BlueSunCorp

Tracklist

Disc 1 - Y

1. "Age of Shadows" - 10:47 including "We Are Forever"
2. "Comatose" - 4:26
3. "Liquid Eternity" - 8:10
4. "Connect the Dots" - 4:13
5. "Beneath the Waves" - 8:26
   • "Beneath the Waves"
   • "Face the Facts"
   • "But a Memory..."
   • "World Without Walls"
   • "Reality Bleeds"
6. "Newborn Race" - 7:49
   • "The Incentive"
   • "The Vision"
   • "The Procedure"
   • "Another Life"
   • "Newborn Race"
   • "The Conclusion"
7. "Ride the Comet" - 3:29
8. "Web of Lies" - 2:50

Disc 2 - EARTH

1. "The Fifth Extinction" - 10:29
   • "Glimmer of Hope"
   • "World of Tomorrow Dreams"
   • "Collision Course"
   • "From the Ashes"
   • "Glimmer of Hope (reprise)"
2. "Waking Dreams" - 6:31
3. "The Truth Is In Here" - 5:12
4. "Unnatural Selection" - 7:15
5. "River of Time" - 4:24
6. "E=MC2" - 5:50
7. "The Sixth Extinction" - 12:18
   • "Echoes on the Wind"
   • "Radioactive Grave"
   • "2085"
   • "To the Planet of Red"
   • "Spirit on the Wind"
   • "Complete the Circle"

Cast

Forever - Main Cast

Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) Daniel Gildenlöw (Pain of Salvation) Tom S. Englund (Evergrey) Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) Jørn Lande (ex-Masterplan, ARK) Anneke van Giersbergen (Agua de Annique, ex-The Gathering) Steve Lee (Gotthard) Bob Catley (Magnum) Floor Jansen (After Forever, Star One) Magali Luyten (Beautiful Sin, Virus IV)

Man - Minor Cast

Simone Simons (Epica) Phideaux Xavier Wudstik Marjan Welman (Elister) Liselotte Hegt (Dial) Arjen Anthony Lucassen Ty Tabor (King's X)

Instrumentalists

Arjen Lucassen - Guitar, keyboards, synths, bass guitar, programming Ed Warby(Gorefest) - Drums Lori Linstruth - Guitar solo Michael Romeo - Guitar solo Derek Sherinian (Planet X) - Keyboard solo Tomas Bodin (The Flower Kings) - Keyboard solo Joost van den Broek (After Forever) - Keyboard solo and piano Jeroen Goossens (Flairck) - Flutes Ben Mathot (Dis) - Violin David Faber – Cello

This is the 7th album by Ayreon, a project of Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen, and the 5th instalment of the story that began with The Final Experiment. It’s a hard album to classify, continuing the unorthodox and experimental musical style of previous Ayreon albums, though it could be adequately described as a Rock Opera which incorporate numerous genres, including progressive rock, metal, folk, classical and electronica. This is probably the darkest, and at times heaviest, album Ayreon have released to date although it certainly isn’t lacking in folky melodies and soft, ambient passages. Music and lyrics are, as always, composed by Arjen, who once again has a small singing part, while drums are again provided by Ayreon veteran Ed Warby. Arjen has once again assembled a remarkable collection of vocalists and instrumentalists. The singers are mainly new, although a few Ayreon veterans have been included in the cast (Anneke van Giersbergen, Floor Jansen and of course Arjen himself.)

Despite expression his intention to release a single album, 01011001 stretches onto 2CDs and at 1:42 the album is almost exactly the same length as its predecessor The Human Equation. This will undoubtedly seem overlong to some, but the diverse array of vocalists and instruments on offer prevent the album from becoming repetitive. It is also important to note that the album follows a turbulent period of time in Arjen’s life: which including depression, divorce and even losing his sense of taste and smell. So, as Arjen stated in an interview, the often dark mood of the album reflected his own state of mind.

I was quite careful to lower my expectations of this album before my first listen. I know from experience that Ayreon albums are slow burners for me, and the fact that I had such high hopes for this album meant that I was setting myself up to be disappointed after the first listen. My first impressions of the album were good; however, I couldn’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed. There were some really catchy parts, especially those which I had already heard in the samples that Arjen released sporadically to introduce each singer (which can be found in the gallery: http://bluesuncorp.co.uk/images?g2_itemId=2356, along with the album artwork: http://bluesuncorp.co.uk/2007/12/29/preview-of-ayreon-01011001-artwork) but a lot didn’t click until after several repeat listens. There were some tracks, namely ‘Unnatural Selection’, ‘Age of Shadows’ and ‘The Fifth Extinction’, which clicked right away - I loved them and they’re still three of my favourite tracks on the album. Then there were tracks such as ‘Beneath the Waves’, ‘Newborn Race’, ‘River of Time’ and ‘The Sixth Extinction’ that took me longer to fully appreciate, but I love more and more with each listen.

