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

[SwedishGoose]

Been listening to it a lot. It'sa fun little record.
I do prefer Star Three. But then I also often prefer Ayreon over either.

If I had my say though another Gentle Storm would rock my boat mostly I think.

[Stadler]

I asked Arjen and he said the correct lyric IS "leave the sixteens behind".

-Marc.

Sweet has a song called "The Six Teens". That is unequivocally about the band Sweet.

V1 is about T. Rex; V3 is Alice Cooper and V4 is David Bowie.

Am I right?

[ariich]

Am I the only one listening to Supersonic Revolution?

It's musically more in the vein of Star One than Ayreon. I think it's a really good and enjoyable record. Golden Age Of Music, The Rise Of The Starman, Golden Boy and Holy Holy Ground are my favorites so far.

The MVP of this record for me is Joost van den Broek with some great Hammond Organ/Hammond sounds.

I think it is really enjoyable, quality record. I enjoy Revel in Time a bit more, but it is close. And indeed this is more Star One than Ayreon.

For sure ... and I'm kinda over the samey-ness of his music now.  The last Ayreon record blew (and still had imo more of a Star One feel than Ayreon), and the one before that (which I love) also sounded more Star One-ish.  Then we do get a Star One (multi-vocalist), and now this.  I'm a bit spent on it.

I liked Star Three a lot (more than Star Two in fact) but yeah, it's all getting a bit samey and the different projects are just merging together. Not that I'd mind if the music was all exciting but it's hit and miss.

[KevShmev]

Yeah, I have kind of just accepted that 1995-2004 was Arjen's peak, with everything since pretty hit or miss.  And if one wants to expand that time span to include 01011001 as his prime, that is fine.  He is definitely a "try before I buy" artist for me now.

[jingle.boy]

Yeah, I have kind of just accepted that 1995-2004 was Arjen's peak, with everything since pretty hit or miss.  And if one wants to expand that time span to include 01011001 as his prime, that is fine.  He is definitely a "try before I buy" artist for me now.

For sure. He jumped the shark with Transitus.

[SwedishGoose]

Yeah, I have kind of just accepted that 1995-2004 was Arjen's peak, with everything since pretty hit or miss.  And if one wants to expand that time span to include 01011001 as his prime, that is fine.  He is definitely a "try before I buy" artist for me now.

For sure. He jumped the shark with Transitus.

Nah....  I still think Transitus is good but not really an Ayreon album. Would have been better to release under his own name.
The naration can be a bit much though.

[Kwyjibo]

Yeah, I have kind of just accepted that 1995-2004 was Arjen's peak, with everything since pretty hit or miss.  And if one wants to expand that time span to include 01011001 as his prime, that is fine.  He is definitely a "try before I buy" artist for me now.

For sure. He jumped the shark with Transitus.

Nah....  I still think Transitus is good but not really an Ayreon album. Would have been better to release under his own name.
The naration can be a bit much though.

This. Cut down on the narration and give it a different name and it's a really good record.

Does Arjen sound a little bit samey? For sure, but show me an artist with such an amount of records/projects that doesn't sound samey.

I don't love everything he does but I've yet to hear a crappy record with him.

[Schurftkut]

try his first solo album under his own name, and tell me he didn't do crappy ;-)

[Schurftkut]

also, Arjen playing guitar live with Vengeance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2VDDFw57k8

[jingle.boy]

Yeah, I have kind of just accepted that 1995-2004 was Arjen's peak, with everything since pretty hit or miss.  And if one wants to expand that time span to include 01011001 as his prime, that is fine.  He is definitely a "try before I buy" artist for me now.

For sure. He jumped the shark with Transitus.

Nah....  I still think Transitus is good but not really an Ayreon album. Would have been better to release under his own name.
The naration can be a bit much though.

This. Cut down on the narration and give it a different name and it's a really good record.

Does Arjen sound a little bit samey? For sure, but show me an artist with such an amount of records/projects that doesn't sound samey.

