Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle
1998
Disc I
01. Welcome To The New Dimension [feat. Peter Daltrey]
02. Isis And Osiris [feat. Fish, Sharon Den Adel, Damian Wilson, Edwin Balogh & Anneke Van Giersbergen]
1 - Let The Journey Begin
2 - The Hall Of Isis And Osiris
3 - Strange Constellations
4 - Reprise
03. Amazing Flight [feat. Jay Van Fegellen & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]
1 - Amazing Flight In Space
2 - Stardance
3 - Flying Colours
04. Time Beyond Time [feat. Edward Reekers, Damian Wilson & Edwin Balogh]
05. The Decision Tree (We're Alive) [feat. Jay Van Fegellen & Fish]
06. Tunnel Of Light [feat. Fish, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Edwin Balogh & Damian Wilson]
07. Across The Rainbow Bridge [feat. Damian Wilson, Edwin Balogh & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]
Disc II
01. The Garden Of Emotions [feat. Anneke Van Giersbergen, Edwin Balogh, Jay Van Feggelen, Sharon Den Adel, Damian Wilson, Edward Reekers & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]
1 - In The Garden Of Emotions
2 - Voices In The Sky
3 - The Aggression Factor
02. Valley Of The Queens [feat. Anneke Van Giersbergen]
03. The Castle Hall [feat. Damian Wilson & Jay Van Feggelen]
04. Tower Of Hope [feat. Damian Wilson, Jay Van Feggelen, Arjen Anthony Lucassen & Edward Reekers]
05. Cosmic Fusion [feat. Sharon Den Adel, Edwin Balogh, Edward Reekers, George Oosthoek & Robert Westerholt]
1 - I Soar On The Breeze
2 - Death's Grunt
3 - The Passing Of An Eagle
06. The Mirror Maze [feat. Edward Reekers, Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Damian Wilson & Edwin Balogh]
1 - Inside The Mirror Maze
2 - Through The Mirror
07. Evil Devolution [feat. Edward Reekers]
08. The Two Gates [feat. Jay Van Feggelen & Damian Wilson]
09. "Forever" Of The Stars
10. Another Time, Another Space [feat. Edward Reekers, Edwin Balogh, Damian Wilson & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]
The third time's the charm. Or so they say. How appropriate it is then that my third review should be a review of Ayreon's third and best (or second best, if you prefer The Human Equation) album, the progressive rock/metal masterpiece that is Into The Electric Castle. As most fans of Arjen Anthony Lucassen probably already know, he never intended for this album to be anything other than a masterful work, because he believed that the vitality of his Ayreon project depended upon it. With this in mind, Arjen created the concept and music for a progressive sci-fi epic and gathered some of the best vocalists around. Now thirteen years later, here I am to state the obvious: Arjen and co succeeded in their goal, they succeeded in every possible way.
The concept for the album is a purposefully cheesy, over-the-top sci-fi story with exaggerated cliché characters, who are each taken from their time and placed in a world of "no time and no space". Arjen picked each of his singers so well that the realization of this story through music and lyrics is simply stunning. Not only are the vocalists (Anneke van Giersbergen, Damian Wilson, Edwin Balogh and others) great, but they really become one with their roles, delivering a performance that is both vocally impressive and emotionally involving, something that you would not expect from a cheesy sci-fi story. The music itself is splendid. How often do you come across a song where blues guitar is interrupted by acoustic space-rock as in "Amazing Flight"? From the majestic synthesizers that open "The Garden Of Emotions" to the catchy almost-impossible-not-to-sing-along chorus of "The Castle Hall", Into The Electric Castle is filled to the brim with wonderful melodies that demonstrate Arjen's ability to write great songs in many different styles, including progressive rock, metal, fusion, folk and more. Another great thing about the album is the use of real violins, cellos and flutes as opposed to using synthesizers to produce decent - but nonetheless fake - imitations of the real instruments.
It is difficult to find a fault on the album, even when specifically looking for one. Into The Electric Castle is one of those albums, where the creator has gone over everything time and again to make sure that the final result is nothing short from perfect. OK, to be fair, the first disc isn't quite on par with the mind-blowing second disc, a couple of songs on it can get a bit too simple and "happy" for my taste, "Tunnel Of Light" being an example of this.
In conclusion, with so many excellent vocalists, a great number of musical styles incorporated and a duration of over 100 minutes, the only thing greater than Arjen's ambitions, is the actual result: a true masterpiece of progressive rock music. The very last words on the album as spoken by Forever Of The Stars are: "Remember forever..." Thank you Arjen, we most certainly will.