I’ve heard this album, start to finish, dozens of times yet it is still as fresh as the first listen. With 17 singers, 15 tracks, more choruses and melodies than I can count, and the continuation to the intriguing story, there is far too much to take in on the first few listens. I find that with each new listen I pick up on another story-progressing line that I had overlooked, or I find a different melody sticking in my head. It is for this reason that it is immensely difficult for me to name a favourite track because it changes every time, though it is usually one of the seven that I have already mentioned.

If I was forced to make a criticism, it would be to do with the number of vocalists. Although they do give the album variety, they do not have strong identities like the characters on The Human Equation or Into the Electric Castle. As with any release of this scale, there are weaker points in the album but fortunately, these moments are few and far between.

A lot of the jauntier tunes (Connect the Dots and Web of Lies) were sung by the minor cast. Arjen did state that he wrote a lot of darker material and added some ‘happier’ stuff later on, and at times these tracks do feel like filler, though I’ve come to really enjoy most of them. I can only guess, but if this album was released as a single CD I’m sure that a couple of these tracks would have been left out.

Track by Track

Disc 1

1. Age of Shadows

   In the past, Ayreon albums have traditionally opened with a short narrative or an instrumental track, Age of Shadows is a considerable departure from this tradition and I have little reservation in saying that it is the best opening that an Ayreon album has had. Not to fault the instrumentals that opened the Universal Migrator albums or Peter Daltrey’s wonderfully chilling opening narrative on Into the Electric Castle, but this is a striking 11 minuter, and a flawless introduction with all the idiosyncrasies that make a great Ayreon track. This track introduces us to the beings from the planet Y, called ‘Forever’. During the course of the song we learn about their plights, specifically their loss of emotion because of their ‘quenchless thirst for knowledge’ and eventual dependence on machines to grant them immortality. Singers: Tom Englund, Steve Lee, Daniel Gildenlöw, Hansi Kürsch, Floor Jansen, Jonas Renkse, Anneke van Giersbergen, Jørn Lande.

2. Comatose

   I didn’t enjoy this track much at first and, though highly unusual for anything by Ayreon, I actually found it quite dull. This has changed. It’s a captivating little track and a pleasant change of pace after the heavy and elaborate opening. It has exceptional vocals and a really alleviating, calm melody that is reminiscent of many tracks from The Dream Sequencer – markedly ‘My House on Mars’ for the atmosphere and the contrasting Male/Female vocals, which in this song are so skilfully performed by Jørn Lande and Ayreon veteran Anneke van Giersbergen. Singers: Jørn Lande, Anneke van Giersbergen.

3. Liquid Eternity

   Again, we learn more about the nature of ‘Forever’, with a nice chorus from Magali Luyten that draws lyrics from Peter Daltrey’s closing narrative on Into the Electric Castle. The song itself is at times heavy and guitar driven, though with softer interludes, which is very in keeping with the overall tone of the album. Singers: Jonas Renkse, Daniel Gildenlöw, Magali Luyten, Bob Catley, Tom Englund, Jørn Lande, Floor Jansen.

4. Connect the Dots

   This is the first of the four tracks (along with Web of Lies, The Truth is In Here, and E=MC²) that do not feature ‘Forever’, but are instead concerned with activities of humans that compliment the central story. This is a jaunty little tune but with some deeper meanings and social observations in the lyrics, including Global Warming and Mankind’s increased dependence on technology. Singer: Ty Tabor, Arjen Lucassen.

5. Beneath the Waves

   I feel quite sorry for the vocalists who have to follow Gildenlöw’s resplendent opening to the track. He opens the track phenomenally, but the song doesn’t let up, covering 5 different sections, each brought to life by their respective singers. This song further describes the history of ‘forever’, and culminates in their realisation that they need to take action to save their race. Singers: Daniel Gildenlöw, Bob Catley, Anneke van Giersbergen, Floor Jansen, Steve Lee, Jørn Lande, Hansi Kürsch, Tom Englund.

6. Newborn Race

   Of all the songs on the album, I think that Newborn Race makes the best use of multiple singers. There are so many distinct choruses that are perfectly suited for their singer with equally-suitable musical backing. Because of the huge array of vocals and the numerous melodies within the song, it took a long time to grow on me, but the variety is also the reason why it has remained one of my favourite tracks on the album. In this song ‘forever’ arrive at their conclusion, and decide to use a comet to carry their DNA to a new planet, where they intend to play god by creating and controlling a new race. Singers: Daniel Gildenlöw, Floor Jansen, Tom Englund, Jonas Renkse, Bob Catley, Hansi Kürsch, Jørn Lande.