I don't love everything he does but I've yet to hear a crappy record with him.

There is some decent music mixed in there, sure.  But too much Dr. Who force feeding me the story that I can't skip thru.  Still, it sounds very samey, and I can't get past the thought of "why am I just not listening to <insert any album up to the Source here>?"

[Nick]

I've enjoyed Supersonic in the spins I've given it. I still love Arjen and Transitus aside enjoy pretty much everything he does. I don't think he's hit or miss yet, but rather I worry where my ceiling is with his music now. Like, I have no doubt he can put something out that I'll really enjoy, like Star Three, but I don't know if I'll hear something that I find to be truly sensational.

[ZirconBlue]

Yeah, I have kind of just accepted that 1995-2004 was Arjen's peak, with everything since pretty hit or miss.  And if one wants to expand that time span to include 01011001 as his prime, that is fine.  He is definitely a "try before I buy" artist for me now.

The Source is one of my favorites, so I would extend the "peak" much further.

[The Letter M]

At a glance, here are all the major studio releases from Arjen that I am aware of, in chronological order of course:

1994 - Pools Of Sorrow, Waves Of Joy (Arjen Solo)
1995 - The Final Experiment (Ayreon)
1996 - Actual Fantasy (Ayreon)
1998 - Into The Electric Castle (Ayreon)
2000 - Universal Migrator Parts 1 & 2 (Ayreon)
2001 - Fate Of A Dreamer (Ambeon)
2002 - Space Metal (Star One)
2004 - The Human Equation (Ayreon)
2005 - Embrace The Storm (Stream Of Passion)
2008 - 01011001 (Ayreon)
2009 - On This Perfect Day (Guilt Machine)
2010 - Victims Of The Modern Age (Star One)
2012 - Lost In The New Real (Arjen Solo)
2013 - The Theory of Everything (Ayreon)
2015 - The Diary (The Gentle Storm)
2017 - The Source (Ayreon)
2020 - Transitus (Ayreon)
2022 - Revel In Time (Star One)
2023 - Golden Age Of Music (Supersonic Revolution)

About 19 (or 20, depending on if you count Universal Migrator as 1 or 2) albums over the course of 30 years, which isn't bad. He's been about as prolific as any of his contemporaries (Wilson, Morse, Stolt, Tillison) in that time frame, with a lot of various projects and to varying degrees of success. I'd say his peak era would be 2000-2008, though that isn't to say he didn't release spectacular albums before and after that, but from Guilt Machine onwards, I feel like his stuff became hit-or-miss with me personally. I like OTPD a bit but I'd have to be in the mood for it, and I rarely ever go back to The Gentle Storm of the last two Star One albums. And of the three Ayreon albums after 01, I like the The Source a lot, but rarely go back to it - I must be the outlier because I really enjoy TTOE and I've given a fair amount of spins to Transitus over the last few years as well.

I think it'll be time for a new Ayreon album next year or the year after, so hopefully it'll be one that will get the fans back on board!

-Marc.

[Kwyjibo]

He also released a record called For Ayreonauts Only, but because it features only already released Ayreon songs with different vocalists and demos it doesn't really count.

The only one I haven't heard is his first solo record.

[jingle.boy]

There's the Vengeance stuff too, even though it wasn't necessarily "his" band.

[Kwyjibo]

And Bodine, the first band Arjen was in.

And there's Strange Hobby, an album from 1996 full of cover versions. Initially it wasn't credited to him but nowadays one can find it on spotify as Arjen Lucassen's Stange Hobby.

[ProfessorPeart]

I have been searching and searching for a Stream of Passion thread but cannot find one. Am I late to the party that they have regrouped and have a new EP coming out on Sept 9th?

New single - https://youtu.be/xbUN-G3TUx4

Another one coming out soon.

https://streamofpassion.com/

EDIT: I know Arjen has not been involved with them in a long time. Figured this thread would have the right audience.

[SwedishGoose]

I have been searching and searching for a Stream of Passion thread but cannot find one. Am I late to the party that they have regrouped and have a new EP coming out on Sept 9th?