1998
Disc I
01. Welcome To The New Dimension [feat. Peter Daltrey]
02. Isis And Osiris [feat. Fish, Sharon Den Adel, Damian Wilson, Edwin Balogh & Anneke Van Giersbergen]
1 - Let The Journey Begin
2 - The Hall Of Isis And Osiris
3 - Strange Constellations
4 - Reprise
03. Amazing Flight [feat. Jay Van Fegellen & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]
1 - Amazing Flight In Space
2 - Stardance
3 - Flying Colours
04. Time Beyond Time [feat. Edward Reekers, Damian Wilson & Edwin Balogh]
05. The Decision Tree (We're Alive) [feat. Jay Van Fegellen & Fish]
06. Tunnel Of Light [feat. Fish, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Edwin Balogh & Damian Wilson]
07. Across The Rainbow Bridge [feat. Damian Wilson, Edwin Balogh & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]
Disc II
01. The Garden Of Emotions [feat. Anneke Van Giersbergen, Edwin Balogh, Jay Van Feggelen, Sharon Den Adel, Damian Wilson, Edward Reekers & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]
1 - In The Garden Of Emotions
2 - Voices In The Sky
3 - The Aggression Factor
02. Valley Of The Queens [feat. Anneke Van Giersbergen]
03. The Castle Hall [feat. Damian Wilson & Jay Van Feggelen]
04. Tower Of Hope [feat. Damian Wilson, Jay Van Feggelen, Arjen Anthony Lucassen & Edward Reekers]
05. Cosmic Fusion [feat. Sharon Den Adel, Edwin Balogh, Edward Reekers, George Oosthoek & Robert Westerholt]
1 - I Soar On The Breeze
2 - Death's Grunt
3 - The Passing Of An Eagle
06. The Mirror Maze [feat. Edward Reekers, Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Damian Wilson & Edwin Balogh]
1 - Inside The Mirror Maze
2 - Through The Mirror
07. Evil Devolution [feat. Edward Reekers]
08. The Two Gates [feat. Jay Van Feggelen & Damian Wilson]
09. "Forever" Of The Stars
10. Another Time, Another Space [feat. Edward Reekers, Edwin Balogh, Damian Wilson & Arjen Anthony Lucassen]
The third time's the charm. Or so they say. How appropriate it is then that my third review should be a review of Ayreon's third and best (or second best, if you prefer The Human Equation) album, the progressive rock/metal masterpiece that is Into The Electric Castle. As most fans of Arjen Anthony Lucassen probably already know, he never intended for this album to be anything other than a masterful work, because he believed that the vitality of his Ayreon project depended upon it. With this in mind, Arjen created the concept and music for a progressive sci-fi epic and gathered some of the best vocalists around. Now thirteen years later, here I am to state the obvious: Arjen and co succeeded in their goal, they succeeded in every possible way.
The concept for the album is a purposefully cheesy, over-the-top sci-fi story with exaggerated cliché characters, who are each taken from their time and placed in a world of "no time and no space". Arjen picked each of his singers so well that the realization of this story through music and lyrics is simply stunning. Not only are the vocalists (Anneke van Giersbergen, Damian Wilson, Edwin Balogh and others) great, but they really become one with their roles, delivering a performance that is both vocally impressive and emotionally involving, something that you would not expect from a cheesy sci-fi story. The music itself is splendid. How often do you come across a song where blues guitar is interrupted by acoustic space-rock as in "Amazing Flight"? From the majestic synthesizers that open "The Garden Of Emotions" to the catchy almost-impossible-not-to-sing-along chorus of "The Castle Hall", Into The Electric Castle is filled to the brim with wonderful melodies that demonstrate Arjen's ability to write great songs in many different styles, including progressive rock, metal, fusion, folk and more. Another great thing about the album is the use of real violins, cellos and flutes as opposed to using synthesizers to produce decent - but nonetheless fake - imitations of the real instruments.
It is difficult to find a fault on the album, even when specifically looking for one. Into The Electric Castle is one of those albums, where the creator has gone over everything time and again to make sure that the final result is nothing short from perfect. OK, to be fair, the first disc isn't quite on par with the mind-blowing second disc, a couple of songs on it can get a bit too simple and "happy" for my taste, "Tunnel Of Light" being an example of this.
In conclusion, with so many excellent vocalists, a great number of musical styles incorporated and a duration of over 100 minutes, the only thing greater than Arjen's ambitions, is the actual result: a true masterpiece of progressive rock music. The very last words on the album as spoken by Forever Of The Stars are: "Remember forever..." Thank you Arjen, we most certainly will.
| Band profile: | Ayreon |
| Album: | Into The Electric Castle |
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