7. Ride the Comet

   This is a fairly short song, describing the journey of the DNA-carrying comet through space, with a vibrant and powerful chorus that shows off Magali Luyten’s voice in a way that Liquid Eternity barely touched upon. Singers: Jørn Lande, Floor Jansen, Tom Englund, Jonas Renkse, Bob Catley, Magali Luyten

8. Web of Lies

   The closing track of the first disc is another brief, though somewhat relevant, departure from the principal story of the album. It’s a short and sardonically sweet tale of two internet-dating users, which provides a harmonious ending to the ‘Y’ disc. Singers: Simone Simons, Phideaux Xavier

Disc 2

1. The Fifth Extinction

   This track was released early on the Ayreon Myspace site, and was I was therefore already familiar for it when I first heard the album. It’s the second of three 10 minute + tracks on the album, and is similar to ‘Age of Shadows’ in that it gives the second CD an intense and baroque opening. Of the 5 sections that comprise the song, the second is without doubt my favourite and I relish in the heavy vocals interlaced with the exquisite violins, the animated choruses of Bob Catley and Hansi Kürsch, and the culminating synth solo from Derek Sherinian. Story wise, it describes the arrival of the comet, carrying the DNA of ‘Forever’, at Planet Earth. It details the impact, which vanquishes the Dinosaurs, and the emergence of humankind from the ashes. Singers: Anneke van Giersbergen, Bob Catley, Steve Lee, Jørn Lande, Tom Englund, Daniel Gildenlöw, Hansi Kürsch, Jonas Renkse, Floor Jansen.

2. Waking Dreams

   This is a bit like Comatose, with the contrasting male and female vocals, and the somewhat gloomy mood of the track, however it hasn’t grown on me like Comatose has. The highlight of the track, for me, would have to be the guitar solo from Arjen. The track describes the early stages of humanity, and shows how ‘Forever’ communicate with the human race telepathically, in dreams, in order to direct their evolution and to harvest their emotions. Singers: Jonas Renkse, Anneke van Giersbergen.

3. The Truth Is In Here

   This is Arjen’s track on the album, ignoring his brief appearance on the chorus of Connect the Dots; a duet with Liselotte Hegt. He plays ‘Mr. L’, a man in an asylum whose dreams recount the events of the previous instalments in the story. Liselotte Hegt plays the ‘antagonist’ of the song, a nurse, who sees Mr. L’s dreams as delusions. It is another jaunty diversion from the central story of ‘Forever, with a vivacious tone that so uniquely belongs to Ayreon. Singers: Arjen Lucassen, Liselotte Hegt.

4. Unnatural Selection

   Although I was a fan of Blind Guardian and Hansi Kürsch before I heard this album, I’ve been astounded by how distinct and memorable his parts are. This is one of my favourite tracks on the album, at first because of Hansi’s imposing and unforgettable chorus, though I’ve come to love every second of the song since. This is another song which, I feel, makes exceptional use of several vocalists, especially the duets. The story describes the beginnings of man’s decline, thanks to the impatience of ‘Forever’, and their determination to quicken man’s evolution. Singers: Tom Englund, Steve Lee, Jørn Lande, Bob Catley, Hansi Kürsch, Jonas Renkse.

5. River of Time

   I am particularly fond of the song’s introduction, with its folky nuances, though it doesn’t quite match up to either Day 16 or Day 18 of The Human Equation. There is another distinctive and zealously performed chorus from Hansi Kürsch, offset perfectly by Bob Catley – whose band Magnum I have become quite fond of since hearing this album. The song deals with Forever’s determination to save humanity, realizing their mistakes, by sending a warning of humanity’s demise back in time. Singers: Hansi Kürsch, Bob Catley.

6. E=MC2

   There is a lot of plot in this track, relating to the first Ayreon album The Final Experiment, which builds quite nicely into the concluding track. It is the story of the two scientists who develop the time telepathy program inspired by messages from ‘Forever’. They eventually succeed in sending a message back in time, though as the first album details, the experiment is a failure. Singers: Wudstik, Marjan Welman

7. The Sixth Extinction

   This song provides a stunning conclusion to the album, both through the music and the story. There is little I can say about the song, which is divided into 6 sections, each one as impeccable as the last. It’s the longest track on the album, which is a good thing as I never want it to end. But then again, when it does, I just go back to the start and listen again. Singers: Tom Englund, Steve Lee, Hansi Kürsch, Daniel Gildenlöw, Jonas Renkse, Floor Jansen, Bob Catley, Jørn Lande, Anneke van Giersbergen, Magali Luyten.

Summary

Following The Human Equation was always going to be difficult, and in the end Arjen has delivered an album quite different in sound and tone, though just as spectacular overall. It has quickly become one of my favourite albums, eventually equalling or surpassing all of my incredibly high expectations, and I can already say for sure that it will be my favourite album of the year. 10/10.