New single - https://youtu.be/xbUN-G3TUx4

Another one coming out soon.

https://streamofpassion.com/

EDIT: I know Arjen has not been involved with them in a long time. Figured this thread would have the right audience.

I'm one of Marcela Bovio's patreons so I have known about this for quite a while. Was one of the backer's when they needed financing for it.

So sad that I can't go to one of the Reunion shows the weekend before 01011001

[Schurftkut]

arjen also announced an "old" project being revamped with Irene Jansen and Robert Soeterbeek

[Kwyjibo]

I love Marcellas work with Ayreon but Stream Of Passion was one of Arjen‘s projects I couldn‘t really get into.

[ErHaO]

Maybe it is a project that never saw the light of the day? Otherwise the only pre-Ayreon (1995) project I see is his first solo record? The bands he was in don't seem like projects to me.

[ErHaO]

So Edward Reekers made a concept album/rock opera and has Arjen Lucassen and John Jaycee Cuipers on it (as well as some other Ayreon folks like Damian Wilson and even Steve Hackett).


This is the track where they are on, it is very Ayreon-like I think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De7m1MEYxnY&ab_channel=MascotLabelGroup (sung by John 'Jaycee' Cuijpers and guitars/bass by Arjen Lucassen).

I think the album is fantastic and am really impressed with the production as a whole (choirs, orchestral pieces, a good set of vocalists). Amazing that Edward pulled this off. That said, the track with Arjen is not really representative of the whole. It is not a metal/hard rock album and the above track is by far the most intense. It feels more like one of the Kayak rock opera's, but this one is way better than those in my opinion.

The other two singles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE-j8Gcm4S4&ab_channel=MascotLabelGroup (sung by Damian Wilson)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK3NSvV401w&ab_channel=MascotLabelGroup (sung by Edward himself)

I bought it on vinyl and had a good time listening through it.

[jingle.boy]

I spun the album yesterday while doing some yardwork.  Not bad at all - and it's only $10 on the iTunes store.

[Pettor]

I listened to Sixth Extinction today for the first time in years and was reminded about something I want to ask. In the beginning when Tom Englund sings "it's the quiet before the war" the word "war" sounds messed up. Always noticed it and without much knowledge it sounds like autotune going wild?! Or is it just his voice and some final mixing that is weird here. To me it's such an obvious error that I am a bit confused how they let that slip into the final recording. Doesn't hurt the awesome track but still 

[Schurftkut]

i don't hear what you mean.

at most it could've been doubletracked and what you hear is one take being a titbit longer?

[Adami]

Just listened again.

Sounds like some quick vibrato. That's all.

[Pettor]

Haha I am not sure why but it sounds so unnatural to me, like a digital glitch. But this is maybe what I've searched for as well, that others don't hear it or find it weird so could just be me 😁

[PixelDream]

I’ve never noticed it before but I do hear the glitch. Might be autotune related.

At 04:14 in Evergrey’s Midwinter Calls there’s also such a glitch. Noticed it the other day while driving around in my car. Don’t listen for it though, you can’t unhear it. 

[ErHaO]

I sincerely doubt it is a glitch/autotune artefact to be honest.

[Schurftkut]

almost friday...... 

[SwedishGoose]

almost friday...... 

I'm waiting for sunday

[ErHaO]

Sold my saturday tickets due to a wedding, but will be going friday and sunday! 

[Schurftkut]

https://www.013.nl/nieuws/613/013-eert-arjen-lucassen-ayreon-aan-vooravond-bijzondere-concertreeks-artiest-wordt-vereeuwigd-met-eigen-cd-aan-gevel

apparently i'm going a few trains earlier...

[Evermind]

Waiting for some pictures/videos from the meetups and the shows!

[Adami]

Went to the ITEC one as a birthday gift for myself. Had the time of my life.

Really want to go to these but the timing is just super hard. Will definitely buy the blu ray immediately.