
-I enjoyed all the vocalists (but especially Cammie)
-the story is paced in a really interesting way
-an emotional ending that resolves the album nicely

negatives:
-a few too many short songs
-opening epic is very scattershot
-the vocals struggle to stick out in the mix at times
-the narration really didn't need to be in every song

Overall I'm not too sure how I feel about this one. The singles really hyped me up & I'm not sure if it lives up to that hype, but I'll give it a few more listens in context.

[Ben_Jamin]

The Narration makes it feel like I am listening to a horror story on old time radio...

[SwedishGoose]

The Narration makes it feel like I am listening to a horror story on old time radio...

That's good then as that was more or less Arjens intentions

[SwedishGoose]

I got my signed Earbook plus comicbook on tuesday so I have had timeto listen and also watch the behind the scenes.

Love, love, love the packaging of the Earbook. The way the lyrics and comic pages are presented in it make it easy to foölow the story.

It is quite different for an Ayreon album but it's still Ayreon. I like it but so far I am not over the moon as I can be when listening to a new Ayreon album.

Will be interresting to see where this one ends up in ranking.

[ErHaO]

I absolutely love the first disc, but second disc has a bit of an odd pacing. Still good though. A tad too much narration for my taste, as even small tracks have it, but I get where Arjen is going for.

And my order has not been shipped yet? What gives  Anyways, I like it so much I am ordering the earbook as well (I usually do digital + vinyl).

[Evermind]

Digital Rain (Cover by Tommy Karevik and Cammie Gilbert)

Very underwhelmed after the first listen. There were some good bits (Simone on Listen to My Story) was great, but otherwise I didn't like it much. I will however give it another chance at home as I want to read the lyrics.

[SwedishGoose]

-opening epic is very scattershot

Well, since it is an overture although more creativeley named it should introduce themes across the album, right.

[The Letter M]

After a couple of listens, I've got to admit that I've been enjoying it a lot. The plot and concept is easy to follow, especially with the comic to follow along with. This is definitely an easier story to get into than albums like 01 and The Source, especially with fewer characters (at least it seems like it).

Musically speaking, its typical Arjen, and I don't mind the narration, perhaps because I also like Arjen's Lost In The New Real, which featured a fair amount of narration as well. I admit to missing Ed Warby on this one, but the new drummer has some good chops and works well for the sound of the album.

Without going back and checking, is this album the one with the most different female vocalists, five total? Maybe 01 had as many given how many characters are in it. The female vocalists in Transitus are easily a highlight for me!

-Marc.

[Nick]

-opening epic is very scattershot

To me this is the biggest difference between this album and The Source. The Source starts out insanely strong, and sets the album up nicely. Transitus starts somewhat oddly and fragmented and really doesn't do the album justice IMO.

Interview with Arjen is up now for anyone interested: https://www.sonicperspectives.com/interviews/interview-with-lucassen-arjen/

[ErHaO]

My earbook will arrive tomorrow, kind of odd that my pre-order from months back has not been shipped yet, but looking forward to going through the comicbook along with the music.

The opening song is not really an epic in my opinion. Not sure why those pieces are under a single banner. The album consists of different pieces each representing a new scene(aka a page/panel in the comic). This also applies to the first couple of tracks listed as part of the opening track. I think the naming works against it as it sets expectations.

After a couple of listens, I've got to admit that I've been enjoying it a lot. The plot and concept is easy to follow, especially with the comic to follow along with. This is definitely an easier story to get into than albums like 01 and The Source, especially with fewer characters (at least it seems like it).

Musically speaking, its typical Arjen, and I don't mind the narration, perhaps because I also like Arjen's Lost In The New Real, which featured a fair amount of narration as well. I admit to missing Ed Warby on this one, but the new drummer has some good chops and works well for the sound of the album.

Without going back and checking, is this album the one with the most different female vocalists, five total? Maybe 01 had as many given how many characters are in it. The female vocalists in Transitus are easily a highlight for me!

-Marc.

There are about as much characters as on other Ayreon works, but here Tommy and Cammie clearly have the lead roles. Some characters only appear in one song or really only sing with others.

[Ben_Jamin]

The album consists of different pieces each representing a new scene(aka a page/panel in the comic). This also applies to the first couple of tracks listed as part of the opening track.

That's good to know because that's exactly what I thought when I heard Fatum Horrificum, and why he divided it up like that.

[ariich]

Only listened once and I'm not really feeling it so far. I agree with Nick that the weird opener doesn't set it up especially well, plus in general it (so far) feels pretty weak when it comes to vocal melodies which is normally one of Arjen's biggest strengths.

[The Walrus]

I was planning on listening to this all morning but the new Skeletoon sidetracked me. Cammie and Tommy as the stars really doesn't get my hopes up for this. We'll see this afternoon, I guess.

[Evermind]

in general it (so far) feels pretty weak when it comes to vocal melodies which is normally one of Arjen's biggest strengths.

Now that you said it, that's probably my biggest beef with the album. The vocal melodies seem very uninspired on this one for me.

I was planning on listening to this all morning but the new Skeletoon sidetracked me. Cammie and Tommy as the stars really doesn't get my hopes up for this. We'll see this afternoon, I guess.

Cammie does a great job IMO, Tommy does his usual stuff. If you didn't like him on TTOE and The Source, I doubt you'll like him here.

[The Walrus]

Yeah I don't like OOS at all and the eclectic mix of singers + Tommy's melismatic singing ruined the last couple albums for me. But, I love Ayreon, so I still purchase and listen. Fingers crossed.